This Small Mistake Almost gave Me a Heart Attack
I still remember those gloomy days when Covid Pandemic hit the World. The fear of the Virus was looming in the air. The world was struck by uncertainty and chaos. Millions lost their lives, thousands went jobless.
My family was the victim of it too. That one unfortunate day my father caught a severe illness and my family panicked.
So, I drove him to the hospital with our white family Car.
I dropped my father in front of the hospital and drove the car around for parking. Desperately, I started to look for the parking space which appeared to be almost full. The Pandemic is was indeed a serious issue after all. After some searching, I found a perpendicular parking space between 2 cars and immediately drove my car in the middle.
The moment I almost parked the car I had that uneasy feeling, you know, that intuitive feeling which one experience when one's life is in danger or when you realise something is wrong.
I immediately pressed the brakes, applied handbrakes, opened the door, got out and checked the front space. What I saw almost gave me a Heart Attack!
There was a Big Hole in front of the Car! If I had moved just 4 inches forward My Car would have belonged to the city’s drainage system along with me! I almost didn't see it because of blindspot.
Shaken by what I saw, my brain started to draw pictures of how humiliating will it be for me who boasted about being a great driver in front of my friends, my father's rage and his scolding which is worst than death, and the face of a customer who was coming to buy our car the day after.
I carefully opened the door, placed one hand on the steering wheel another on the hand brake then turned on the keys. The engine failed to start. I tried again, then the engine started.
Gently, I started to press the accelerator but the engine didn’t make that roaring sound. I looked towards my feet and to my surprise found that my feet were literally shaking. I noticed the sweat running down from my head although it was cold outside. God… I was so nervous!
Remembering the technique I watched from one YouTube video, I closed my eyes and deeply breath in… breath out… breath in… breath out… 5 times.
Opened my eyes, feeling light-headed, pushed the accelerator releasing the clutch and hand brake at a split second. With a sudden jerk, the car went back. As it was on brink of colliding the wall behind I rammed the front brake. Phew.. another disaster prevented.
The lesson was learned: Always check the blindspots before Parking anywhere.
