Monday, April 12, 2010

A Close Call.

I was traveling home in unusual weather. I was fighting a headwind.

I had just turned north on FM 1722 away from our airport. I could hear that there was some traffic behind me waiting to clear the sharp turn in the road before overtaking me.

As usual, I paid them no mind. It is, after all, their responsibility to overtake slower traffic in a safe manner and with due care.

The engine pitch changed as they accelerated to overtake me.

I suddenly became alarmed at their behavior. They were passing me on the right!

There is no improved shoulder here, and it is a steep drop off into the ditch. He is overtaking me fast, his engine screaming as he floors it! I can only imagine him losing control and skidding into me!

I glance over my right shoulder to see which way to dodge.

There is no car in the ditch. Or behind me…

As I glanced behind me in alarm, I realize that the “traffic” I heard is a single engine airplane taking off from the airport and climbing over my head!
I had a good chuckle at how my hearing and traffic “bias” fooled me!

5 comments:

  1. The mind can be a terrible thing, can't it?

    Many years ago, I was driving an ICE vehicle. Stopped at a traffic light with cars surrounding me, a slight downward incline. The light was red and remained red. My foot was firmly on the brake, transmission in neutral, yet I was rolling backwards, uphill. The harder I pressed on the brake, the farther it seemed I rolled.

    All the other cars around me had begun to inch forward, en masse.

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  2. I search the skies on my rides home; T-38's from Shepherd AFB are the third best things I've seen yet! #1 was an AA DC-3 and #2 was an AH-1W Cobra. #4 were F/A-18 of various flavors.

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  3. Well, Reed, if you ever see a Tupelov, run for your life!
    Peace :)

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