Terrified of Stop Signs
Posted 05-10-2011 at 05:34 PM by PMS Ayane Chan
Been a while since I posted so here it goes.
Yes I have a phobia of stop signs. I hate them with the passion but for probable cause. I was not born with this horrendous disease but had a horrible experience that changed the course of my life FOREVER. I was in middle school, I belive around the 8th grade when one Sunday morning My mother, her best friend and I was heading to church. This Sunday was no different than any other Sunday. We wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, get dressed and head out the door as we face an approximate 30 minute drive to our church. The only thing different about this Sunday was my mom's best friend, Thelma, who was from out of town visiting, was tagging along with us. Like always my mom is driving, I was not of legal age yet to do so. Thelma was sitting in the passenger seat and I was sitting right behind Thelma.
Now, statistics (I don’t know the exact numbers) say that a higher percentage of accidents occur within a mile or two from your destination. Well if that is true well I happen to be apart of that statistic, 5+ times over now that I think of it, holy crap that statistic is accurate…anyways were were finally off the highway and just mile or so away from our destination. My mom and Thelma are talking and catching up. I’m in the back seat proabably reading, as I always did when I was in middle school (major bookworm), when we get to that devilish red stop sign *shaking fists* The sign was some what busy a car or two in every direction waiting for their turn to pass. Now we didn’t have a big fancy tonka kind of car. The car we were in was a 4-door, champagne colored, Hyundai Elantra. we get to the stop sign and it is clear as day that is our turn to go. We are now in the middle of the street making our way across when this big ass 4-door, bright red, flat bed the length of a big rig, Dodge Ram 5000 truck, on our passenger side, decides he wants to run the stop sign. Now take a second to visualize what each vehicle look like in comparison to size, length, and strength. The truck is clearly 4x bigger than our little elantra in every ratio. As I am sitting in the back seat I’m watching this big ass truck’s grill coming right at me. Now I’m an innocent…and talented…helpless child. I was terrified out of my mind. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move because I was safely secured by the seatbelt. I couldn't get any words out. Everyone in the car, my mom, Thelma all saw what was about to happen but my mom had no time to evade the vehicle. I felt like I was at a monster truck show waiting for this car to smash us. And the worst part was my mind decided to go straight into slow motion mode. I remember every breath I was taking as the car was getting closer, every slight movement that my mom, Thelma and I were moving, I even took a look at the stain I made in the car and covered pretty well so my mom would never find it and I get in trouble for. It’s amazing what your body and mind does, how your senses are heighten when your in a near death experience. I wanted to escape and superman the hell out of there, I wanted to do what my body wanted to do but I couldn’t because I was trapped. Although I couldn’t move or say anything, a lot of things and scenarios were going on in my mind as this truck was getting closer and closer.
“This big ass truck could damn right roll over us, smashing the hood of the car on top of us. What if we roll over. I’m about to lose the whole right side of my body. I’m not going to ever be able to play basketball or any other sport again. Dammet why do I have to be right handed. Dammet why do you have to hit us on this side of the car. This is going to hurt. If I get out of this car me and you are going to have a word. Out of all the days why the **** did you pick today to run this stop sign. I’m going to sue the hell out of you. You better pray nothing happens to my mom and Thelma, I’m still young I can still recover. Not my face please not my face.”
To my surprise none of those things happened the way my mind invisioned. Yea there was quite a bit of damage, the whole passenger side of the car was dented to hell, more so my door. Before we were hit I layed down to my left shielding as much of my body as I could with my arms and hands. I can’t really speak for my mom and Thelma but if I was ok, especially since my side took most of the damage, I knew for sure my mom and Thelma was which was the most important thing.
Now after the accident, like any other normal insured citizen would do, we pulled over to the side of the road right behind the truck as he pulled over ahead of us. As my mom is moving the stick to Park something was wrong. This truck did not look like he was coming to a complete stop. In fact he laid off his brakes and onto his accelerator. What a douche, are you serious you hit us then your going to flee the scene of the accident. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was like “uhhh mom what is he doing” and she looks up like no this son of a gun is not about to run. And like a G my mom bust that car into drive and start gettin into that ass. I’m thinking to myself this is the coolest thing ever. First we get hit now were in a high speed chase. You only see this stuff in the movies or Cops. The only thing I can think of is all the hours I put into the Playstation's 2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Were chasing this guy for at least 2 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much but in those 2 minutes we must’ve broken at least 20 laws trying to get this guy. I mean I can’t imagine what our little Elantra was going to do to that big ass truck but whatever it was, I’m down. Were racing through traffic trying to keep up with this guy as he is breaking just as many laws if not more. Sneaking pass stop signs and barely making the traffice lights before they turn red. Man it was dangerous and so much fun at the same time with also the intent on catching this guy and whoopin his ass. Even cooler another car is in on the chase and are helping us out. So we got a 2 cars and 1 truck thing going on here. My mom tells me to get a pen and paper and get the license plate down. Now I’m only in the 8th grade so I don’t necessarily know what that means. No one taught me about the devious system of the DMV. I can’t see the trucks license plate for a couple reasons. Theres another car involved in the chase that is blocking the way, and the truck is to far. Now me not knowing what taking a license plate number down mean I decided to take down the license plate I could see the other car that was involved in the chase.
Now of course the truck gets away, asshole. He was so desperate that he ran a red light. He didn’t care if he was going to hit another car or was a cause of another accident. It was like his life was pretty much over. Now I didn’t understand it at the time but his life might have been over. A lot of things might be going on in his scenario. His license could be suspened. No inssurance. He’s drunk or at least above 0.01% alcoholic level. He could be at gun point. He has some kind of illegal substance in his truck. I mean their are a lot of things that could be going on with this guy that I didn’t know then that I know now. Still doesn’t give him a reason to run. We were ok, our car was still drivable, he could have at least saw that and the cops would never know. But no this fucker decides to run. As the truck slip right through our hands we pull over at the nearest gas station. My mom looks at me and asks if I got the license plate of the truck. I looked at her and said “I got the license plate of the other car.” She wasn't too happy with me but I didn’t know any better. How am I suppose to know that a license plate is similar to a middle school ID card. But for some reason my lack of driving experience or license that didn’t register for me. Luckily the car, who was helping us in the chase, doubles back and meet us at the gas station, had the license plate of the truck. *Phew* I’m off the hook we can now get this guy and put him behind bars. Of course we are discussing the accident and upset that we didn’t catch the guy the way we wanted. I simply stated “If I was driving I would have caught the truck before he laid off the brakes and made a run, from all my gaming experience, it prepares me for situations like this. That’s why their are videogames”
We thank the couple in the car for their help and they go on about their day. Afterwards, we call the cops to give them a statemtent. The paramedics still came although we had minor injuries. The only thing bothering me was my elbow. Thelma had some neck and back pains. So to be cautious they put one of those guards around her neck and laid her on the stretcher to take her to the hospital. I’ve never been in a paramedic truck so I decided to ride along with my minor injured elbow. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about when I hear people say paramedic trucks ride the most comfortable…They’re not, they're no different from any other used car…My mom is fine and drives our Elantra behind the truck as we go to the hospital. We get discharged and still caught whatever of the rest of the church service, You know how black people services are they last for at least 3-4 hours, (Our incident probably took up a 3rd of that time lol) all the while thanking God for looking over us.
We never caught the damn truck becuase the license plate number the couple gave us came back invalid so that asshole is still out there.
Up until then I have never experienced anything like that. Although their were minor injuries no on can predict what might have happened until it does. That was as close to a near death I’ve ever experience up until that point. You really do evaluate yourself and your life really does flash before your eyes. Or at least whatever enough time you have to flash back to before that initial impact. It’s a scary feeling. Because of that I cherish all my close friends and family and loved ones.
So till this day I am terrified of stop signs. I still have to go through them but am super careful and cautious about it. I remembered what it felt like the very next time I got in a car with my mom after the accident. We came up to a stop sign and my whole body cringe as far as the seatbelt would let me get into the fetal position. I was terrified. Fxck this stop sign. That feeling went on forever and no matter how many times I try to tough it out my body got the best of me. When I first started driving I drove en extra 5 minutes out the way to avoid a stop sign near my house whenever I was told to go to the store or run errands for my parents. Back then gas prices were a lot lower.
So yea fxck stop signs.
Yes I have a phobia of stop signs. I hate them with the passion but for probable cause. I was not born with this horrendous disease but had a horrible experience that changed the course of my life FOREVER. I was in middle school, I belive around the 8th grade when one Sunday morning My mother, her best friend and I was heading to church. This Sunday was no different than any other Sunday. We wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, get dressed and head out the door as we face an approximate 30 minute drive to our church. The only thing different about this Sunday was my mom's best friend, Thelma, who was from out of town visiting, was tagging along with us. Like always my mom is driving, I was not of legal age yet to do so. Thelma was sitting in the passenger seat and I was sitting right behind Thelma.
Now, statistics (I don’t know the exact numbers) say that a higher percentage of accidents occur within a mile or two from your destination. Well if that is true well I happen to be apart of that statistic, 5+ times over now that I think of it, holy crap that statistic is accurate…anyways were were finally off the highway and just mile or so away from our destination. My mom and Thelma are talking and catching up. I’m in the back seat proabably reading, as I always did when I was in middle school (major bookworm), when we get to that devilish red stop sign *shaking fists* The sign was some what busy a car or two in every direction waiting for their turn to pass. Now we didn’t have a big fancy tonka kind of car. The car we were in was a 4-door, champagne colored, Hyundai Elantra. we get to the stop sign and it is clear as day that is our turn to go. We are now in the middle of the street making our way across when this big ass 4-door, bright red, flat bed the length of a big rig, Dodge Ram 5000 truck, on our passenger side, decides he wants to run the stop sign. Now take a second to visualize what each vehicle look like in comparison to size, length, and strength. The truck is clearly 4x bigger than our little elantra in every ratio. As I am sitting in the back seat I’m watching this big ass truck’s grill coming right at me. Now I’m an innocent…and talented…helpless child. I was terrified out of my mind. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move because I was safely secured by the seatbelt. I couldn't get any words out. Everyone in the car, my mom, Thelma all saw what was about to happen but my mom had no time to evade the vehicle. I felt like I was at a monster truck show waiting for this car to smash us. And the worst part was my mind decided to go straight into slow motion mode. I remember every breath I was taking as the car was getting closer, every slight movement that my mom, Thelma and I were moving, I even took a look at the stain I made in the car and covered pretty well so my mom would never find it and I get in trouble for. It’s amazing what your body and mind does, how your senses are heighten when your in a near death experience. I wanted to escape and superman the hell out of there, I wanted to do what my body wanted to do but I couldn’t because I was trapped. Although I couldn’t move or say anything, a lot of things and scenarios were going on in my mind as this truck was getting closer and closer.
“This big ass truck could damn right roll over us, smashing the hood of the car on top of us. What if we roll over. I’m about to lose the whole right side of my body. I’m not going to ever be able to play basketball or any other sport again. Dammet why do I have to be right handed. Dammet why do you have to hit us on this side of the car. This is going to hurt. If I get out of this car me and you are going to have a word. Out of all the days why the **** did you pick today to run this stop sign. I’m going to sue the hell out of you. You better pray nothing happens to my mom and Thelma, I’m still young I can still recover. Not my face please not my face.”
To my surprise none of those things happened the way my mind invisioned. Yea there was quite a bit of damage, the whole passenger side of the car was dented to hell, more so my door. Before we were hit I layed down to my left shielding as much of my body as I could with my arms and hands. I can’t really speak for my mom and Thelma but if I was ok, especially since my side took most of the damage, I knew for sure my mom and Thelma was which was the most important thing.
Now after the accident, like any other normal insured citizen would do, we pulled over to the side of the road right behind the truck as he pulled over ahead of us. As my mom is moving the stick to Park something was wrong. This truck did not look like he was coming to a complete stop. In fact he laid off his brakes and onto his accelerator. What a douche, are you serious you hit us then your going to flee the scene of the accident. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was like “uhhh mom what is he doing” and she looks up like no this son of a gun is not about to run. And like a G my mom bust that car into drive and start gettin into that ass. I’m thinking to myself this is the coolest thing ever. First we get hit now were in a high speed chase. You only see this stuff in the movies or Cops. The only thing I can think of is all the hours I put into the Playstation's 2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Were chasing this guy for at least 2 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much but in those 2 minutes we must’ve broken at least 20 laws trying to get this guy. I mean I can’t imagine what our little Elantra was going to do to that big ass truck but whatever it was, I’m down. Were racing through traffic trying to keep up with this guy as he is breaking just as many laws if not more. Sneaking pass stop signs and barely making the traffice lights before they turn red. Man it was dangerous and so much fun at the same time with also the intent on catching this guy and whoopin his ass. Even cooler another car is in on the chase and are helping us out. So we got a 2 cars and 1 truck thing going on here. My mom tells me to get a pen and paper and get the license plate down. Now I’m only in the 8th grade so I don’t necessarily know what that means. No one taught me about the devious system of the DMV. I can’t see the trucks license plate for a couple reasons. Theres another car involved in the chase that is blocking the way, and the truck is to far. Now me not knowing what taking a license plate number down mean I decided to take down the license plate I could see the other car that was involved in the chase.
Now of course the truck gets away, asshole. He was so desperate that he ran a red light. He didn’t care if he was going to hit another car or was a cause of another accident. It was like his life was pretty much over. Now I didn’t understand it at the time but his life might have been over. A lot of things might be going on in his scenario. His license could be suspened. No inssurance. He’s drunk or at least above 0.01% alcoholic level. He could be at gun point. He has some kind of illegal substance in his truck. I mean their are a lot of things that could be going on with this guy that I didn’t know then that I know now. Still doesn’t give him a reason to run. We were ok, our car was still drivable, he could have at least saw that and the cops would never know. But no this fucker decides to run. As the truck slip right through our hands we pull over at the nearest gas station. My mom looks at me and asks if I got the license plate of the truck. I looked at her and said “I got the license plate of the other car.” She wasn't too happy with me but I didn’t know any better. How am I suppose to know that a license plate is similar to a middle school ID card. But for some reason my lack of driving experience or license that didn’t register for me. Luckily the car, who was helping us in the chase, doubles back and meet us at the gas station, had the license plate of the truck. *Phew* I’m off the hook we can now get this guy and put him behind bars. Of course we are discussing the accident and upset that we didn’t catch the guy the way we wanted. I simply stated “If I was driving I would have caught the truck before he laid off the brakes and made a run, from all my gaming experience, it prepares me for situations like this. That’s why their are videogames”
We thank the couple in the car for their help and they go on about their day. Afterwards, we call the cops to give them a statemtent. The paramedics still came although we had minor injuries. The only thing bothering me was my elbow. Thelma had some neck and back pains. So to be cautious they put one of those guards around her neck and laid her on the stretcher to take her to the hospital. I’ve never been in a paramedic truck so I decided to ride along with my minor injured elbow. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about when I hear people say paramedic trucks ride the most comfortable…They’re not, they're no different from any other used car…My mom is fine and drives our Elantra behind the truck as we go to the hospital. We get discharged and still caught whatever of the rest of the church service, You know how black people services are they last for at least 3-4 hours, (Our incident probably took up a 3rd of that time lol) all the while thanking God for looking over us.
We never caught the damn truck becuase the license plate number the couple gave us came back invalid so that asshole is still out there.
Up until then I have never experienced anything like that. Although their were minor injuries no on can predict what might have happened until it does. That was as close to a near death I’ve ever experience up until that point. You really do evaluate yourself and your life really does flash before your eyes. Or at least whatever enough time you have to flash back to before that initial impact. It’s a scary feeling. Because of that I cherish all my close friends and family and loved ones.
So till this day I am terrified of stop signs. I still have to go through them but am super careful and cautious about it. I remembered what it felt like the very next time I got in a car with my mom after the accident. We came up to a stop sign and my whole body cringe as far as the seatbelt would let me get into the fetal position. I was terrified. Fxck this stop sign. That feeling went on forever and no matter how many times I try to tough it out my body got the best of me. When I first started driving I drove en extra 5 minutes out the way to avoid a stop sign near my house whenever I was told to go to the store or run errands for my parents. Back then gas prices were a lot lower.
So yea fxck stop signs.
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