Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Winter Leaf

Beauty and havoc, all on a morning stroll.
Walking in an early morning snow, you can come across a surprise or two. Until Sunday morning, I don't think I had ever seen a car accident take place live. I've always come across them after the fact, when it seems everyone is 'rubber-necking' for a closer look. Whether on the highway or in the city, it slows traffic to a crawl and often the those traveling by are more upset by the lost time then the occupants of the cars worried about damage incurred. Sunday, I happened to be approaching Franklin Street Arterial and looking straight ahead, when I  saw the Cooper run the stop sign. The driver had to be preoccupied with something, because they were the only vehicles in the vicinity. The sound of the impact wasn't too loud, but both cars suffered major damage and seemed to me undriveable. By the time I got to the intersection, one driver was out and about on her cell, and the other was moving around inside his car. Another walker nearby was already calling 911 to report the collision, so I kept walking. I don't think the light snow falling was a contributing factor at all. Just another case of driver inattention, I guess. 

15 comments:

  1. I really like your description of 'beauty and havoc'. It seems quite suiting for this photo, which is quite nice. Glad no one was seriously hurt in that car crash. It can be a little unnerving seeing something like that happen right before your eyes.

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  2. I bet it was kind of scary to witness. Sadly too many people are distracted now with their cell phones. Driving demands such total attention but everyone seems to think they are multi-taskers behind the wheel.

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  3. Hmm, one driver was out and about with a cell phone . . . inattention . . .

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  4. Love the image.

    I'm glad my car has hands-free phone stuff built in. It's terrific and I predict that it won't be too long before that will be standard in all cars.

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  5. I just wish drivers who are inattentive and run stop signs would leaf me alone!

    Nice wintry image!

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  6. whenever i'm stuck in traffic behind an accident, i always try to remember that i'm lucky to be behind it and not in it. :)

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  7. Witnessing an accident can be almost as jarring as being in one. I remember years ago I was sitting at a traffic light at the end of a freeway exit ramp when I saw a minivan approaching the cars that were stopping for the light on the cross street. Suddenly, the minivan swerved, hit the curb, flew into the air and landed on it's side. My heart was pounding the whole morning.

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  8. The only car crash I have seen was one that I was in and I was OK as were the others -- how lucky we all were! barbara

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  9. And there is that moment when you are thinking, 'Wait, wait, stop!' And if you had a magic wand, you could stop the crash. . . if only, if only.

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  10. The leaf looks a bit lost...caught in the snow, stopped from its journey for awhile...Mostly in the city I see drivers speeding through red lights, but it's deliberate...I'm glad there aren't more accidents.

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  11. Good thing it wasn't headed your way. Nice shot.

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  12. Interesting. They call it rubber-necking in NY and NJ, too, but out here they call it a gaper block. The worst thing I've see on the roads is when a pedestrian fell, or possible jumped, from an overpass above the Interstate right in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes and barely avoided running him over. That'll mess up your day.

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  13. Love the oak leaf image. There are many like that here. The crash is disturbing; those things hang with me longer than lovely images.

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  14. I'm confused. The image I see is of a leaf in the snow.

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