Tuesday, December 07, 2010

A close call

I had one of my most disturbing brushes with death in a long time this weekend.


The more disturbing, I think, because I realise it was largely my own fault.

I've spoken on here often of how murderously incompetent Beijing drivers are, but I've also noted - taken some pride in - how highly attuned I've become to this peril, how alert and agile I am when crossing the road here.

On Sunday night, I suffered a brief and unnaccountable lapse in this alertness.

There was a long line of cars on my side of the road (backed up from a traffic light about 200 yards away), but nothing much in the far lane - so, I started crossing.  And, out of nowhere, a big black Audi appeared and nearly ran me down.

It had a very quiet engine (and, mercifully, it wasn't going that fast).  And I suppose the brisk wind was taking its sound away from me.  And I guess it must have been in a blind spot, concealed behind the stationary cars nearer to me as I started to cross the road.

My mind, I confess, was distracted with other thoughts.  And I had been lulled into inattentiveness by the apparent lack of traffic at this time of the evening.  Luckily, I still had my wits about me sufficiently to be checking for the possibility of bicycles - or the particularly dangerous, silent-but-deadly electric bikes - as I began to cross the far lane.... and was thus saved from a squishing.

It wasn't just the physical danger that so discombobulated me, but the reeling sense of cognitive dissonance: I really had no idea where that car had come from, I was convinced that it could not have been there.

Yes, I am being more careful now.  Even more careful.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eek scary. Yeah, I've found that lately I've taken the occasionally problematic attitude of many New Yorkers re: traffic: "I have right of way, so if they want to hit me I can sue them." (The natural finish to this thought, "but then I'd be dead," gets caught in the pipe somewhere and thus logic is disrupted.) I know you're better than I am, though; I've read about it here before.

Anyway, glad you survived your run-in.

Froog said...

Thanks for the concern, WYM.

It's been quite a while since I was in New York, even for a few hours, but my recollection is that the traffic there was pretty well-behaved: observing signals, slowing down and/or stopping for pedestrians, not going stupidly fast or lane-changing manically. But then, in Manhattan at least, it's about 80% cabs, and those guys are mostly pretty good at what they do.

Still can't get over the feeling that this car appeared to have materialized out of thin air - and if I hadn't taken a second (and a third) look, I would have stepped right in front of it.