The sight of brake lights and then emergency lights ahead of me were a
kind of alarming. A queue of cars came in a standstill before a pedestrian
crossing. I walked out, to disgruntlement of other drivers, sitting in their
cars, who deluded the road would get unclogged quickly and my vehicle would
block the road. I expected to see a minor rear-ending rather than sight of a
woman and two children run over by a passenger car, a scene I would wish nobody
to witness.
It turned out among drivers who had stopped by there were two doctors
and people better than me trained in first aid who looked after victims of the
accident. After being assured the injured had been taken care of and the
ambulance and the police had been called in, I made away from the terrific
scene. I sincerely own up to feeling like passing out at the sight of blood or
mangled human body and though the obligation rescue a fellow man is stronger
than anything else, I prefer to leave handling such accidents to people who are
better prepared to do it.
The scene laid bare a full array of patterns of human behaviours in such
situations. Reassuringly, there always are ones who stop over and help, but
several selfish traits come to the light even when badly injured accident
victims are a few steps away. Firstly, sensation-chasing – I would not dare and
find it inappropriate to take photos or shoot films in such situations.
Secondly, impatience – standing face to face with an accident in which there
could have been fatalities is a sufficient reason to get you out of rush, while
several drivers’ biggest worry was how to pass the scene by and carry on with their
rush.
The police are looking for eye witnesses of the accident – meaning drivers
of cars whose brake light I saw had not even bothered to stay at the scene and
talk to the police which is crucial to find out what circumstances of the accident
were, especially whether the driver was speeding.
Sadly, the debate between commentators at TVN Warszawa’s forums turned
into a squabble between defenders of the motorised and of pedestrians. I don’t
know who is guilty of this accident, but as a pedestrian, as a cyclist and as a
driver I realise all traffic participants exhibit too little attention, predict
too little, fail to stick to the rule of limited trust to other traffic
participants. As a driver, I realise pedestrians and cyclists are weaker, less
predictable and less responsible road users, therefore I am to think on their behalf
as well and predict when and where they might appear out of the blue on the
road. As a cyclist, I prefer to use public roads as rarely as possible and use
cycling paths, pavements and roadsides, even if bumpy and I realise despite
much stride made, there is too little respect for cyclists and too much enmity
towards them. As a pedestrian, I still feel inferior to vehicles, a stance I had
been taught at home and at school and watch out twice before crossing a road,
especially if I realise a driver might not see me. As a fan of eco-driving, I
also prefer to wait until cars move by, as each braking and acceleration
consumes fuel and causes fumes emission…
The very experience of missing being an eye witness of the dreadful
accident by one cycle of traffic lights on a preceding intersection also
reminded me we constantly live on the edge and a bit of luck, stroke of fate or
some other factors might decide whether we live, die or our lives change
forever, as the life of driver who ran over the pedestrians will never be the
same, regardless of charges he faces. The frightful event has also reminded me
to be grateful for basic things: being in good health, with clear conscience
and not being stricken by a sternly distressing life event.
No comments:
Post a Comment