Roads and Hazards
The end of another busy week is upon me so its time for a little muse about life and this time its about driving and the roads here in not so sunny Girvan. A few of you will know already that I had a very nearly bad accident in the middle of the week but no one yet knows of what happened only a couple of hours ago. Let me fill you in.
Back on Tuesday I was puttering back home in the car along the some of the same roads I usually drive. These roads are on the whole winding country roads with many little hazards such as blind corners, steep hills, tight bends, missing verges and the occasional insane tourist standing in the apex taking pictures for the folks back home. On the whole this is ok as I know the roads and drive with care but on Tuesday as I listen to some Peter Green (upcoming music posting) there was a flash of red and then a bullet like crack before a splash of blood and broken bones shot across my wind shield. I did not see what I had hit as it jumped out of the forested verge and its head connected with my wing mirror. After stopping (I was in the car on my own) I collected myself and after stopping went to investigate. It was not a person…. I had hit a Deer. Deer are common around here but I have not see many. It had been killed instantly, its head obliterated by the wing mirror. The car was not damaged at all aside from marks on the mirror. I think myself fortunate for this as if it had been a fraction of a second earlier then it could have been through the wind shield or worse. The poor animal and I met by fluke chance at that precise moment.
Today as I drove home…on the same road…another event took place. Not as dramatic but potentially more dangerous. The road in question is prone to weather related debris and this time as I rounded a bend I saw something in the road. Small items like branches you drive around, likewise little rocks. But this was a ruddy great rock sitting in the middle of the lane. It had rolled down from the slope next to the road. I could not in all good conscience just leave it there. So I stopped and put all of my warning lights on; then went to move it. So in the rain and mud I sized it up. It must have weighed more than 70lbs and it took some effort to lift. I pushed it down the opposite slope into the river. Despite being muddy and wet and the risk of being hit by a mad courier driver or big rig loaded with timber I feel I did the right thing. A bit of stone that size, in the dark, is invisible, and could easily cause a fatal crash. If I had heard of this later, having done nothing, it would have been heavy on my mind.
So there you go. It ain’t all just wargaming and such for me. Sometimes adventure awaits!
GBS