This is why they are called accidents, Eric. The unexpected, unlikely, and rare events that can kill are waiting for everyone. All it takes is fatigue, low light conditions, pre-occupation with something else, or some other distraction, and there you are, dead or maimed. If it can happen to a fire chief who is an insurance agent, it can happen to anyone.
Agreed. Most accidents are avoidable, but that doesn't change that they happen. No one is perfect, or on top of things all of the time, or can focus on every single thing that goes on around them. The phrase "stupid hurts" may always fit, but that doesn't change that it can and does happen to everyone.
I had it happen this past week. With Lee coming, I wanted to get my driveway ready. My house is up against a ridge. The driveway continues past the house, and up the ridge- it is an old fire road that was cut many moons ago. The road follows the side of the ridge, and is about 15-20 feet above a spring that runs in the hollow.
I have in the past dug cross ditches, to channel heavy rainfall to the side of the road, and down into the spring. This mitigates the amount of runoff that goes on down my driveway, carrying all my gravel away. The ditches fill up, and erode away, so I was having a hard time digging them out. I didn't have a pick at the house, so I threw the potato plow on the 7100, and used that to loosen the shale up with. I had to drive crossways, at a slight angle. When my right front tire would get close to the edge, I'd stop and back up. Stupid, I know, but like most of us, I thought I had it all under control. Before I could process what was happening, I let the right front tire get too close to the drop-off. Although I was in 4WD, as soon as the axle bottomed, it took the weight off the right front tire and the left rear. Before I could blink, I was over the edge, sucking air, minding going a zillion miles an hour, and leaning back as far as I could. The tractor didn't drop the whole way, and although the tractor was sitting at a 70 degree angle, it hadn't flipped forward. I climbed off the back and composed my thoughts. The plow had stopped it from going all the way down, and had undoubtably kept it from flipping forward. I had shut the tractor down before I climbed off, so I set the brake to keep it from going farther, and went to get my dad and his tractor. We pulled it out with no problem and there was no damage to my precious body or Kubota.
I am embarassed to say that it happened, and although I know that it was avoidable, I also know that things happen quicker than we can process or correct. Simple as that. Being smarter, more contemplative, taking extra precaution, etc. is helpful, but you still can't avoid the accident. That's the price we pay for being human, and for complex circumstances.
So, be careful, keep your head about you, wear that seatbelt, but stay cautious- it can happen at any time.
And, by the way, I am 42, and do not lack in experience or common sense. Actually, that sometimes adds to the chances. We get comfortable and complacent, because we are capable and have a history of safety.
