Close Call

The other day I was driving west on the 91 Freeway when I came upon a lane-hogger in the fast lane. A lane hogger is a driver that insists on driving the speed limit or slower than the prevailing traffic in the fast lane. If you are hyper-miling or driving at the speed limit, you should have the courtesy to drive in the slow lane although it is perfectly legal to drive in any lane. However in Los Angeles, the prevailing speed seems to be 70 to 75mph with fast drivers going around 80mph. The 91 Freeway at this location has 7 lanes of traffic because the right two lanes are a connecting ramp to another freeway including an HOV lane at the far left.

I was doing 70mph when I came up behind the lane-hogger, so I moved over to the right into the next lane behind a Honda Accord also going about the same speed as I was. Then a few vehicles ahead I saw a pick up truck go airborne., meaning I could see the roof, hood and bed higher than the roofline of the vehicles ahead with the left front end pointed skywards, not unlike what you see in NASCAR super-speedway crashes. This was a service-type truck with many compartments, a rack and parts on its bed like a plumber's rig. Without thinking my peripheral vision of my side mirrors told me the only path was to my left in front of the lane-hogger I just passed. The Accord slammed on the brakes and hit the car in front with a crunching sound. Instead of slamming on my brakes stepped on the gas and made the sudden lane-change accidental avoidance maneuver. The Accord's rear end swung out in front of me and I missed that by about 2 feet and barely made it in front of the lane hogger.

Meanwhile the pickup truck had come down and seemed as if it was going to roll over but instead was now bicycling on its driver's side wheels and coming back at me. On top of that, the centrifugal force opened the doors of the compartments and parts were flying out. Instantly I executed another sudden lane change maneuver into the empty HOV lane and missed the truck by another 2 feet as I ran over whatever parts that spewed out. All of this happened in a flash and I could see in my rear-view mirror cars swerving and although I didn't hear it, I could tell by all the dust that more cars must have crashed. As I collected my throbbing heart, now dangling outside my mouth, I looked at the speed and it was 85mph and climbing. I guess I hadn't lifted my foot so I eased off.

Anything could have happened. If the timing wasn't right or if I slammed on the brakes, I could have hit the Accord and my rear end would have swung in front of the lane-hogger who would have hit me. I could have rolled over many times or I could have smacked the pick up truck. In any case I would have totaled the Prius and have been injured. Then as I thanked God for saving me from certain disaster I realized how well the Prius handled the sudden lane change. I was able to control the car with the accelerator and steering instead of using the brakes to get out of harms way. I hope those involved were safe, and injuries if any, were light. I listened to the traffic reports and they did not mention any fatalities so thank God for that too. But I now have more confidence in the Prius that it can handle tough situations if you are lucky and you have good reflexes. But hopefully I won't have to face that again. Oh by the way I was still getting 45.1 mpg !

 

Thank you all for your concern. I'm really glad I came out of the wreck unscathed. I have no idea how or what caused the pickup truck to shoot up over the other cars but it was like in a slow motion playback. My immediate reaction was a big "Holy cr*p this is not good".

The lane-hogger must have had a close call or hit the pickup because I saw it hit the center divider after it missed me.
Needless to say once I calmed down I immediately reduced my speed to about 60mph and stayed in the slow lane all the way home.

The important lesson here is to always be aware of what's going on around you. I constantly monitor all the mirrors because I ride motorcycles and for sure that contributed to my reaction. Had I been talking on my cell phone, I would have crashed.

 

When I came up on the lane-hogger I slowed down to her speed and followed her for about a 1/4 mile. Then the Accord came up behind me and changed lanes to the right so I followed him when it all happened. She may have slammed on the brakes like the guy in the Accord giving me the room to squeeze by.

I'm still trying to figure out how a pickup truck could go airborne. He must have hit a car that had come to a sudden stop, rollled over once in the air as I saw the topside, flew over that vehicle and landed on the driver's side tires. The impact from the landing forced open the compartment doors and the centrifugal force that ensued spewed out the contents which looked like parts and tools as I ran over them.

In any case, It looked like a Hollywood stunt scene or a NASCAR crash which I don't care to see again in person.

 

I remember all the details because I couldn't get it off my mind and wanted to figure out what happened.

I don't think the VSC engaged because the car was under control. I would have side-swiped the center divider first.

And thanks Rae, I am sleeping because Its now like a past dream.