Bluerauder
02-05-2009, 03:13 PM
Didn’t Even See Him Coming
About two weeks ago, I was headed to Baltimore on I-95 North near Lorton, VA. I was running at about 70 MPH in the left lane when I noticed a “Grabber Orange” Mustang weaving through traffic in my rearview mirror. Other than the bright color, there was nothing special about the Mustang – just one of a million V-6s on the road. She (it was a woman) was jumping from the center to the right lane to thread her way through traffic at about 80-85 MPH. Traffic was pretty heavy so she was searching for holes everywhere.
My wife and daughter were in the car and I mentioned something like “WTH is this person trying to do?”. I watched in amazement as the orange Mustang jumped from lane to lane every 2-3 seconds …. Center – Right – Center – Right – Center – Left – Center and getting only 1 car ahead at each lane change. I was keeping my eyes peeled to the front because I was expecting her to cause a wreck with all the jumping and shifting as brake lights would come on all around her.
“Where the heck are the troopers when you really need one?” I said. No sooner than the words were out of my mouth when a Virginia State police car passed ME on the left. He was flying on the shoulder lane at an estimated 90-100 MPH and squeezed between me and the Jersey wall. His car produced enough suction to shimmy my car. I didn’t even see him coming.
The VA trooper had no flashing lights and ran up hard to within 3-4 car lengths of the Mustang before hitting his rollers/lights. By now, both of them were about a ¼ to ½ mile ahead of me. By the time I got to the scene, the police car already had the orange Mustang pulled to the right shoulder of the road. My daughter just laughed and said "Ask and you shall recieve". :D
I don’t think that this was a routine traffic or speeding stop – but suspect that may have been connected to a more serious incident down the road.
The thing that sticks out for me with this incident is that I usually, normally, always check my mirrors (rearview and side) every few seconds. This is a habit that I have had for more than 40 years of driving. I am constantly monitoring my situation & surroundings in the event of an emergency move that generally doesn’t afford the time to check. That 1-2 seconds may make the difference.
Because I was fixated on the Mustang antics ahead, I never saw that Virginia Police car coming or else I would have moved over to give him room. Personally, I am kinda surprised at his speed on the shoulder with the limited space and the “debris” that usually gets pushed into the shoulder lane.
Fortunately, this all turned out OK --- except maybe for Orange Mustang Sally. :rolleyes:
BTW – I was driving the wife’s ’06 Ford Freestyle Limited when this happened.
About two weeks ago, I was headed to Baltimore on I-95 North near Lorton, VA. I was running at about 70 MPH in the left lane when I noticed a “Grabber Orange” Mustang weaving through traffic in my rearview mirror. Other than the bright color, there was nothing special about the Mustang – just one of a million V-6s on the road. She (it was a woman) was jumping from the center to the right lane to thread her way through traffic at about 80-85 MPH. Traffic was pretty heavy so she was searching for holes everywhere.
My wife and daughter were in the car and I mentioned something like “WTH is this person trying to do?”. I watched in amazement as the orange Mustang jumped from lane to lane every 2-3 seconds …. Center – Right – Center – Right – Center – Left – Center and getting only 1 car ahead at each lane change. I was keeping my eyes peeled to the front because I was expecting her to cause a wreck with all the jumping and shifting as brake lights would come on all around her.
“Where the heck are the troopers when you really need one?” I said. No sooner than the words were out of my mouth when a Virginia State police car passed ME on the left. He was flying on the shoulder lane at an estimated 90-100 MPH and squeezed between me and the Jersey wall. His car produced enough suction to shimmy my car. I didn’t even see him coming.
The VA trooper had no flashing lights and ran up hard to within 3-4 car lengths of the Mustang before hitting his rollers/lights. By now, both of them were about a ¼ to ½ mile ahead of me. By the time I got to the scene, the police car already had the orange Mustang pulled to the right shoulder of the road. My daughter just laughed and said "Ask and you shall recieve". :D
I don’t think that this was a routine traffic or speeding stop – but suspect that may have been connected to a more serious incident down the road.
The thing that sticks out for me with this incident is that I usually, normally, always check my mirrors (rearview and side) every few seconds. This is a habit that I have had for more than 40 years of driving. I am constantly monitoring my situation & surroundings in the event of an emergency move that generally doesn’t afford the time to check. That 1-2 seconds may make the difference.
Because I was fixated on the Mustang antics ahead, I never saw that Virginia Police car coming or else I would have moved over to give him room. Personally, I am kinda surprised at his speed on the shoulder with the limited space and the “debris” that usually gets pushed into the shoulder lane.
Fortunately, this all turned out OK --- except maybe for Orange Mustang Sally. :rolleyes:
BTW – I was driving the wife’s ’06 Ford Freestyle Limited when this happened.