4 Feb 2014

Driving on the freeways

I have always considered driving on the highways easier than driving in the streets. There’s a lot of space for yourself and a lot less possibilities for a collision. Every time people expressed their view that driving on the freeways in the US was a little dangerous, I refused to accept it. What happened yesterday and today has made me think again.

I was on a ramp connecting CA-85N to US-101N. The ramp was mostly empty, and I was driving at around 50mph. There was a Honda Accord to my right just ahead of me. I wasn’t paying much attention to my own lane because I was busy looking at the fine details of the Accord’s body. Only after a second or so I saw that my lane had completely stopped with cars queueing up. I stepped on the brake and thank god my car stopped without colliding into the car before me.

On the same road today, (US-101N) I was merging onto the right-most lane so I could take the next exit. Traffic was moving at around 30mph or so. In the one second I turned my head to look at my blind spot, the lane had completely stopped and there was hardly a second for me to stop. I jammed the brake again, and my car stopped just at the right time.

It’s crazy how unpredictable traffic on freeways is!

2 Feb 2014

Fear of Unknown

If there’s one thing that’s consistently keeping me from reaching my goals, it’s this: Fear of Unknown.