Q: Typically the visitors gods work towards you.
Stan Gage, Portola Valley
A: Off we go on one driver’s painful journey final week from Palo Alto to Oakland, San Leandro, Oakland and again to Palo Alto.
Q: The night progressed from absurdity at 4 p.m. to 2 life-threatening occasions round 8:30 p.m, to completely bizarre at 8:47 p.m.
It began once we entered Freeway 101 at Oregon Expressway and moved over to the No. 2 lane. However for the reason that specific lane was shifting slower than our lane, it didn’t make sense to maneuver farther over.
Stan Gage
A: From there, the visitors gods grew to become … turbulent.
Q: We had been strolling again to our automobile after dinner at a restaurant. A automobile roared by a crosswalk we had been in, barely lacking us. If I’d been faster on the draw, I might have added some good striping to the automobile’s paint job with my keys.
This could have been sufficient pleasure for one night. Little did we all know, we had been simply getting began.
Stan Gage
A: Uh-oh.
Q: A couple of minutes later, after we had waited at a cease gentle to show left onto San Leandro Avenue, a automobile got here dashing by at 40-plus mph. This was most likely a full 5 seconds after the sunshine modified to inexperienced for me. As I usually test for simply this chance, a bit of warning most likely saved my life in what would have been a nasty “T-bone” accident.
OK, two near-misses for a visit to eternity. However nonetheless extra pleasure awaited us.
Stan Gage
A: Then …
Q: We entered Interstate 880 north at Davis Road. As we approached 98th, I seen an SUV-like automobile with a blue and crimson flashing gentle, adopted by a string of possibly 15 different exactly spaced cruisers on the 98th Road overpass. OK, unusual, however after passing the Coliseum and nonetheless within the gradual lane, I noticed the identical string of automobiles quickly approaching me from behind, going about 65 mph.
I used to be now trapped between the string of automobiles forward of me and the rising bunch of automobiles behind me who had been swerving out to cross after which reducing in dangerously forward of me.
I lastly compelled my manner out of the mob that appeared hell-bent on doing no matter that they had in thoughts.
Lastly, the gods of loopy/unsafe drivers left me alone to return to the one barely loopy degree of Bay Space drivers.
Stan Gage
A: Let’s tally up the reason for your issues: dashing drivers, drivers ignoring pedestrians, red-light runners, an unusually lengthy rolling police roadblock, and possibly extra. That’s greater than sufficient hazard and drama for one Bay Space driver, particularly on sooner or later.
Search for Gary Richards at Fb.com/mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.