Sunday, January 20, 2008

90 degrees of vertical

Friday started very strangely.  Nathaniel and I were in a bit of rush.  I had things
to do and he needed to get to school.

We were in my 1991 Ford Ranger extended cab heading south on Plano Parkway out of
The Colony. We didn't quite make it to Carrollton. We stopped about 100 yards short
because my truck wouldn't move any further.

We had come over a hill and around a big curve. Approaching the Windhaven Parkway
light always makes me a little nervous because you never know what the traffic light
will do. This time it changed when we were about 100 yards from Windhaven, which (again) is
about 100 yards from Carrollton.

With an impending red light and my driving sense of lawful duty, I slammed on my
brakes. The incline and forward dip of the braking pickup further lightened the
light truck's rearend. As a civic-minded individual bound by dividing lines, both literal and
metaphorical, I turned my wheel slightly to the right to stay within my lane. This
allowed the rearend to beginning swinging forward on the left--my vehicle now
careened closer to the right curb (I don't think this is the first time I've
careened, but that's a musing for another time.). One of my front tires struck the
curb and the truck tipped.

This is the point where we were airborne for a brief time. While my taillight
waited to collide with the street and my fender anticipated a curb impact, my front
bumper tried to take out a couple of dry desert plants in the flower bed. Then we
landed and came to a fairly quick halt after a momentary rocking.

I paused and kind of took inventory of the situation while kicking myself for
allowing the loss of control. Looking to the right at my son involved looking "up."
Nathaniel said, "I'm scared." I told him there was nothing to be scared of and
that everything was going to be okay. Of course, I hadn't thought of the other cars
that might not see us or otherwise collide with us and I wasn't the one hanging
sideways from his seatbelt.

I have to say that the belts definitely did their job. Officer Martin later
commented on how improper seatbelt usage has made rollovers into pitiful messes.

Several physical forces and events aligned that morning to allow my truck to tip
over. The hand of God prevented us from going over all the way or somehow becoming
much worse. Folks, I'm driving this truck again. I've got a broken taillight and a
couple of small cracks in the corner of my windshield, but no broken bones or glass.
Praise the Lord.

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