Anyone else hate when your passengers keep bringing a mistake up? I'll do something stupid or careless like the OP, and hear about it for the rest of the night.
Its happened to me before. And I don't blame them. Likewise if I was driving with a friend who did something stupid I'd probably b**** too.
Really? Few things bother me more than that. It's like, that happened 5 hours ago, I don't need to hear about it every time I turn. And for all the complaining about my driving, I'm always the one being begged for rides. If you really feel unsafe in my car, don't ask me to shuttle you around.
I would think it's a fair trade for nearly getting them killed, literally moments before in exactly the same setting.
I'm glad you and the truck driver are ok. A competent truck driver will always be on the look out for these types of potential disasters. Most people don't realize how tough their job is. Awareness is everything!
Some things SHOULD bother you a while. It's natural to be shaken up and have a hard time moving on after something like this. We all need to be humbled every now and then (even something this severe). "Teachable moments" happen when we least expect them. You'll be fine.
Wasn't a matter of rushing, for you and the others who alluded to that...I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. Was more a matter of "oops i'm going the wrong way, let me get over and fix that", and, next thing I know, I'm stalled in no mans land. Then, in a bit of a panic, I chose a poor time to attempt to get back in a lane. My instincts and choices were lousy every step of the way, which bothers the hell out of me. Point taken though. Worrying about making late lane changes out of concern that I'm going the wrong direction is going to be something I'm going to make sure that I avoid in the near and hopefully permanent future.
Yeah, honestly, I'd imagine other than honking, it was erased from his memory in less than 2 minutes after. He probably deals with idiots like me routinely. He didn't have to come to a screeching halt or anything, he just witnessed what I did in advance and reduced his speed a good deal. I'm grateful that one of the two of us were driving with brains. While I'd prefer it doesn't torture my mind, hopefully it's ingrained long enough to make me drive smarter in those, and all other situations.
Just be happy you can learn from it. I would go back further than the incident of where you tried to get back on. Once you see you're headed for an exit and the lane is forcing you that way, don't be afraid to get off, and then just get back on at the next entrance or even do a u-turn. It really doesn't take that long and is the safest thing to do. The same is true when people end up in a turn only lane they didn't want to be in on surface streets. It's just safer to turn, and then just turn around and go back. It doesn't take that long.
