If it weren't for my superhero catlike reflexes...

[LewisLegion]

So I'm driving home on a surface street about to get on the freeway. The way the road is, there are two lanes going east, two lanes going west, all going around a big curve that ends (westbound) at a light. There is a turn lane at the light to turn left onto the freeway onramp I wanted.

Along this curve are businesses and so, business driveways. There is like, NO visibility coming out of these driveways due to the curve and the traffic, which is poor design on the part of the city.

So I'm heading westbound in the left lane, intending to take a left at the light to go onto the onramp. Just as I reach the start of the turn lane I pull out of the very densely packed traffic in the two lanes going my direction and into the turn lane. Due to the curve and the way the cars are packed, I cannot see there is a gap between cars in the westbound lanes where they have stopped to leave a driveway entrance clear.

Now in the turn lane and with no one in front of me to the light, I hit the accelerator (going from maybe five mph from the traffic to maybe twenty mph). Just as I reach this gap, of course out of the driveway comes a caddy, zooming forward like he has no care in the world, crossing the two lanes without a glance and intending to turn left. Does he pause to make sure the turn lane is clear? Of course not. He simply zips out of the gap and the first I see of him is his bumper come shooting out maybe four feet in front of me.

Without even thinking, I cranked the wheel to the left and seriously skipped on my tip toes around the guy's bumper and safely back into the turn lane, while he has the audacity to HONK at me. By all rights I should have plowed into him without even having time to brake and if he had kept up his own speed without slamming on his own brakes, he would have t-boned me regardless.

As I reached the light and stopped, he did his left turn and sped away. I sat there for a second like and then started grinning.

Oh yes. Catlike reflexes. I haz them

[wolfie]

Unfortunately, by getting away with it, he's learned that he can pull out into traffic and other vehicles will yield the right of way in order to avoid a collision. What he needs to set him right is either a police officer (hello ticket for moving violation) or a loaded semi (lag on the air brakes so it can't stop in time, high centre of gravity so it can't swerve, enough mass and structural integrity to squash bozo's car like a tin can).

[Pagan]

That's exactly how I had my wreck a few years ago....except I hit the idiot woman. That street, too, had a bunch of business driveways. I was just a little bit closer and going a little bit faster, heading towards the left turn bay. I tried to shove my brake pedal through the floor of the car. The next day, my leg was so sore.

And while we're waiting for the police to show up, ding-dong and somebody waiting for the bus (and didn't see the accident) started discussing whose fault it was. They seemed to leaning towards it being my fault.

Luckily, the police knew what happened (not the first time for a wreck like that on that street), she got cited for failure to yield, 100% her fault, and her insurance company got to pay for having my front end replaced and me having to have a rental car (over a weekend, too!)