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Was almost killed this morning (This is no joke) (1 Viewer)

Kenny Foor

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At about 4:00 am I was doing my job delivering newspapers and I was on the opposite shoulder of the road. I stuck my hand out to put a paper in a plastic tube and no more than got my hand in the tube when I looked through the front windshield and saw a car headed for me doing about 60. They slammed on the brakes and swerved in on me but weren't able to slow down enough as we were in the middle of a downpour. Before I could get my hand out of the paper tube they hit the row of mailboxes and tubes that were less than 6 inches from me. I was Reilly stunned for a minute then I got out of my van to look for them because they finally came to rest in a ditch filled with water. It was an older man and his wife. Luckily, they were all right and I was unharmed. We had to wait for about an hour and a half for the highway patrol to arrive. He saw the skid marks on the road in front of my van and thought it was a miracle that I wasn't killed. The news crew arrived before the HP did and interviewed us . My brother didn't know what happened until he saw me on the morning news. He came over and told me I looked like I was wired because I was hyper on camera. Needless to say, i'm just happy that no one was injured and no damage was done. My van was untouched and their vehicle was pulled out of the mud and water and it started right up. I'm just thankful we are alive and i'm able to write about it here.:D
 

Richard Travale

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let me get this staight, you were on the shoulder on the left or the right side of the road? You said you were putting the paper into the box so I'm gathering that you were on the wrong(left) side of the road. If that's the case, what the hell??? you caused an accident that could have killed three people. I'm amazed, absolutely amazed.
 

Mike_Mig

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I agree 100% rich. I almost had an accident yesterday because some idiot, who had to have seen me, made a left turn onto a 4 lane road into the furthest lane, which I was in. I had to go to the shoulder, luckily there was one, to avoid this moron. And the road was completely empty, I don't think he was even looking as he was turning. Some people amaze me.
 

Cam S

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Rich has a point, so explain in a little greater detial what side you were on exactly?
 

Carl Johnson

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Sounds to me like he was on the shoulder going the wrong direction while somebody else paniced and swerved even farther off the shoulder and ended up in a ditch.
 

CRyan

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When delivering papers, it is always customary to drive on the wrong side of the road to deliver papers when dealing with special requests (i.e. placing papers in tubes or on the mailbox). That is the business as I understand it.

When doing this, the drivers should always have on emergency blinkers. It is usually 3 in the morning and hardly anyone on the road. The driver of the other vehicle was probably not paying attention to the road.

I am curious though Kenny. Who was declared at fault? Would be interesting to know as I am sure you were trained by the paper company to deliver in that manner. If that is the case and you were declared at fault, I would talk to your manager about the paper picking up the expense.

C. Ryan
 

Jay H

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In NJ, you can get a ticket if you are even parked facing the wrong way on the road. I know this cause a friend of mine got a ticket for this once, let along being in a car on the wrong side of the road. Glad you're alive Kenny and initially I have the same thoughts that alot of you have, what is he doing on the wrong side of the road presumable as close to the shoulder as possible but then would it be different if he was facing the right way?
What I conjecture (and this is ONLY a conjecture) is that at 4am, your headlights are on which to the elderly driver coming straight at you, must have made him think that he was either on the wrong side of the road or drifting, hence he turned to his right into the ditch on the side of the road.
I mean if he didn't see Kenny's headlights but his taillights, then the natural thing to do would simply move to his left, thereby avoiding Kennys car just as if it was parked but facing the right direction. The headlights confused the elderly driver and we all know their reaction/comprehension time can be slower than younger folks.
I personally think it is a bad practice to be facing the wrong way, let along driving. It is very very fortunate that the other drivers are OK too, but if I was you Kenny, I would seriously consider some kind of markers or flashing lights (make sure it's legal) and emergency blinkers when you do that. I presume it is legal in Missouri for you to do that too. And this is not criticism, nor blame either, just trying to be helpful here :)
Jay
 

Holadem

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I dont like where this is going: Kevin said in the very first sentence that he was on the opposite side of the road. He never suggested that the other car was at fault. The man is glad is still alive to talk about it. Why do I sense impending sermons?

--

Holadem
 

Kenny Foor

Stunt Coordinator
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I will have every one of you know that 99 percent of my customers use paper tubes. These tubes have to be placed on the opposite side of the road so I don't have to walk the entire length of my 89 mile rural route.

Now yes I was on the opposite shoulder but the shoulders on this road were widened to accept me and mail carriers. The facts remain A. I had to deliver these papers in this manner. B. when I do deliver I ALWAYS have my hazard lights on. C. These people were not blind nor elderly (I was implying they were older than me and im 24)

and they were going at least 15 mph above posted speed limit. D. the state patrol acknowledged that it was their fault,They have to pay for the mailboxes that they destroyed. They will also get a ticket for failure to keep vehicle under control. Even on rural roads like this one You are not supposed to drive like a speed demon. ( don't care if you are late for work or not) That being said I am very happy that no one was injured and we lived to talk about it.
 

Randy Tennison

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Kenny, it kinda puts your life in perspective when you realize how close to death you come. I'm glad you are ok!

Us Missourians have to stick together!
 

Dome Vongvises

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You seem to be handling this pretty well, Kenny. I have a strange sense of humour, so if it was me, I'd be laughing about it right now. Glad you're all right.
 

Shayne Lebrun

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Jun 17, 1999
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I did something similar to this, only on the other side. I was delivering a friend home at, oh, 3 AM, and on the way back, I saw a big old public works truck, seemingly coming straight at me, in my lane. So I put my car in the ditch. Turns out it wasn't coming at me, just was parked in my lane, facing the incorrect direction, with no pylons, blinkers, siren lights, or anything. The guy was filling in potholes.
 

Alex Spindler

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Jan 23, 2000
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Back in high school I had my closest brush with death. I was crossing at the school cross walk when I heard what I later figured to be screeching tires. I say "what I later figured" because I have absolutely no memory of what I did during most of the event. I don't even remember seeing the car. All I know is that my next memories are from 10 feet from the crosswalk that I somehow got myself to before the car crossed into my old space. I was standing, unharmed, and 'hyper' as you described. The car was at an angle where it had slid into the crosswalk.
All I can figure is that my brain identified screeching tires very close to my location and said it will just take over from here. It then relocated my butt to safety before giving back the reins.
Quite the experience, I must say.
Glad you and every else involved is all right, Kenny.
 

teapot2001

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Glad that you are okay. I almost got hit by a car once while walking in the parking lot towards the store.

~T
 

Cam S

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Is it due to laziness of not wanting to get out of the car to put a paper in a tube, that the poeple drive on the OPPOSITE side of the road so they can just place them in the tube?? it just doesn't make any sense, I mean come on.
 

Alex Spindler

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Cam, it is also a matter of logistics. Papers don't spend a ton of money on paper delivery, so they tend to have a huge number of houses to hit. You can't afford to hire someone to sit in the passenger seat (unless you have a free worker/kid/spouse). The time it would take to park, exit the vehicle, place the paper, and reenter the vehicle would dramatically increase the time for your route. So unless you have a vehicle that permits you to lean across and place it, you're stuck with the opposite shoulder method. That or driving backwards I suppose, but your visibility is far worse in those situations I would suspect.
 

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