While thats not too much as such, on these small roads near my house , even 40kmph could be dangerous. I was aware of the risks but was trying to catch a cab driver who had overshot his mark (my house) and was going 'god knows where' really really fast.
My Spidy sense was triggered (I watched "The Amazing Spiderman" last night, more on that later) , I knew I was going to crash into his bike , I breaked hard, the disc breaks in CBZ dint fail me, I stopped really really close to him . My old super smooth tires left a big black mark on the road(they are really old).
"Idiotttttt!!!" I shouted. "If you are turning right, switch on the damned indicator, you have a pillion who is not even wearing a helmet, had I crashed into you, she would have fallen into the gutter" (there was a gutter very close to where he was trying to turn)
"Sorry Sir, but I wasn't turning right" He said, extremely politely, "In fact I want to turn left, and I am just starting my bike from this point". He sounded genuine. "Yes sir, we want to turn left, in fact it was you who scared us by the heavy brakes" his wife/pillion rider chimed in.
"Morons, they deserve to be slapped", I said to myself and left the spot. 15 minutes later , after I calmed down from the stress I was going through. I saw the entire incident differently.
Although it all happened in less than a minute, From the end of the street(which wasn't too long) Just before he 'tried' to turn right, I had seen him remove his vehicle stand, I had noticed his pillion board the vehicle and had watched him losing his balance and shake a bit. But yet when I got angry and shouted at him I claimed that he was trying to turn right. May be I was the idiot........
Bottomline:
i) I realized that when things happen really fast and when I am stressed, I perceive things differently than they really are. I chose to see only one small part of the incident(his vehicle turning right) but left out the other vital parts (he actually lost balance and slightly turned right , without even realizing he was doing so)
ii) The couple were extremely humble, very soft spoken, that ashamed me and taught me a lesson. Even if the other guy is an idiot, if you are humble , you can diffuse the session and may be the other guy will realize his mistake
iii) 40 kmph is still very fast, I have to learn to drive slower in the lanes near my house.
To the couple who taught me lesson through their humility : Thanks and I am really Sorry!!!
--Badri--
