Don’t be deceived by what you think you perceived.
I am going to tell a little true story that happened to me, which will illustrate what I mean. Make sure that you read all the way to the end.
Many years ago when I lived in Pleasanton, California, we decided to go out to dinner one Sunday evening at a restaurant in Livermore, about 8 miles east. It was about a week after Thanksgiving, so Christmas shopping was in full swing. It was about 4:30 p.m., and we were just going under an overpass on Highway 580 in the center (fast) lane. We were driving a white Mazda van. Up ahead, we could see cars going to the left and right trying to avoid something in the road. It was a Christmas tree, which had obviously fallen from someone’s car.
As we slowed down, we could see someone entering the freeway on the onramp to the right and ahead of us. The driver, apparently trying to get to the fast lane as quickly as possible, and was looking over her shoulder at the traffic behind while crossing three lanes of the freeway. When she finally turned around, the tree was directly in front of her. Obviously, she did not recognize what it was in that split second, and she jerked her wheel to the left, which caused her left wheels to go onto the dirt shoulder. At that point, she jerked the wheel to the right, which caused her to spin. The car now facing in the wrong direction, slid sideways across the same 3 lanes that she had crossed, but now she couldn’t stop. She went off the road, and the change from pavement to dirt caused the car to roll over, and the momentum caused her to roll 2 or 3 times. She ended up on the wheels, facing the direction of oncoming traffic, although she was off the freeway.
All of this happened as we were passing her. We pulled over to the left shoulder in order to call 911 (apparently others were calling 911 as well because the first couple of times we got a busy signal). In the meantime, a number of cars had stopped on the right side of the freeway where the car was, in order to provide aid if possible. After waiting a few minutes, since everything was across the freeway and behind us, we continued on to where we were going.
The next day, I called the Highway Patrol to see if they wanted information and to inquire as to how the passengers were. We learned that it was a 17 or 18 year old girl and her friend from somewhere in the Central Valley who were driving her father’s Mercedes, but because of seat belts and airbags had only minor scratches.
Now, let’s get to the second part of this story, which explains the original statement. In March of the following year, we were invited to go to an Oscar Party. Now, I couldn’t care less about the Oscars, but I was always up for a little get together with friends. While some were watching the show, we got into a conversation with another couple. Somehow the conversation got onto highway accidents. The couple we were talking with talked about an accident that they had seen around Christmas time regarding a Christmas tree that had fallen on the freeway, causing the accident. We told them that we had seen that accident, too.
As we continued to talk, they explained that the tree had fallen from a white van that was parked on the left shoulder ahead (meaning our van) and that the people had just driven away. They had been on the right side of the freeway and quite a way behind us, so they were able to stop on the right side. We explained to them that we were in the white van, and that the tree was in the road long before we arrived at the scene, and that the accident occurred because of the reckless manner in which the young lady entered the freeway.
What this shows is that what you might perceive as reality could be fantasy. Everything should be looked at as if there could be some other explanation than what one perceives.
