I Thought I Had Luck on My Side Until...
Tim Wadsworth
Issue date: 8/6/08 Section: Opinion
I had amazingly dodged not one but two bullets on my trip from New York to Michigan. My trip had me on my way to starting my first year at Kettering. I drove my Golf GTI accompanied by my father as navigator/advisor, and my mother who followed us in her car - which was stuffed full with all my belongings. I had a deadline to meet since I had signed-up for Camp Compass. This meant I had to arrive in Flint by noon, Monday, July 7th.
I have done a lot of driving ever since I have had my driver's license. My parents understand my passion for cars and need for speed - it has been going on for a long time. However, like all parents of teenaged sons, they worry constantly about my safety. Their answer to ease their concerns was to make me drive as much as possible with them under every possible driving condition. They even made me become their designated driver. Consequently, I was very comfortable doing 75- 80 mph. on Interstate 80 as we sped through Pennsylvania (at last I was able to give my car a good run). Over the years I have received plenty of driving advice from my parents like how to keep out of trouble in traffic and avoid speeding tickets. They have their "strategies" for these situations. As I climbed that hill in Pennsylvania, I was reminded of one of them by my father. I was the fastest vehicle on the road, there was nobody in front of me, and there were plenty of places to camouflage a police car - not a good idea. I quickly pulled into the right lane and a pristine Honda Accord pulled up into the area I was in before. Immediately, a police car pulled out from behind some trees. He could not stop me (I am sure I was his target) because I was now wedged between two trucks. The cop ended up taking his revenge out on the Honda. That's the first bullet I dodged, the second occurred in Ohio.
We decided to stop driving about 4 p.m. and took a room in a hotel near Akron, Ohio. Of course we were starving, so we googled the closest chain restaurant. Being the designated driver, we all climbed into my car only to discover the restaurant was actually 50 yards away. However, in that short 50 yards one of my tires became flat all the way down to the rim. We could not believe our luck (the second bullet dodged) - I had driven fast for more than 600 miles and just now the tire went bad. In addition, we were able to feast as we waited for AAA to arrive. My father got some satisfaction from being able to use the benefits of his AAA membership since he hates paying the membership fees.
I have done a lot of driving ever since I have had my driver's license. My parents understand my passion for cars and need for speed - it has been going on for a long time. However, like all parents of teenaged sons, they worry constantly about my safety. Their answer to ease their concerns was to make me drive as much as possible with them under every possible driving condition. They even made me become their designated driver. Consequently, I was very comfortable doing 75- 80 mph. on Interstate 80 as we sped through Pennsylvania (at last I was able to give my car a good run). Over the years I have received plenty of driving advice from my parents like how to keep out of trouble in traffic and avoid speeding tickets. They have their "strategies" for these situations. As I climbed that hill in Pennsylvania, I was reminded of one of them by my father. I was the fastest vehicle on the road, there was nobody in front of me, and there were plenty of places to camouflage a police car - not a good idea. I quickly pulled into the right lane and a pristine Honda Accord pulled up into the area I was in before. Immediately, a police car pulled out from behind some trees. He could not stop me (I am sure I was his target) because I was now wedged between two trucks. The cop ended up taking his revenge out on the Honda. That's the first bullet I dodged, the second occurred in Ohio.
We decided to stop driving about 4 p.m. and took a room in a hotel near Akron, Ohio. Of course we were starving, so we googled the closest chain restaurant. Being the designated driver, we all climbed into my car only to discover the restaurant was actually 50 yards away. However, in that short 50 yards one of my tires became flat all the way down to the rim. We could not believe our luck (the second bullet dodged) - I had driven fast for more than 600 miles and just now the tire went bad. In addition, we were able to feast as we waited for AAA to arrive. My father got some satisfaction from being able to use the benefits of his AAA membership since he hates paying the membership fees.
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