Roadside wrongdoings

I was driving home on Interstate-90 last night when I received a call from my brother telling me that he just drove by a guy walking on the shoulder of a busy highway, as close as possible to traffic. If anyone reading this has been out of the car on the shoulder of a highway, you know it is scary. The cars, which are going about 80 miles an hour, feel like they are going 800 miles an hour when they zoom by with tremendous force. You don’t realize how fast you are really traveling on the highway because everyone is normally traveling at the same speed as you.

On the rare occasions that I have had to stop on the shoulder of a highway, I always make sure to wait for a break in traffic before exiting the car. Then I proceed to the passenger side of the car so I am further away from traffic. To do otherwise is very dangerous. I distinctly remember a patient I had several years ago who pulled over on a very busy highway to change a tire. As he was doing this, another car pummeled into him, causing a prolonged coma and severe brain damage. My wife, who is a nurse, also saw a patient who was standing in back of his car on a highway and was struck by a passing car. Both his legs were chopped off in the accident and he bled to death.

The overall point here is that it is very dangerous to walk or be on the shoulder of the road, especially when you are on a busy highway. Even sitting in the car on the shoulder can be dangerous because another car can come barreling into you and cause severe physical injury. Ask any police officer about that. It is incorrect to assume that other drivers will be as cautious as you are because the highway is littered with people who are drunk, under the influence of illegal drugs, sleep deprived, driving without a license, or too physically disabled to drive. So be smart when on the road, carry a cell phone to call for help in emergencies, and if you could at all afford it, sign up with AAA
for emergency road side service.