I don't know where else to write this. I had to get it out of my system.
Whenever I drive with Dad in the passenger seat (ever since I started learning to drive), some kind of near-accident always happens. It doesn't happen with other people. I'm an extremely safe driver when Dad's not there.
Feb. 3, 2012
10:35pm.
Planned a hangout with my friend in Japantown.
Feb. 4, 2012.
11:37am.
Dad waited outside with the car engine on. Normally when I go hang with friends, he drives me to pick up my friends. Today, he walked to the passenger side and told me to drive. This was the first time I was driving with a friend in the car and probably the Xth time I drove Dad. That built up the tension I already had when it's just me and Dad.
11:40am.
I started to drive decently to my friend's house. Maybe screwed up one turn but nothing extreme. That was because Dad told me too late which part of the intersection I needed to turn into.
11:53am
We arrived at my friend's house. She saw I was driving and was somewhat curious as to how my driving skills were. We headed off to the freeway to get to Japantown faster.
About 10 mins later. - On the freeway.
There was a fork in the freeway that went west and the other east. I was on the right lane that if I didn't switch lanes, I'd end up on the east side. Japantown was on the west. There were a lot of cars on the freeway today. A few times I had to keep check of my speed and distance between cars. Then came the part I had to switch to the left lane. I've driven on the freeway before but it was my first time on this particular freeway. I double checked everything. Looked at the rearview mirror. Looked at my left mirror. Looked at my blind spot. Repeated everything. I was safe to change. I blinked my left blinker for about 5 seconds. I double checked everything again and I was ready to switch. I started switching and before the left front wheel could touch the lane line, a navy blue jeep-like car came out of nowhere. I looked at my window near the corner where my left mirror was and in a split second, I turned the steering wheel slightly so I could avoid a crash. We were about a foot apart from each other. That navy blue car sped away. My eyes were wide opened when I realized a split-second later what could've happened if I didn't move at all.
In that moment, my head was racing as I continued driving. I knew my Dad was yelling something but I only thought of how close that car was to me. I heard my friend say something too but again, too pre-occupied to hear anything. It felt like I was in a racing movie like Fast and Furious trying to avoid getting attacked by another car. I could feel my muscles tensing up more than they already were. That scene of the navy car passing my window view replayed endlessly in my head. What bothered me most was the fact that Dad was in the car and my friend who was experiencing my driving for the first time.
About 5 mins after the near-crash - still on freeway.
This time, the roles were reversed. I was in the blind spot of a small cargo truck. The truck was switching into my lane. My mind was still in the previous scene and only avoided that 2nd near-crash due to my reflexes. I sped up and turned away from the truck. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dad's tight grip on the emergency brakes, ready to pull it when something goes extremely wrong. The first scene repeated in my head as I tried to process the second. The next thought after thinking about my passengers was how crazy I must've looked to the drivers around me. Nevertheless, I had to continue driving.
12:30pm
Arrived in Japantown
I doubled parked on the side so my friend and I could get off and Dad can switch back to the driver seat. My friend helped me grab everything as I tried to get off the car. My legs were shaking endlessly and my mind was still on the two near-crashes. I saw Dad's expression was in a slight state of panic mixed with an essence that he may scold me later that I need more practice driving. My friend and I walked into the mall as Dad drove off. My friend tried to comfort me.
Never have I experienced something as scary as this.
