The local lottery hasn't been won for about 3 or 4 weeks, and the prize was about $40 million this week. Thinking that I might be a little luck, I had all intentions of buying the winning ticket all day. It was one of those things that I was always meant to do, and never got around to.
The day started in a lot more leisurely that the last few days. It was a 10 o'clock start, and because it was the weekend, the journey took only 20 minutes, instead of the normal weekday trip of 40-45 minutes. And I didn't have to take risk life and limb as often, trying to change lanes, or get onto, and off the motorway.
The Australia driver is so un-alert, and also very concerned about someone getting to somewhere before they do. I know I have moaned before, but it is still an ongoing problem. The motorway has big signs on it to remind the drivers that cars are going to merge when you get close to a junction. If while driving down the motorway, and need to change lanes, I would indicate, but here when you do it, then the car that is behind you in the lane you want to turn in accelerates up into the gap you are trying to move into. The way around this not to indicate anywhere, and just willy-nilly change lanes.
All this not indicating and not letting cars merge in and out of lanes means that during busy times the road grinds to a stop and peak hour driving is more like peak hour parking. I've not got my mind-reading skills in tune, and have just given up trying to go anywhere fast on the motorway when there is more than 3 cars on the motorway. Saturday means that this doesn't happen, and it was a breeze to go all the way to work.
Work was fine, and although we were busy, it was decent work, befitting of my position as a paramedic. We manipulated an on time finish (both of us were planning on go out – it was Saturday night after all). At 8 pm. off we went home. I left the ambulance depot, drove around the corner, and as it was dark and raining, I had been looking out the window, instead of trying to find some music to listen to while I was heading home.
Up ahead of me I saw a car coming towards me, in my lane. It then hit the taxi that had just gone speeding past me – head on. I slammed on the brakes in my little car, but as I glanced into the mirrors, I saw a red car behind me that wasn't paying attention, and it didn't look like it was going to come to a stop without hitting me. "This is going to hurt me a lot" was all that I thought.
The car that had hit the taxi almost head on went spinning past me, and hit the red car as well, and they both came to a dead stop, without touching my car. So picture the scene, a taxi with all the front of it smashed in, a red VW Golf behind me with the entire front smashed in, and an old Ute (pick up type car) with both the front and back smashed, all littered around my car, and not even a scratch on my car.
Anyway, after that was cleared up, I went home, and changed, before heading out to meet up with a couple friends of an evening out. While driving to Fremantle, I was almost crashed into again, and only the fact I was in the inside lane (I had seen the car getting ready to turn up ahead and move into the inside lane), and someone (not watching the road) accelerating into the space I'd just left meant that I didn't get hit a second time in about 1 hour. The other car was hit, but this time I didn't stop, because I'd had enough of getting wet (still raining) and it could feasibly say it happened behind me.
Two very near missed, both of with I escaped from unscathed. I didn't check the lottery numbers, but I guess that it was good because I think that I had used up all the luck that one person could have in a single day!
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