Anyhoo, to get back on point - my first time driving in a storm!
I was expecting a lovely warm day with blue skies and sunshine through to the late afternoon today (sounds like a weather report hey... Haha). I was really looking forward to one of those after all the dreariness of late and had planned a walk and everything! My phone weather app said today was to be 27 degrees Celsius and the radio said 32 (and kept saying it after every news report on the head of every hour!)
So, we're sitting in the office busy getting along with our work. Sun is shining brightly and I'm optimistic about going for that walk later on. Then, gradually the weather starts to change. The bright sunlight is no more. The sky is dull. The office is dark. I'm so glued to the computer screen that I don't realize just how dramatically the outside environment has become until the other lady mentions it to me and I look out... It looks like the middle of the night! And this is at about one 'o clock in the afternoon.
I'm like, "yoh!" and get back to work. The other lady leaves about 13:20ish pm to run some errands. About 13:30 pm the boss comes to reception and is like, "yoh its pretty scary hey". Then asks me how far along I am with the work (tomorrow is the deadline for submission). So I tell him about half way. He looks outside... Then tells me I'd rather leave now, "it looks like its going to storm badly".
I look outside, it looks like night, but with an eerie orange tint to it - freaky.
So I'm like sure, "okay, thanks", close up the office and get my stuff. By the time I do all of this its about 13:35 pm. Just as I step out of the office the rain comes down. I dart to the car and it starts to come down heavier. I get into the car, start it and leave. As I come to the first robot a few paces away from the office it starts to POUR!
I reach the mall and the rain is just flooding down. I can barely see so I drive super slow. At this point I realize that, "Hey! All these cars have their lights on! I need to put my lights ON!" And so I do, except, it doesn't seem to make a difference to me! So I'm not sure if they're really on even though the panel thing with the speedometer and what not has lit up. So I start moving the "stick" around to see if the lights really are on. I messed with the indicators and bright lights until deciding that this was far more dangerous than driving without lights. And decided to go on faith that the lights were on.
As you drive pass the mall there are a series of little roundabouts/traffic circles (whatever those evil contraptions are called). You've got to yield to oncoming traffic already in the circle and only when the way is clear can you go on your way. At one of these I have to come to a stop. There's a long line of cars queued up to get into the mall on the left. I inch forward trying to get a gap in to go pass. I even put my right indicator on so that people can see I do NOT wish to turn left into the mall, but rather go on out of the little traffic jam. I'm inching slightly forward trying to get a gap and after one car moves there is a bit of a gap so I think I can get through. But, alas, a driver, in their huge SUV zooms by, blocking the road! I just do NOT understand selfish drivers! They still had to join the queue and wait behind a few other cars before entering. What harm would have been done if they just gave me a gap to go through? *angry face*
Eventually I make a gap for myself and go through. Get pass the mall and what not and as I head onto the highway I start to hear sounds that sound more like little bangs than the hard gush of heavy rain against the car. I realize its now hailing. Thank goodness nothing major, just little hailstones. But its enough to make me more scared. It becomes even more difficult to see anything beyond my dashboard. I drove at a speed of 80 on the highway! Off the highway I was driving about 40/50 - battling to see. Praying the whole time that I get home safe and don't knock anything or anyone.
Going up the Mountain Rise stretch I begin to contemplate puling over somewhere. Maybe at Northway Mall, to just sit out the storm 'cause I was really terrified about being unable to see a thing. But I think about having to find the turn off to get off the road... And then maneuvering through the narrow spaces of the parking lot and the crowd of cars to get through and even park when I can barely see and decide against it. Also, if I just keep at it I should be home soon.
I regret the decision when I continue on and the car in front of me, whose hazards I'd been using to keep me on track, start to disappear. But, there's no point in changing my mind now. Rather journey on and get home. I probably ended up on either end of my lane a good few times. I just went super slow so that if there were any cars in front of me that I failed to see I'd have enough time to brake. I followed the cars lights in front of me when I could, especially when turning, as I couldn't see the turn offs! When there were no cars in front of me I had to just go on wild guesses, random judging and memory... I miss located a speed bump, but luckily I was driving so slowly it didn't do any harm. Going down another road I didn't see a car parked off on the side of the road (which I really wish people wouldn't do!) and I had to swerve out of the way at the last minute (and I'm more than grateful for that last minute!)
When I enter the road just before the final road that leads to my house, I realize that the main reason I can't see so well, is not because of the bad weather (well not entirely because of the weather), but because the car is misted! I felt like such an idiot! I'd been suffering all this time when I could have seen at least 40% better if I'd had the demister on! I was so terrified about driving in the rain I didn't think to think about mist.
I got home, parked the car and watched the hail continue to come down from the safety of shelter. I was still shaking from the whole experience. But, once I got over that, I was pretty chuffed with myself for making it through my first storm. *smiles all around*
A few minutes later... It stopped storming... If I'd left work at the usual time I would have missed the storm on either end (it started storming again later. Actually stormed like two or three more times and stopped - maybe even four times...). But, I can't really complain, how many bosses would let their employees off early so that they could miss a storm and not have to drive in it...
And, seen as that didn't work out, I did get the experience of driving in a storm/bad weather... And I now know to check the demister!
 |
| How I felt while IN the car |
 |
| How I felt after I got OUT of the car |
No comments:
Post a Comment