Loosing Control: WE95
“If you have everything under control, you are not moving fast enough”
Vehicle Accident
Tell us about your own vehicle accident, the incident, how it occurred, where, and what was the outcome? How was the repair and replacement process and your recovery from injuries. This can be car, truck or motorcycle-related. Bonus points for using your own photos.
Loosing Control Has Its Consequences
What’s come into your mind when you hear “accident"?
May be two different things colliding face to face or in some other way? Or, perhaps an unfortunate event caused by your ignorance and indifferences?
Whatever it may be— an accident is an accident; I will not say it’s positive, at least not in this writing, although I believe great things may happen accidentally. I will leave them for the other writers of the community.
Photo by Erick Zajac on Unsplash
Photo by Erick Zajac on UnsplashSo, you have probably guessed what I would be writing about— no worries if you didn’t, it’s the first one, namely “Vehicle Accident.”
Now, is there anyone here who has no accident history— major or minor; nah, I think we all have that experience? Those who don’t have the experience yet, I must say you are missing out on an essential lesson in your life— the lesson that teaches you the importance of Road Sense; in my opinion.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not encouraging you to get involved in an accident, but a minor one would be fine.
So, what happened to me? How did I get involved in that accident and when? Let’s see.
I can’t remember the exact date but it was back in 2011 or 2010 (yikes, I cannot remember the precise year). A teenager with a habit of watching and mimicking MotoGP races with my bicycle— yeah, that’s me riding my ‘vehicle’ all day long and taking turns like #46 or Casey Stoner riding his Ducati #27. I guess teenager has something to do with racing and all those stuff. And I used to mimic it whenever I got a chance to ride my father’s motorbike.
But that was not so common as racing and overspeeding was the prime reason my parents wouldn’t allow me to take the motorcycle out and have fun with friends. Still, opportunities were abundant, and I never failed to make the best out of a chance to enjoy a ride on a two-wheeler.
It was right after my Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) theoretical exam. We get a week’s interval before the Practical exam begins here in Bangladesh, and the time is given to take final preparation after a month-long tight schedule of HSC theoretical exams. As my practice was top-notch, I was in a mood to enjoy the whole week along with my friends.
Coincidently, my father was a bit under the weather during that time, meaning I am in full authorship of the speed machine. With my father’s permission, I took it for a quick ride in the morning which is a busy time in my area— several schools, colleges, and other offices. The roads usually remain occupied during the morning hours— but why should I care, I have this motorbike only for a few moments, better to rev it hard while I can. And trust me, that’s what I did— made it run at 75kmph on a busy road; congested with other commuters, people rushing to their destination.
However, I saw some of my friends waiting for transportation to college. I thought why should I give them a ride— will serve both of my purposes, helping my friends and enjoying a quick ride.
It was okay on my way to the college; I took them to the destination and was coming back— even faster than before. 75-80kmph, I cannot remember the exact figure, and overtook a bus dangerously. Right after I passed the bus, there were other vehicles ahead, and I was jumping lanes to avoid collisions.
But my luck didn’t favour me this time and the next thing I can remember is that I am lying on the road with another pedestrian a few metres ahead groaning in pain. And the vehicle— you won’t believe how badly it was damaged, the whole right side got smashed— broken plastics here and there, shattered glasses reflecting sunlight— sudden chaos blocked the road.
I got up slowly, turned the engine off, and looked into myself. Blood— red thick blood dripping down my right shoulder, wrist, hand, waist, and leg. My clothes are torn apart; my sandals are lost in turmoil. People around came with a water bottle and tried to comfort me as I walked towards the road's edge. I saw a bunch of people helping that poor pedestrian I just hit. He was with his bicycle, and there was no fault of him. Having no words to apologise to him, I took my motorbike, started it again, and left the place hurriedly before I grab the attention of the police officers.
Slowly I sneaked back into my room. And in the other room, my elder sister was repairing my father to take him to our village home. None but his colleague noticed the blood and broken motorbike; he took it from there and hid it until my father was sent home in a car. Actually, he took it to the garage, did necessary repairs (an overhaul on the right side), and accompanied me to the hospital.
My father knew nothing until I went to my village after completing my Practical exam and he saw me crippling. Oh, I attended the exams wrapped with bandages my entire right side of the body— from shoulder to leg.
He sighed with a heavy heart but said nothing. To be honest, what’s the deal with lecturing now. But what he did later was more shocking— tuned the engine and licked it at 60kmph. And I lost all the craze after that accident, and it took me almost 11 years to rev hard again with my motorbike. But don’t worry— I am safe and sound still to this date.
I would love to post some actual pictures, but I don’t have any.
Moral of the story: overspeeding is terrible, it's bad!
Sorry to make it this long and thank you for reading it to the last.
I am looking forward to reading your stories.
Happy weekend, folks!
