The story of last night.
I have a friend that lives in Lakeland. After being down here in Orlando last week, she said that if I was stuck down here for a week again, we should meet up for dinner or something. She called me last night and we met up.
We walked around the Downtown Disney area and had dinner. We spent most of the time sitting on a bench in front of the Virgin Mega Store just talking about anything and everything. She wouldn’t let me go into the store because she knew I’d be there all night and spend money I don’t have… I guess she knows me better than I thought. Around midnight we each headed home.
Leaving the parking lot was simple enough but trying to find I-4 again was different. I finally saw the sign for I-4 East but it was by a construction site and the lane looked like it was coned-off. There was a hole to get into the lane. The van in front of me went in there and it looked like it was the lane I needed so in I go.
When I heard the crunch and felt the bang, I felt my heart sink and I knew what it was. My brain, on the other hand, said, “What the hell was that?!” We pulled over and made sure everyone was OK. They sent out the rescue squad anyway. I dented up both of his driver-side � panels and took out my passenger side signal lamps with a small dent on the sliding door. It also destroyed the hub cap but the tire was undamaged. Very little damage considering what “could have been”.
The other driver was a young guy and his mother. They had just gone out to buy a CD. They were at the Virgin Mega Store. I was just there! Had I only followed him out of the parking lot… They were real nice people and we talked a little bit before the cops arrived. She had a interesting accent. I never did get a chance to ask her where she was from.
Before the cop even got there I realized what I had done. That wasn’t a construction lane, it was permanently separated by those flexible pole type things. The hole I cut into was for cross traffic and not for entry into the lane. The entrance into the lane was before the parking lot exit so I never saw it. While sitting there waiting for the cops, I saw no less than 7 other cars make the same mistake. One almost caused the same accident I was in. Sure enough, I got the ticket. Illegal lane change. Moving violation at $115 and 4 points on my license.
No excuses, I made the turn, but I’ve ALWAYS hated Orlando traffic. They move fast and the roads aren’t marked until you’re right up on them. I’d rather drive Atlanta, Richmond or D.C. They move even faster but I can see where I’m going. The roads here do weird stuff. Lots of left exits and quick turns. If they marked things better I’d bet they’d have less accidents.
I always thought I’d get into an accident because of my tendency to drive digital. Full speed or stopped. Either that or monkeying around with my iPod or my cell phone. I was behaving I tell you! I really was…
Pictures when I return to Jax.
I’m an excellent driver. Excellent driver. Yeah. Dad lets me take the car out on Saturday, of course, this isn’t Saturday. Yeah. UHHOHHH!
This is the (non)intersection where it happened.
When you’re lost in a strange town and finally see the sign for where you want to go, this looks like a good place to turn.
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