I have wanted to write this hub for quite some time.  It has a short, sweet, simple message but it is SO important.

 Here is my message; before you put your car in reverse and stomp on the gas, look behind you!  Sound like a stupid thing to even mention?  Not so much.

 On Christmas Eve, my husband had gone to the bank and was returning to his car, crossing the parking lot on foot toward where he had parked.  We all know the dangers of parking lots and we know that we need to pay attention and to watch for “reverse lights” to come on as we walk behind parked cars.

 The Christmas season is a crazy, busy time, but the event that I’m about to tell you about, could happen any time that someone is pre-occupied in thought or in a hurry.  As Jeff walked behind a Mercedes that afternoon, he noted that the reverse lights, (backup lights) were not on, so he proceeded to cross behind the car; just at the moment the elderly driver threw the car into reverse and stomped on the gas.

 Jeff saw what was happening and luckily, was far enough to the left of the car on the driver’s side, to be able to put his hands on the car’s trunk and push himself away to the left.  He landed on the driver’s side of the car; the driver still oblivious to what had happened. The old guy stuck his head out of the window and said, “Oh, I didn’t see you.”  Yeah, dumbass, because you didn’t bother to LOOK BEHIND YOU!  Being quite shaken and not realizing that he had injured his wrist in the incident, Jeff returned home to tell me the story.  The man hadn’t even stopped long enough to see if Jeff was hurt.  Instead; instead, he sped away. It has taken several doctor’s visits and cortisone injections, (which are very difficult for my diabetic husband to tolerate,) for Jeff’s wrist to feel somewhat normal again. 

 The story actually has a happy ending because this incident could have ended in a tragedy.  What if Jeff had been not an agile, alert man, but rather a mother with a child in toe?  Would they have survived the accident?  No elderly person could have moved as fast as my 59-year-old husband to push him or herself away from the fast moving vehicle in back-up mode either!  Neither would most people have had the presence of mind to do what Jeff did to save himself.  

This same type of horrendous accident happened some months ago to another woman at one of our local hospitals.  As the pedestrian returned to her car from having visited a hospital patient, another woman was backing out of a parking space.  The driver never saw the woman who was passing behind her vehicle.  When the driver heard a “thump,” she stopped to see what was going on.  She thought she had had a flat tire, but to her horror, a woman lay beneath her rear wheels.

 To make matters worse, the driver jumped back into the car and pulled forward, running directly over the woman on the ground’s head.  For a few days, the woman who was struck survived in a coma in the hospital.  She then died; her head injuries were too much to recover from.

 I remember once, as a young mother, after a wild grocery shopping trip with my two toddlers in hand, I returned to my car, tired and frustrated, an began to back out of my parking space when I heard a “bump” on my trunk!  An elderly woman was standing behind my car and I suppose I scared the devil out of her.  I didn’t hit her; thankfully I was just rolling slowly.

 I told her, “My God, I’m so sorry!  I didn’t see you!”  She wasn’t ready to accept my apology; instead she yelled at me, “You woulda been a whole lot sorrier if you ran me over!”  I was irritated with her nasty response at the time.  But, thanks to her rant, she got my attention and I’ve never forgotten that near miss. If this hub saves just one person from being injured or killed, it will have done its job.  When I get in the car now to back out of a parking space, I try to take a deep breath, especially if I’m in a hurry or tired or have had a bad day.  Then I look behind and around my car before I begin to back out. 

 No matter how late we are, how much of a hurry we’re in or how bad a week we’re having, a few seconds and a deep breath isn’t too much to ask to save a life or to prevent serious injury to someone.  I truly hope you will think about this hub the next time you begin to back out of your space!!!