On the road tonight, there were difficult conditions; namely, it was raining hard and dark. I was returning home at roughly midnight when I saw a cyclist at the far edge of the right lane. He wasn't driving particularly straight, and presented a problem in that he might swerve into my path. Noting this, I made a decision: Should I just move slightly out of the lane to avoid the cyclist by presenting him some extra room, or fully change lanes in case of emergency?
I was very lucky tonight. I chose to switch lanes. As I was passing this cyclist, who had traveled slightly from the edge of the sidewalk further into the driving lane, he fell from his bicycle at the exact moment I was approaching his position. He fell perfectly perpendicular to the road, straight into my lane. At this point, I violently swerved out of the way. Even though I was an entire lane away, he fell far enough to present a danger to my lane.
Had I not changed lanes, instead of only giving him space, I would have hit him without a chance to avoid him. It was a close call even with my precautionary measures. He was only three feet from the side of my automobile. I was also lucky that no cars were in the opposing lane coming in my direction, or the situation would have been much more dire.
The cyclist was either drunk or using drugs. His erratic movements indicated it as much. As much I was not at fault, it would have been difficult for me after hitting someone with my car. Neither I or my passenger are trained enough in first aid (although we did have a cell phone), and it is hard to accept that one actually hit someone with an automobile, causing injuries or death. The legal and bureaucratic process that would have followed would have also been inconvenient.
Luckily, I did not have to be subject to any of this. The event ended itself as insignificant; yet, had it been slightly different, it would have been a life-changing event.
I was very lucky tonight. I chose to switch lanes. As I was passing this cyclist, who had traveled slightly from the edge of the sidewalk further into the driving lane, he fell from his bicycle at the exact moment I was approaching his position. He fell perfectly perpendicular to the road, straight into my lane. At this point, I violently swerved out of the way. Even though I was an entire lane away, he fell far enough to present a danger to my lane.
Had I not changed lanes, instead of only giving him space, I would have hit him without a chance to avoid him. It was a close call even with my precautionary measures. He was only three feet from the side of my automobile. I was also lucky that no cars were in the opposing lane coming in my direction, or the situation would have been much more dire.
The cyclist was either drunk or using drugs. His erratic movements indicated it as much. As much I was not at fault, it would have been difficult for me after hitting someone with my car. Neither I or my passenger are trained enough in first aid (although we did have a cell phone), and it is hard to accept that one actually hit someone with an automobile, causing injuries or death. The legal and bureaucratic process that would have followed would have also been inconvenient.
Luckily, I did not have to be subject to any of this. The event ended itself as insignificant; yet, had it been slightly different, it would have been a life-changing event.