So the other day I was driving happily on my way to work with not a care in the world. In fact, traffic was generally light and I was sure I was going to have a good day. I came to an intersection where I had the right of way and noticed the only car that may have tried to cross my path stop to wait for me to go by. I stepped on the gas to get to my destination faster and move out of the waiting car's way.
Someone once told me that when driving in Nairobi, assume that everyone else on the road is mad. I think that not even that assumption would have helped me on that day. From nowhere, a mat decides to overtake the waiting car and make a mad dash for the other side.
I couldn't beleive it. "You can't do that!" I remember screaming in my head. I was shocked. The space was too small for the mat to make it. I slammed down on my brakes... and sat watching helplessly as my car refused to stop.
I can't begin to explain the numerous thoughts that ran through my mind. The only thing that my brain registered was fear. Fear and the question why. Why the hell would the car refuse to stop!?
Not to make more of the story than it actually was, my car's bumper & front side 'kissed' the nissan's back side and we exchanged paint. The mat stopped a little distance away and my car also stopped 15cm away. I checked out the damage and figured I'd live. In reality, I was just too shaken to engage in an argument about who was at fault so I waved the mat off, everyone to take care of their own damage.
In retrospect, this incident was good as it brought out the fact that my car had a problem I hadn't previoously noticed. As food for thought, think twice next time you're about to jump in front of a car while crossing the street or strain to cut another car off on the assumption that it has brakes. You might just end up as surprised as the mat driver!
