Editor: On Feb. 24, about 1:30 p.m., someone driving a red car almost killed me.
It happened at the corner of King Street West and Lacroix Street. I was walking home from the downtown, heading west, and, knowing it was a super-busy intersection, when I reached the corner and saw the light was red, I press the “Walk” button and waited for the light to turn green.
The, when the light did turn green, I started crossing the street. And that is when the driver in the red car almost killed me.
Oh, the joy of having someone drive by you so closely that you almost feel their car brush your backside.
And, on the lookout for someone to run a red light, or such things, I was being careful.
But it didn’t matter. Because, while I was half-way across the street, not yet at the median, here comes the red car, making a left turn onto the bridge. It isn’t stopping or even slowing down. I had seen it when the light changed, starting out into the intersection, but couldn’t imagine that the driver would put her foot on the gas and come right at me.
Did she see me? I don’t know. But – unless she wasn’t paying attention, or has poor eyesight – I don’t know how she could not see me.
I am 82 years old. Lucky for me, my health is pretty good and I’ve still got a bit of spring in my step. Because, as I was leaping out of the way onto the cement median, the car only missed me by a whisker.
Otherwise, I would have been dead or badly injured, and the sirens we hear all the time in Chatham would have been on their way to tend to me.
In Chatham, the sirens never let up. On any day or night, you will hear them. How many of those sirens are related to what I just experienced, or to similar incidents that involve bad drivers? Go for a walk, or a bike ride, or drive somewhere and – almost guaranteed – you will see an incident of some kind related to bad drivers.
Racing, speeding, tailgating, changing lanes and cutting in and out of traffic in front of other drivers – they are everywhere. Some of them make as much noise as they can make.
See them throw litter out of their car window onto the street or into someone’s yard. See them talk on their phones or check themselves out in their rearview mirror while driving. See them, without consideration for others, turn driving a vehicle into a circus. And we wonder why auto insurance costs in this region are so high.
Where I live in Chatham, two long-term care homes and elementary schools exist. And, accordingly, to see people pushing loved ones in wheelchairs, or young kids walking to and from school, is common. But, whatever signs are posted, drivers speed anyway, with nary a thought about what might happen.
An, oh yes, the driver in the white car behind the woman in the red car at the intersection, who saw what happened and saw me almost get killed, he put his window down to holler at me. “Be cool.” He then added, “Don’t let it get you down.” To that driver, I did hear you. And, yes, I did holler at the red car as it drove away without stopping. Maybe a warm smile or a bout of laughter might have been more socially appropriate. But, standing on that median after almost losing my life to a reckless driver, I have to say I was feeling neither calm nor cool, not anything else that might have been socially appropriate.
Wayne Tulloch
Chatham
Are Chatham police even looking at drivers in the city? Everyday I see people on their phones, not even hiding it… Everyday, multiple times. They cross lanes in the middle of intersections and rev their cars up constantly. A police car with no markings could make a killing ticketing these morons. The amount of people who think you need to hump their bumper at traffic lights is off the charts as well. People in Chatham just can’t drive properly. They think by going faster you’re going to somehow not miss a moment of your very important life. News flash you’re not. You might save a minute at most from one side of the city to the other. Instead of being an idiot, save yourself and most likely someone else from getting into an accident and possibly never getting home at all. I thought it was against the law to talk on your phone while you’re driving your car but I guess if you’re in the city of Chatham you’re good to go. 👍
I just had the privilege of meeting Mr. Tulloch and I thank God that this incident being hit by that red car wasn’t his last moment.
While having my car serviced, getting tires replaced Mr. Tulloch had walked into the same tire repair shop as me. I noticed my car being taken back for an alignment as Mr. Tolluch sat down beside me and symotaneously my wife had texted and said the alignment wasn’t to be done until after I had further work done on it. Mr. Tulloch and I engaged in conversation right away and I ignored my wife’s warning text message, and call. Oh gosh, I’m in trouble if she reads this!!
Mr. Tulloch and I continued conversation and it was great as I learned about his life and got to share some of mine.
God is not a God of coincidence was a pinnacle point in the conversation. We were meant to meet today, it was meant for you Mr. Tulloch to survive that car incident and I believe God is not through with you yet in many ways you never expected.
I pray we have another opportunity to speak again and I am blessed with another opportunity to hear some more great stories from your amazing life journey.
By the way, all though wheel alignments are expensive, it was worth it to be able to sit and talk with Mr. Tulloch, God took the unnecessary and made it necessary in that situation.
I was planning to write a letter to voice my concerns about drivers, but I decided first to see if anyone else has had the same experiences. I am almost 60, and I can’t imagine how quickly I’d need to react at a younger age, or at any age, really. The fact is, drivers in Chatham can be very careless!
I’ve had two close calls where I was almost run over. The first was at Grand Avenue West and Courthouse Lane, and the second at King and Lacroix (the same spot as this person). I believe part of the problem may be related to the placement of the pedestrian walk buttons and the timing of the lights.
Drivers need to pay attention and remember they do not always have the right of way. At stop signs or intersections, stop first for at least three seconds. If no one is crossing the road, then it’s safe to proceed. Never assume that being in a vehicle automatically gives you priority. You could seriously hurt someone by failing to wait.
When I cross, I make sure to make eye contact with drivers so there’s no excuse for them not to stop. Safety is a shared responsibility, and it’s crucial that everyone, drivers and pedestrians alike, stay alert. Especially during the time when it is foggy, rainy or snowy!
There is no way to apologize, if you killed someone because of your reckless driving.