Some lessons learnt as I walked away from a car crash

In more than two decades of driving, I’ve never had a serious accident. Occasionally the thought did occur to me and I came close to this two days back. An overspending hatchback rear ended our vehicle, which was pulled off the highway to replace a flat Tyre  All this happened in a matter of seconds. I learned a few things from this and wanted to share them, because these are the things that most people have to come to terms with, at some point in their life.

I’m not Invincible: I am lucky & blessed to have gone through life without a major accident. I always told myself (even though @ the sub conscious level) that I probably would not be in midst of a major accident, since I drive carefully and do not take any risk whatsoever on the road. The last 24 hours has changed my perception to a large extent. I now believe that no matter how seasoned or a careful driver you are, you never know what could happen to you because you have no control with other drivers capabilities.This is also true in our life’s journey and especially in times like this which is so unpredictable.

 I can’t control everything: I am a big planner and really work with a plan to a large extent. This accident, last Sunday  happened so quickly that there was no way for me to prepare. In hindsight, I could not control any part of it. What this accident did teach me is that as much as we plan for things to happen in a certain way, there is no certainty that it will go in that direction. It is best to accept things as they come and then plan going forward.Even though i do feel guilty now that i should have seen this coming especially when i have traveled so extensively, on the Indian Highway.

Expect the unexpected: What I did realize today when I look back at the incident is that, One should be prepared for the unexpected things in life, because we never know when they are coming. I know it is next to impossible to be fully prepared but we should at the least know that we aren’t in total control and things happen to each one of us when we least expect this. The best possible thing to do in this situation is to be calm and ensure one does not complicate the situation by getting into a fit of rage. This was what happened yesterday. There was a mutually agreeable compromise agreed upon and all of us headed on in our respective journey.

 It does not matter how cautious you are, Accidents do happen: Even though the driver ensured that he pulled over to the side of the road. He did not park the vehicle in a blind spot or for that matter there was a clear vision for about 1000 mt  The driver of the hatchback did not calculate his moves and ended up rear ending our vehicle in great speed. However this incident did open my eyes that in spite of the precautions one can take, there is always a possibility of someone not noticing this and crashing into you. After the initial shock and ensuring that no one was injured (thankfully) a couple of us stood behind the vehicle, post the accident to ensure that the same mistake could be avoided by other drivers. What I did notice is that many are oblivious to the danger ahead and will react only when there is a visual cue. This was a wonderful lesson learnt while standing behind the vehicle in the middle of the highway under the blazing sun.

 After the initial shock we continued on to our destination and eventually it did turn out to be a fantastic Sunday, out among-st friends. After a while no one remembered the incident. The learning here is that in our life there will be time when we come across some major developments and unforeseen situations. One need not panic but work on what is the best possible solution and move ahead in life. This accident has made me wiser, in life’s unpredictably and given me more confidence that with a calm and relaxed attitude one can get away from most of the situations. I hope that you can relate to my words and would love to hear from you on my Facebook Fan Page  or mail id coach@satishrao.in if you have gone through something similar and how it has changed your own perceptions or outlook in your own life.