HANG UP AND DRIVE
I have to admit, I have used my cell phone while driving my car. In fact, it's a very hard habit to break. I did have an experience on the bus though that has made me think twice about doing this again.
I was coming off the highway in St. Paul driving route 53 heading back to south Minneapolis. At the top of the ramp is Snelling avenue. It's a very busy street, especially at rush hour. The stoplight at the top of the ramp was green for me. I did as I was trained to do. I looked left and saw traffic was stopped. I looked right and saw traffic was stopped. I again looked left as the bus was about to the crosswalk and saw a car flying through the only empty lane. I had no time to stop or divert the bus. I smashed into the side of the car. As I did so, I saw the female driver on her cell phone and her eyes got huge as she saw the bus hit her. Her car spun around a couple times and, as it slowed, it seemed to back in between the two lanes of traffic that were stopped at their red light on Snelling in the opposite direction she was coming from. In doing so, she hit three other vehicles causing slight damage to all of them. No one in those cars was injured. I was amazed to see she didn't take the phone away from her ear and put it down until her car came to a complete stop.
I immediately made sure everyone on my bus was okay, called for an ambulance for the driver of the car and went out to check on her. She was still belted in and the cell phone sat on the front passenger seat. I asked if she was alright and she told me her arms were tingling. I was thinking she may be paralyzed but stayed calm so she didn't get scared. One of the bystanders wanted to take her seatbelt off of her, but I insisted to leave it and let the paramedics handle it. It is better to leave it on to help support her than to take it off and move her and possibly cause her further injury or ,worse yet, paralyze her. (I took a First Responder course a long time ago...It teaches you that stuff).
She went to the hospital and I was taken immediately for drug and alcohol testing. That is required if you have an injury accident. Of course, all test came back negative and I thought that was the end of it for me. It wasn't. This chick decided to take it to court! My guess is she wanted to get out of the tickets she got so her insurance wouldn't go up and open up the possibility of a lawsuit against me and/or the bus company. I couldn't believe it. First she causes an accident by running a red light while yapping on her cell phone and then she wants to take it to court! Whatever happened to personal responsibility??
In court, she lied in front of God and everybody. Thankfully, the three people she hit after I hit her were all there. So was the transit cop...Who was there IN UNIFORM, with his wife no less, on his day off!! And of course I was there with the written statements from passengers on the bus that I had gotten right after the accident. In fact, one even wrote about the fact she didn't put the phone down until the car stopped spinning. Everyone testified that the girl ran the red light while talking on her phone. She even admitted she was on the phone...With her mom...But denied running the red light. She claimed that I was the one that ran the light! If that was so true, why wasn't her mom there to back her up since she claimed that's what she was saying to her mom at the time of impact? Gee, I think I can answer that...BECAUSE SHE WAS LYING!!
Everyone but her knew she ran the red light and testified to it. The judge told her she lost her case and it was over. I was so angry! As the attorney and judge were gathering their things to leave, I asked the attorney (loud enough for the judge to hear) if there wasn't something called perjury? How should this liar be allowed to drag all these people into the courtroom just so she can try and get out of her responsibilities? The officer was supposed to be enjoying his day off with his wife (they had made plans to go to the lake), all three of the other people, who already had to deal with the damage to their vehicles, had to abandon work or whatever they had planned for that day. I had to be taken off my work to go to court. Not to mention the Judge and the attorneys...All dragged in to court over this girl trying not to be responsible for her own actions..And probably trying to clear the way to file a bogus lawsuit next! I was so angry. The lawyer just said that people have a right to take issues to court. Fine, I understand that. But when you are found to be lying and scheming, you should be made to pay for ALL the related expenses. Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for any of that. This would also take care of a lot of bogus people tying up the court system in hopes of making a buck or just trying to get out of taking care of their responsibilities. When they are proven to be liars wasting everyones time and money, make them pay for it all. Heck, give them some jail time and a fine, too. Just think, consequences for your actions...hmmm...What a marvelous idea!!
Anyway, I was glad to see she was alright. Not paralyzed or seeming to have any permanent injury. Even though she was wrong, you don't want to see anyone hurt badly. In fact, I wanted to thank her for teaching me something and tell her I was glad she was okay. I never got the chance. She glared at me and the only words she spoke to me had anger and hatred behind them. I decided to just ignore her and let her live in her own bitter world.
Please, if you are driving...Hang up the phone. I know it is a hard, hard habit to break. Just think...If this girl not only did not see all the red lights over and on the sides of the street, but she didn't even notice that all the lanes of traffic around her (I believe there are 4-5 there) were stopped (that's usually a clue!) it truly is a major distraction to be talking on the phone. How would you feel if you killed someone, a child maybe? It would be hard to live with. I can't say I am perfect and have never been on the phone again while driving. I do try and ask myself before I do it though..."Can it wait? Is it really THAT important?" The life you save may be your own!!
I was coming off the highway in St. Paul driving route 53 heading back to south Minneapolis. At the top of the ramp is Snelling avenue. It's a very busy street, especially at rush hour. The stoplight at the top of the ramp was green for me. I did as I was trained to do. I looked left and saw traffic was stopped. I looked right and saw traffic was stopped. I again looked left as the bus was about to the crosswalk and saw a car flying through the only empty lane. I had no time to stop or divert the bus. I smashed into the side of the car. As I did so, I saw the female driver on her cell phone and her eyes got huge as she saw the bus hit her. Her car spun around a couple times and, as it slowed, it seemed to back in between the two lanes of traffic that were stopped at their red light on Snelling in the opposite direction she was coming from. In doing so, she hit three other vehicles causing slight damage to all of them. No one in those cars was injured. I was amazed to see she didn't take the phone away from her ear and put it down until her car came to a complete stop.
I immediately made sure everyone on my bus was okay, called for an ambulance for the driver of the car and went out to check on her. She was still belted in and the cell phone sat on the front passenger seat. I asked if she was alright and she told me her arms were tingling. I was thinking she may be paralyzed but stayed calm so she didn't get scared. One of the bystanders wanted to take her seatbelt off of her, but I insisted to leave it and let the paramedics handle it. It is better to leave it on to help support her than to take it off and move her and possibly cause her further injury or ,worse yet, paralyze her. (I took a First Responder course a long time ago...It teaches you that stuff).
She went to the hospital and I was taken immediately for drug and alcohol testing. That is required if you have an injury accident. Of course, all test came back negative and I thought that was the end of it for me. It wasn't. This chick decided to take it to court! My guess is she wanted to get out of the tickets she got so her insurance wouldn't go up and open up the possibility of a lawsuit against me and/or the bus company. I couldn't believe it. First she causes an accident by running a red light while yapping on her cell phone and then she wants to take it to court! Whatever happened to personal responsibility??
In court, she lied in front of God and everybody. Thankfully, the three people she hit after I hit her were all there. So was the transit cop...Who was there IN UNIFORM, with his wife no less, on his day off!! And of course I was there with the written statements from passengers on the bus that I had gotten right after the accident. In fact, one even wrote about the fact she didn't put the phone down until the car stopped spinning. Everyone testified that the girl ran the red light while talking on her phone. She even admitted she was on the phone...With her mom...But denied running the red light. She claimed that I was the one that ran the light! If that was so true, why wasn't her mom there to back her up since she claimed that's what she was saying to her mom at the time of impact? Gee, I think I can answer that...BECAUSE SHE WAS LYING!!
Everyone but her knew she ran the red light and testified to it. The judge told her she lost her case and it was over. I was so angry! As the attorney and judge were gathering their things to leave, I asked the attorney (loud enough for the judge to hear) if there wasn't something called perjury? How should this liar be allowed to drag all these people into the courtroom just so she can try and get out of her responsibilities? The officer was supposed to be enjoying his day off with his wife (they had made plans to go to the lake), all three of the other people, who already had to deal with the damage to their vehicles, had to abandon work or whatever they had planned for that day. I had to be taken off my work to go to court. Not to mention the Judge and the attorneys...All dragged in to court over this girl trying not to be responsible for her own actions..And probably trying to clear the way to file a bogus lawsuit next! I was so angry. The lawyer just said that people have a right to take issues to court. Fine, I understand that. But when you are found to be lying and scheming, you should be made to pay for ALL the related expenses. Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for any of that. This would also take care of a lot of bogus people tying up the court system in hopes of making a buck or just trying to get out of taking care of their responsibilities. When they are proven to be liars wasting everyones time and money, make them pay for it all. Heck, give them some jail time and a fine, too. Just think, consequences for your actions...hmmm...What a marvelous idea!!
Anyway, I was glad to see she was alright. Not paralyzed or seeming to have any permanent injury. Even though she was wrong, you don't want to see anyone hurt badly. In fact, I wanted to thank her for teaching me something and tell her I was glad she was okay. I never got the chance. She glared at me and the only words she spoke to me had anger and hatred behind them. I decided to just ignore her and let her live in her own bitter world.
Please, if you are driving...Hang up the phone. I know it is a hard, hard habit to break. Just think...If this girl not only did not see all the red lights over and on the sides of the street, but she didn't even notice that all the lanes of traffic around her (I believe there are 4-5 there) were stopped (that's usually a clue!) it truly is a major distraction to be talking on the phone. How would you feel if you killed someone, a child maybe? It would be hard to live with. I can't say I am perfect and have never been on the phone again while driving. I do try and ask myself before I do it though..."Can it wait? Is it really THAT important?" The life you save may be your own!!
posted by Jeanne Ree at 11:26 AM
15 Comments:
If that was in Aus the girl would have been denied all insurance and copped MASSIVE fines from the police, probably would have had to pay out your company as well.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, how was your bus?
The bus had a bike rack on the front that took most of the damage. Also broke one headlight and damaged around that area. Really wasn't too bad. The bus is one of few vehicles on the road that still has a sturdy metal bumper.
I bet you have a lot less bogus lawsuits in your country. Which means a lot less wasted court time so REAL issues can be heard instead of BS like this stuff. We could learn from you!
First step is to not make entertainment out of court cases...i'm honestly still not sure if judge judy is staged or not, if it isn't then she is breaking soooo many ethics. (AUTHERS NOTE: not a pun at America, just a pun at reality t.v)
I understand what you're saying though, sounds like a situation that would infuriate even the most patient person (I would have gone crazy), but hey - you came out on top and that's all that really matters at the end of the day (In my opinion :P).
Yep, I won again...it's kind of a habit. Hehehe.
Judge Judy is just the tip of the iceberg!! There are at LEAST half a dozen judge shows on now. It really does send a bad message...not to mention making our general population look like a bunch of uneducated losers!
Speaking of uneducated losers...the grammer in that last sentence looks incorrect to me. OOPS! I already posted it! Now I'm just one of THEM!! uh oh
Ahahaha i doubt that, the grammer looks fine. Besides you're only an American citizen, Lassie.
If i ever caught your bus i'd be sure to sit in the peanut seat for a good yarn.
OK...it's the tense that is wrong. It should be "make" not "making...because I said "send" and not "sending" in the first part of the sentence. Now, we won't get into how I use punctuation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do what I wanna, it's my right as an American citizen,,tee hee hee.
Just as my right as an Australian is to live in the shadow of the U.S democracy!!
Haha i start doing some work or i'll get in trouble, i'll be sure to read tomorrow!
Hey Aaron, I enjoy your comments. Do you have a blog as well?
Nay, i had one though but only found time to write two entry. I forget what it is called though.
If you want to read an interesting blog then go to my friends one (It's pretty sinister though) at http://zoopigeon.blogspot.com/
It's the only other blog i read.
I'm gonna have to check that one out. I'll let your friend know you sent me. If he has any advertisements, I'll click on them. If his is like mine, the more clicks on the adds (and/or purchases) the more $$ he can make.
I don't know if you've checked out any of my links. "kid puck" is hilarious. Check it out! Also, The condo rental is my brothers..if you(or anyone you know) ever plan to come to the ol' USA...it's a GREAT place. Right across the street from the Gulf of Mexico!! That's where I spent last Christmas (thanks again,Big Bro'!!)
Thanks again for your comments. Makes the site much more fun!
Haha hmm, i don't think i can afford to travel yet, but i wouldn't mind going to US. I regret to admit i have no idea where minneapolis is (But i feel better because i bet you have no idea where Wangaratta is :P).
As for links and advertisments...I tend to avoid links because at work links can be pretty dangerous, as for the advertisments - not really my thing unfortuently.
Wanga-what? Yep, you got me there! Minneapolis is in the upper middle section of the USA, next to Canada actually.
I'm not familiar with links being dangerous...unless they come in an email from someone you don't know. Then you can catch a virus. Then again, you said "at work" so maybe I'm missing something...u have a mean boss? by the way, what kind of work do you do? (if it's none of my business, just say so...I'm not easily offended. ;)
Nah it's nothing to do with dangerous, just if you click on a random link and it opens a site you shouldn't be in at work (It all gets logged by my boss).
As for work (I stated in another comment) i work at the local hospital as an Information Technology systems operater. Which pretty much means i have to make sure all the computer systems, printers (And other peripherals) and users are all in working order. Not a bad job, can get frustrating and allthough it probably doesn't look like it from your perspective (Aka - me reading blogs at work), i do work my ass off :P
You're right though, in comparrison it sounds like i don't love my job as much as you love yours (you wrote a blog about it!), but i sure as hell love it alot.
That job would bore me to death. I need a little more excitement. My sister has an office job, but she does it from home...rough, huh?
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