Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Have you ever been on the road and seen someone asleep at the wheel?

Last night on the way home, I looked in my rear view to see the guy behind me with his head back on the headrest, his mouth open, and his eyes closed.

It's the strangest thing to feel that kind of panic, contemplating all the disaster that could happen in a millisecond.
I considered honking my horn, but was afraid that if I shocked him awake, he might over-compensate and kill himself and others (including me).
We know someone who died just that way on Thanksgiving weekend a few years ago driving to Niagara Falls late at night.

What did I do?

Moved into the far right lane...afraid to slow down, in case he rear ended me.

As he passed me, it really did look like he was a sleeping passenger in the driver's seat.

It was weird.

But, he must have woken up, because there was no accident or anything, and traffic moved as usual.

It's frightening to think of how many people probably doze off at the wheel.