SHE SAYS...

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 6

SHE SAYS...

Driving into town the other day was quite a nerve-wracking experience: within a few minutes I saw two minor accidents, which, I found, sharpened my accident-consciousness so much that I was all too aware that the next time it might be me that was involved.

First, I saw a woman who was parking give the car in front of her quite a solid bump — quite enough to do some damage. She didn’t seem to notice, but when she stopped again a little further away I told her what she had done. I know how I’d feel if I came back and found our car damaged, and no note left, so I was determined to do something. She thanked me for pointing out the damage, and left a note for the car’s owner.

The second accident was more serious. There was suddenly a fearful crash from behind me, and I looked into the rear-vision mirror to see that the car which had been driving behind me for some distance had hit the opened door of a small car parked by the road. Apparently the woman in the car had flung open the door without looking, and the hapless fellow approaching — he had been moving into position for a left turn at the next intersection — had no chance to avoid it. The amount of damage to

the door was quite remarkable, but the shaken woman was, by a considerable stroke of luck, quite uninjured. A second or so later and she would have begun to step out. It shows how tremendously dangerous it can be to open a car’s door without looking. After this second episode, I think I was anticipating other drivers’ moves with such concentration that I almost knew what they were likely to do before they had thought of a move themselves! Seriously, though, alertness is so very important in today’s traffic —and not only when driving. There must be lots of pedestrians and cyclists who would have avoided accidents if they had been more alert.