Saved By Grace: Critical Summer Driving Safety Tips…
Saved By Grace: Some Important Summer Driving Safety Tips…
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6
Saved by Grace: Rainbow over Niagara Falls...
Last Wednesday, I took a road trip with a group of friends to Richmond Hill, 3 miles north of Toronto, Canada. The journey started well and, despite the heavy rains and fog that came late evening, we made it safely to our first rest stop/hotel for the night. The next morning, we had breakfast, gathered our things, said a prayer and left the hotel focused on completing our drive as we wanted to attend a spiritual retreat/event with Amma.
All went well until we had a harrowing rear right tire blow-out on the highway at I-190W (370.2 point/65mph). Even with the tips I learned from Rich and from the road safety guides on what to do here and here, the car spun around twice veering treacherously close to the guide rails that separate oncoming traffic, my companions said it spun a few more times, before I was able to steady the steering wheel and calmly get it off the road to the right shoulder. We were saved by God’s grace; a divine motherly grace helped me use the right tips as a prayerful calm pervaded the car and a steady presence guided us through it all.
“The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you. So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we most often lose heart. But it is the other way about – He is looking for us.” Simon Tugwell
Saved by Grace: Aftermath of a Busted Tire...
Saved by Grace: Like an Early Sunrise over Mansagar Lake...
There was definitely tremendous grace and divine protection as time stopped, on-coming traffic slowed down and stopped, and nary a 12-18 wheeler was in sight. Keep in mind that I-190 is a very busy highway and there had been steady traffic for miles. As grace would have it, once we pulled over to the right shoulder, the traffic suddenly picked right back up and several 12-18 wheelers whizzed by; reminding us how fortunate we were. The miraculous outcome was not lost on any of us as we uttered words of gratitude.
Once parked on the right shoulder, I called for help and we had the car towed by a charming stock car racer/tow truck driver named Greg; the tire/rim was replaced by Jeremy at a local repair shop in Le Roy, NY, hometown to JELLO. Jeremy was kind and thoughtful; he made sure to check everything in the car including all four wheels before sending us on our merry way. We completed our round-trip journey, arriving in Canada on Thursday night and returning back home to NY late Friday night, with no further ado.
Obviously, this incident is a reminder to all of us, including You, to drive safely this summer especially as vacations continue and the highways and local roads get crowded. With more young people driving in the summer time for fun with friends, it is imperative that we all exercise caution and learn what to do when driving under challenging conditions. Also, this is a reminder that life is fleeting and the love and care we show our loved ones should be practiced on the road. I have added valuable links and tips below.
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage…” Joshua 1:5-6
Saved by Grace: Flitting around like Busy Bees...
In addition to these helpful tips/links on driving in heavy thunderstorms/rains, heavy fog, and with highway tire blow-outs, keep the following common sense tips in mind:
♥ Drive safely within requisite speed limits
♥ Reduce speeds in poor weather conditions
♥ Make sure you and all passengers have seat-belts on
♥ Pay attention to the road, cars and surroundings
♥ Don’t drink, do drugs and drive – you need your wits (calmness/logic)
♥ Don’t text or chat on cell phones while driving
♥ Make sure car and tires are checked
♥ Stay focused, calm and confident on the road
♥ Make sure you have had enough sleep before driving
♥ Pull off the road when necessary and call immediately for assistance.
Because our roads get even more crowded in the summer with seasonal drivers out and about, it is important to exercise precaution and be vigilant on the road. Follow the advice above and your driving should be fine. Naturally, stuff does happen. If it does, stay calm/positive, again follow the suggestions offered via the links and above, trust and pray that all will be well and that the help you need will be provided and it will.
Have you had any driving incidents you’d like to share? What insights have you learned? Any tips and thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!
PHOTO CREDITS:
All photos ~ courtesy of Google Images
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
This is a particularly relevant article, considering some of the events that transpired in our very own village today. Perhaps you’re psychic!
Regards,
Alexa
Alexa,
Interesting right? I notice that every summer there are car accidents that occur around and typically involve teens. Please parents, remind your driving teens about road safety. A car is not a toy and in an instant can do enormous damage to passengers and others on the road. Thanks for your feedback!
Glad to know all are okay. Driving seems so rote most of the time,but when things go awry we really need grace to navigate the trauma. Happy to know the roadside and garage folks were so helpful. Onward from here.
Rich, I concur. It was somewhat traumatic but we are all doing fine and glad this turned out in the best way. Again, please everyone drive carefully and keep your loved ones close. Thanks again!
Thank God for His awesome grace. Good (very useful) article..Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Goz,
Ditto on the summer wishes and sending summer safety blessings your way too. God is good all the time and I say thanks daily for this and for the sheer gift of life. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this incident and using it as a way to warn others to be careful.
Actually over the period this happened to your group, members from a group of young people in Florida died in a similar blow-out.
You had a very serious accident and I appreciate how you chose not to write about it in a frightening way. Thank God for his grace and mercy!
Bree,
God is good all the time and I am grateful for the outcome and send prayers and blessings to the families of those who lost a loved one in that and other accidents. These things happen so suddenly and it is easy to say what one did successfully after the fact. Truth is that God was in control and we were fortunate. Thank you!
Glad to know you recognized grace when you needed it most. If you can do that in a freely spinning hunk of metal at high speed, just think of what you can tap into daily if only we can quiet the mind and surrender to the univeral flow. Now keep both hands on the wheel and stay safe!!
Richard,
Thanks for the feedback and so true… We could all accomplish more with a steady, quiet and prayerful mind.
Car accidents are some of the most frightening things to me; obviously, they are also amongst the most dangerous things to be involved in. Thus it always saddens me when I see a person, an ADULT person, playing around with their cell phone at a stop light, or even while driving. That’s exactly how an accident happens. If only people would adhere to those tips you posted more often than they do now!
Allegra,
Well said… we can all learn from your insights as I do see adults behaving dangerously on the road. Thank you for your thoughtful views and stop by again soon!
I hopped over from Mom Loop Friday on Blog Frog. Glad to hear you are OK after your experience. I have been so protected a number of times by the Hand of the Lord. It is a wonderful experience to realize that you didn’t just make a stupid mistake and that the Good Lord saved you from harm. I just wish everyone had that feeling.
Thank you Sunny for your feedback! I am glad that I didn’t make any mistakes but I won’t take full credit for it either. Paying attention to road safety tips, discussing what to do under different conditions over the years with Rich and God’s mercy helped. What happened is typical as tires blow up for a variety of reasons on the highway; the grace is that we were divinely helped and no harm came to us or anyone on the road.
With the standards we have today, we will always have safe drivers and unsafe drivers, all sharing the same roads. following safety tips will reduce accidents and save lives. interesting post and thanks for the stop.
Appreciate your feedback and insights too. 🙂