A Story About Avoiding an Accident Through a Premonition (Part 2)

This is the second part of my story about avoiding an accident.

I will say it again,
I have absolutely no psychic ability.

But I do have a strange intuition,
and it's not just with accidents, but I have managed to get through tight spots
quite a few times.


That day, I was driving a 4-ton flatbed truck
doing pickups and deliveries.

On my way back to the office to load up after finishing my deliveries,
I approached a T-junction
that had a 'Stop' sign before entering the main road.

I stopped there,
(to be precise, I stopped because there was a constant stream of cars on the main road).
Since I was still in my 20s,

I wasn't exactly driving very carefully,
I was driving with a 'hurry, hurry' mindset.
I stopped, checked 'Right is clear!', 'Left is clear!',

and then checked 'Right is clear!' once more.
'Okay, nothing coming!'

I think I moved forward a little (maybe 50 centimeters).
But at that moment,

'I feel like I have to look left one more time,'
'I have to check the under-mirror too!'
I felt that strongly.
I'm not usually that cautious when driving, so I stopped again feeling puzzled,

and when I looked left and checked the under-mirror,
there was a woman pushing a bicycle

right in front of my truck,
looking at me with a surprised expression.
It was like she was saying, 'What? I'm a pedestrian!!'

If I hadn't checked the left and the under-mirror one more time back then,

it definitely would have been a personal injury accident,

and I probably wouldn't be here today.

Ah, I see. Even if a truck stops to check,
bicyclists and pedestrians
will assume the driver 'let them go'

before even making eye contact.
Even if the driver doesn't realize it,
they assume that and act on it. That was a lesson learned.

Humans have a habit of taking shortcuts,
and when pedestrians cross in front of a truck or car
(whether in front or behind),
they choose the shortest path
to where they want to go.

I learned that if you don't know and understand these two things,
and drive while taking them into account,
something terrible will happen.

Even if the driver is unaware of their presence,
a strong sense of priority works in them,
and they act based on the goal of 'I'm going first' rather than
acting safely.

To put it bluntly,
(they unconsciously think of themselves as vulnerable road users
who should be prioritized above all else),
please be aware that they will take dangerous actions
with a strong sense of priority.

They don't know about a truck's blind spots,
and they assume 'the driver is watching me.'

Here too,
without forgetting that you cannot control others,
always recognize that others equal a risk factor.

Since you cannot control them yourself,
you never know what kind of move they will make.


As I have written in other articles,
estimate the danger to be high,

and please drive safely
to avoid getting involved in trouble

by 'driving while considering that such things might happen.'
Stay safe.
Thank you so much

for sticking with me until the end.

Neko Turbo🐈