Mr. Norwegian: Part Two

Mr. Norwegian: Part One

We turned left from a dark side street onto the main road a few moments after the light turned green. Just a few more minutes and we’d be back to Jovana’s apartment. But, as soon as we entered the intersection we knew we were in trouble with no way to escape.

Bright headlights were coming straight for us.

There was no where to go.

Squealing brakes.

Crunching car.

Screaming erupts from the back seat.

Our car stalls.

Jocelyn starts to cry.

It’s her door that’s been smashed.

We look at our light.

It’s still green.

Jovana jumped out of our car to chase the guy down. Hit and runs in Belgrade are common and there was no way she was going to let this guy get away. Turns out the driver wasn’t going to flee. He got out of his vehicle, a bit stunned. He missed seeing his red light because he’d been looking just beyond it at the green arrow marking his reversible lane as open. An unfortunate, but easy mistake to make. He tries to stop. Or swerve. Or do something. Anything. But it’s too late. We’ve been hit.

Our situation remains precarious. Like targets, we are sitting in the middle of the intersection vulnerable to getting hit again.

I get out, run around to the driver’s seat, put on the hazard lights and try to start the car. Nothing happens. Yikes! A line of cars slowly begins to go around us. Jovana calls out, “don’t move the car!” She wants the police to see everything in its original position….they’re now on their way.

My thoughts immediately went back to the driving instructor conversation Jovana and I had been having literally two minutes prior to the crash. And I chuckle. I know this collision isn’t her fault. But the irony of it all is pretty humorous.

While waiting for the police, another random officer happened upon us. First he checked to make sure we were okay. Drivers who cause injury to others in Belgrade don’t just get a ticket. They go to jail.

I didn’t know for sure but I thought we were. Jocelyn, asleep before the crash, cried for a minute as it was happening and then fell back asleep. The officer wanted to make sure she was okay and to call an ambulance, if necessary.

I got out to open her door. It was stuck. I put my whole body into it, grabbed the handle and gave it my best pull. Success! Jocelyn didn’t wake up when I took her out but nuzzled into my shoulder seeking comfort from the chill night air.

The officer directed us to move our car, which thankfully started immediately, onto the sidewalk and out of traffic. A large back up had already formed and needed release. After getting everyone in a safe holding pattern, the officer left and we waited for the officers dispatched to our collision to arrive.

While we waited, the guy who hit us, who we now call Mr. Norwegian (he’s from Norway), came over to our vehicle. I got out. “Do you speak English?” I asked. “Yes,” he replied. We shook hands as introduced ourselves. “You know there are better ways to go about meeting people,” I said with a grin.

Complements of Facebook you now have Mr. Norwegian's photo.

Would you drive with a skeleton to save a few minutes?

A Washington driver was recently busted for driving in the HOV lane with a plastic skeleton sitting in the passenger seat. The police officer found the boney passenger dressed in a hooded sweatshirt after pulling the car over for speeding and making unsafe lane changes.

The driver was slapped with a $454 ticket for the HOV lane violation, speeding, and unsafe lane changes. At least the skeleton was wearing his seatbelt, so there was no seatbelt violation.

Really? I enjoy driving in the HOV lanes, but driving next to a skeleton seems pretty creepy to me. I'm shocked at the lengths that this man went to drive in the HOV lanes. Is it really worth it to save a few minutes?

You can read the whole story here.

 Image source: Washington State Patrol

Law Enforcement Rant

This morning started out innocent enough checking my Facebook homepage. One of my old jr. high friends posted about getting a ticket in the mail for making an incomplete stop 2 months prior. Knowing that one city in our area is notorious for red light tickets I made a little joke about it. Come to find out I had the right city. And then a few more posts later another old friend chimes in that he accidentally ran that same red light in that same intersection and is now nervous about getting a ticket in the mail, too.

So this afternoon when I found that I needed to drive in this city, I was pretty nervous. I mean really. I'm NOT a red light runner. I have personally never gotten a ticket in the mail (though some of our driving students have). I should have nothing to worry about. So then why am I paranoid? On the freeway going to this city I saw a trooper on the side of the road. It didn't look like he had a radar, but he must have. I was driving with the flow of traffic with a nice space cushion on 3 sides of me. I checked my speed 63 in a 60. I tapped my brakes. Then I see the trooper's finger motion someone to the side of the road. Is it me? Really? For 3 over? Maybe it wasn't me. I kept driving. So did the car in the next lane. Then the trooper got in his car and actually pulled over the other car. Phew! Is that bad to be thankful it wasn't me? I was really careful after that as I was driving in the infamous traffic ticket city and the afternoon proceeded without incident.

Going home there was a lot of traffic. It would have been hard to speed...except in the carpool lane where I was. I got nervous again when I spotted a County Sheriff pull out around the car in back of me and come speeding up along side me. Again I checked my speed. This time 60 in a 60. And this guy raced by me (no lights or sirens) and weaved in and out of any cars that got in his way.

Is this for real? Our law enforcement should set a good example by also following the law. Certainly this speeding Sheriff writes traffic tickets. Yet how can he throw stones when he lives in a glass house? It reminds me of the time I literally slammed on my brakes and left tire marks on the road to keep from T-boning a city policeman who pulled out in front of me. He was turning left in front of me from a two way stop. I didn't have a stop sign was going 30 miles per hour. And the officer? It didn't phase him. I honestly don't think he even saw me. I called the police chief about that one. Though didn't offer them my services as a driving instructor, I probably should have.

Law enforcement should be pulling over reckless drivers. Not ones that go with the flow of traffic. And if NO ONE is around at a red light and you've been waiting for at least several minutes to go, is it really so bad to just go? It is if there's a red light camera.

I Admit It

I admit it. We're not perfect. And by we, I mean me. And our company. And our employees and (gasp) even our customers. And for the most part it doesn't matter. We do NON-threatening illegal activities every day. And by illegal, I mean breaking traffic laws. Laws like making complete stops and using hands-free cell phones or staying within the speed limit even if I'm driving down the steepest hill in the vicinity.