I Hate Feeling Helpless

Today I witnessed a pretty big road accident moments after it happened. One car crashed into the rear side of another in an intersection. I got there right when the drivers came out of their cars, the offending car’s driver stunned, the offended car’s driver shouting in anger and later on crying for help as he noticed his backseat passenger was apparently out-of-conscience.

I was “first in line” to watch this horror. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go around the accident – to drive away meant I had to drive right through the place where everything was happening. But I couldn’t do anything to help them either – other drivers were already assisting and calling emergency services. Helplessness is one of the feelings I hate most, right up there with anger and being cheated. I usually try to avoid news and current events, partly because I have nothing to do about them anyway.

After about a minute or two it became obvious that I had to continue driving so I did. I drove very slowly between the cars and went on my way. Later on in that same drive on the way home I nearly reared into another car myself as the driver in front of me illegally tried to continue straight ahead from a left-only lane and had to stop immediately when he nearly crashed himself into someone who was legally turning left.

I drove to the closest coffee shop I could find and stopped to relax (and write this post.) I don’t think I was ever happier to get out of my death trap car.