I nearly died today

No, this isn't an exaggeration. The route back from my lunch break today took me across University Street. Being the long-time pedestrian I am, I usually stand at the crosswalk and wait for traffic to stop before crossing. Bus drivers are incredible at seeing pedestrians and stopping (go bus drivers!) and today was no exception. The driver of the bus approaching the crosswalk saw me, stopped, and motioned for me to cross.

As I passed the bus into the second lane of traffic I heard a deafening honk and froze. It took a moment after the chaos had passed to realize what happened. An inattentive driver in a blue minivan had swerved from behind the bus into the inner lane and punched the gas. Seeing the catastrophe about to happen, the bus driver honked, stopping me in my tracks. Too late to stop, the driver of the minivan saw what was about to happen and swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic, barely squeezing between an oncoming car and the pedestrian in the walkway--me. The minivan sped off and quickly darted down a side street and out of sight. Shaken, but unscathed, I finished crossing the street. And then the realization dawned on me: Had a vigilant bus driver not honked, I would have been hit and possibly killed this afternoon by an impatient, inattentive driver who was speeding through a crosswalk.

My point is twofold.

First, to the UTA bus driver: Thank you for saving my life today. It probably sounds melodramatic, but I'm truly overwhelmed as I write these words.

Now, to the impatient drivers out there: is the fifteen seconds you're hoping to shave off your commute worth the life of another human being? Seriously, you could have ended my life today.

As I sat down at my desk, still rattled from the experience, I imagined a young mother pulling her minivan full of kids to the side of a residential road a few blocks from the university. In my mind I saw her rest her head in her shaking hands as she tried to control her emotions, and soundlessly mouthing a small prayer of thanks for sparing the lives of her kids and the guy in the crosswalk today. And I choked back a tear.

Maybe we both learned something today.