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Fun early morning. About 2:30 this AM, as I was trying to get to sleep, I was disturbed (I'm always disturbed, but this time, it was more than just my imagination that did it) by squealing tires, a crashing sound, and a thud so hard, it shook my house.
I hurriedly threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, and ran outside. I found a crowd already surrounding an overturned car in my neighbor's driveway. My son and daughter had hurried out as well, and my son said he saw the driver walking down the street when he hurried outside.
Police finally found the driver (drunk, of course) and hauled him off to jail. I'm guessing to fly and flip as far as he did, he must have been going in excess of 60MPH on our 30MPH street.
Well... Should be another year till the next early morning excitement (I hope!)
Comments
Excitement
A little excitement is nice from time to time. Glad this happened without any obvious injuries. Though who knows how far the driver had come before he decided to wake you. I'm glad you got away with little more than lost sleep and maybe some property damage.
Thanks for sharing this with us. Sharing stressful events helps me deal with them. I hope it helps you too.
Your friend
Crash
Seat belt
It seems that the driver wasn't too drunk to put on his seat belt. That's the only way he could have walked away from his accident.
-- Daphne Xu
Yes
The airbag was deployed, and he was lucid enough to take off quickly.
I think a lot of times, especially on this street, it comes down to stupidity. We have a flora-filled ditch in the center (there used to be a concrete ditch where water was directed to the reservoir) which makes the road seem more high speed than it is.
We have parallel parking on the side of the road, but only visitors use it. All of the residents know that's a good way to damage your car. The parking and bike lane are used as a high speed passing zone by people passing through.
Spokane is about a third of the way through putting a freeway in that will go North and South. It has taken a long time to come to fruition, however, as it will have to be elevated from this point onward.
Until that's complete, however, my street (boulevard) is the "Current North / South Freeway". At least as far as commuters are concerned.
Hugs!
Rosemary
Lousy Street
That's got to be a lousy street to live on. Is there any way to persuade the city to put up some kind of warning sign that this is a residential area?
-- Daphne Xu
That's the only problem that
That's the only problem that I find. The houses and yards are actually nice, and the area is well kept. It's actually a lovely area, which again, has made it into a place people like to drive through. Lol. When I was younger, I always thought it would be nice to get a house here.
We're in a section of town that's not actually in the city limits, which is another problem. Funds for law enforcement intervention aren't as easy to come by. Most of Spokane county is occupied by the city.
Where these accidents occur, are at the turn right before my home. The road has just changed from city and gone into a very country appearing area. The road starts a winding, very gradual descent through my neighborhood.
The real culprit, however, is that the road goes from 4 Lane to 2. This occurs on the block before my house, and the right lane turns to the right. It's clearly marked on the pavement, and a sign that gets covered by a hedge as the summer progresses. Every 3rd full moon of each month ending in "r" the county inspects this shrub and cleans it from covering the sign.
The excess traffic occurs during rush hour, and other times, while traffic is heavy and I curse it anytime I'm trying to leave my driveway, it's not too bad. I just make sure I'm NOT trying to travel at rush hour.
And I never allow my grandkids to play in the front yard.
Anyway, I digress. This change from 4 to 2 lanes is the problem. As is the median. The street is wide enough to handle 2 cars side by side with a bit of room left over. It was well designed that way, but people realize that when they lose their lane, they are headed toward a tree. (This particular tree is determined to live even though it's been hit many times. The owner has found another use for duct tape in replacing bark, and aiding people in realizing what the orange cone beside it means.
People like using the parking strip to try to merge back into the lane, but this requires careful negotiating as it's on a turn to the left. Remember I said the road winds. Through my front window, I can see cliffs at the top of the butte we live at the base of. It's this butte that makes the road wind as it follows the topography.
The accidents follow a simple pattern. Middle of the night, when traffic is almost non-existent, and winter, when people haven't figured out what black ice is for the year.
The turn and a sudden shift in the steepness of the downgrade gets drunks and inexperienced winter drivers when the traffic allows even higher speeds.
Actually, I love this area very much. The homes aren't pretentious, but they're definitely nice. There's a park a block away from my home. You can walk to a shopping center, post office... You name it. Rightfully so, the "town" I'm in, as I'm not in the city, is called Town and Country (cute cause we own a Chrysler Town and Country).
Hugs!
Rosemary
What color is the third full moon ?
The real culprit, however, is that the road goes from 4 Lane to 2. This occurs on the block before my house, and the right lane turns to the right. It's clearly marked on the pavement, and a sign that gets covered by a hedge as the summer progresses. Every 3rd full moon of each month ending in "r" the county inspects this shrub and cleans it from covering the sign.
I know that the second full moon in a month is blue, but what color is the third ?
I doubt that the county would object if someone took shears to the shrub any other month of the year.
I'm not really sure. I know
I'm not really sure. I know that months ending in an "r" don't occur in the summer, however, so it's hardly a problem for the county.
Technically, the shrub belongs to the person who's fence it's growing on, but as it blocks a sign, the county does tend to it. very occasionally
Hugs!
Rosemary
Put up a sign
Put up a sign that says, "Text 187187 to find out how to get the police to send your photo to the judge." Add a speedbump for greater terror.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
repainted lines
Well. Today the road department people were out repainting the lines on our street. Maybe for a little while, the nice bright lines will let people know that there is a single lane going each way. Oh for crying out loud! I know I'm giving too much credit to people Sheesh! As I was writing this, I heard someone go by with a car he obviously thought was hot. Get a muffler, idiot!
Okay. Rant is over.
Hugs!
Rosemary