Friday, December 04, 2009

Here I Come to Save the Day!!!


So.... I was minding my own business on my drive home yesterday when I topped the hill on I-24 right before the Sam Ridley Pkway exit. I noticed that there were blue lights on the overpass and that meant the traffic exiting the interstate was backed up quite a bit.
Because I'm such a good girl, I took my foot off the gas pedal and tried to determine if I wanted to pass this exit and go to the next, or if it was moving enough to head off at the correct location. It looked to be moving... just slowly. So, I planned to make the exit.
UNTIL.
Mr. Speedy Gonzalez on a Yamaha motorcycle FLEW past me on my left and cut in front of my car. The problem was that Mr. G was not paying attention and was moving FAST upon that long line of stopped traffic. I was on the phone with a friend and hung up on her in order to dial 911.
Why? Because Mr. G slammed on the front brakes of his bike and immediately flew himself up in the air, flipping a couple of times before landing in a grassy patch on the side of the road. Where he lay. Motionless.
I pulled over immediately, as did a nurse and a couple other women to see if this man were injured and/or dead.
He finally stood up and was rather shaken up. He wanted to just get back on his bike and drive away, but he could not pick the bike up. We Three Women assisted him and after a number of tries, he was able to get the bike started again. However, he was pretty disoriented and the nurse and I really did our best to help him out. She got his cell phone out and helped him place a call to a family friend while I watched the ambulance and State Troopers arrive on the scene.
As I was the only actual eyewitness, I spoke for a minute or two to the Troopers who thought it would be a great idea for Mr. G to step into the ambulance and get checked out. He did, and they worked to move the bike. I was released to leave and I did. Here are some ideas:
1. Be aware of your surroundings when you are driving.
2. Look ahead and see what is going on around you and when the Speedies of the world pass and get in your lane... take your foot off the gas and prepare to slow down/stop.
3. Try NOT to be that Speedy guy.
4. Be VERY aware of motorcyclists.
5. Be very aware of where you are so you can give accurate directions to emergency personnel should you need to contact them.
6. Be careful out there. Buckle up those seat belts. (Requelle...that means you!!!)

1 comment:

Mary said...

Ouch. I'm glad the guy wasn't hurt too badly, but I sure hope he learned something. We are supposed to watch for motorcycles and I do, but I think there may need to be an IQ test given before licenses are handed out to some of these guys.