This morning I ended up taking an earlier bus than usual, but other than that it was just like any other day headed to school. Once we were on I-5 on our way to Sacramento, just passing the airport, I started dozing off because it was SO stinkin' early! Then I felt the bus beginning to brake a little bit and that woke me up just in time. The right lane that we were in was beginning to slow down and there was a semi-truck directly in front of us. The bus driver changed over into the left lane (like all drivers would do) still going about 60 mph. As soon as we were in the left lane all we could see were a see of BRAKE LIGHTS! The cars in our lane were coming to a complete stop within a hundred yard and there was absolutely no way our huge bus was going to be able to stop in time. Everyone around me was screaming and I was just sitting there thinking, "oh my gosh, we're going to plow into those cars right now...alright, here we go." It's really bizarre how calm and still I was right as the chaos was happening. I was sitting in the first row of the elevated part of the back of the bus and I just imagined myself flying over the rest of everyone else and through the front windshield......
Literally within 2 seconds, the driver quickly pulled off onto the shoulder in the gravel, remember we were going 60 miles per hour in a BUS! But even in that much pressure, that angel of a bus driver knew not to slam on his brakes and he calmly came to a stop, without swerving or fish tailing at all in that loose gravel!! It would have been so easy for that bus to have tipped over and swerved sideways onto the road. Everyone erupted into cheers and clapping because it was such a shocking experience! Within a few seconds we were on the road again and the traffic was moving. Needless to say, I no longer was feeling sleepy; that adrenaline rush was more powerful than a double latte.
I heard later that there was a pretty bad accident on the 5 right where we were a few minutes later and I wouldn't be surprised if the people directly behind us were a part of that. It was 100% God's hand a and a miracle that we were all completely fine and I can't stop imagining what that car that was stopped in front of us in the left lane was thinking, seeing a bus going FULL speed in his rear view mirror.
This whole thing made it even more evident how important it is to give your complete attention to the road when you're driving. If that bus driver would have looked down for even a split second, all 30+ of us would've been tossed around and no doubt several of the cars in front of us would have been completely smashed like little aluminum cans. It could have been soooo bad. And I'm just so thankful that there was a decent shoulder to pull off on. Not too much further down the road the shoulder was slanted and there's no way we would've stayed upright. The other thing is that even in that scary experience, I still feel much more safe in the bus than I do in my little Honda. Those drivers are so experienced and are better drivers than me and most likely the crazy person to your left or right on the freeway.
Wow, what a bus ride!! I promise you'll never be bored ;) And I promise the next post will be quite lighthearted. Bye for now!
