nekunando Posted May 23, 2013 Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) Burnout? Yeh.. I own it. Colin McRae Rally? Likewise. Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, Top Gear Rally.. sure, I've played them all, so why is it that it's Nintendo's classic boxing franchise that I feel more thankful for in helping to avert a serious car accident this morning? Allow me to give this all some perspective. I was driving home from town early this morning, 55mph along the main road from Ballymena to Cullybackey, with a road on my left hand side that I was about to pass. As usual at that time of the morning, between 8am and 9am, there were several cars waiting in line at the stop sign ready for their opportunity to exit that road.. but none of those were the problem. As I came within metres of approaching, a car of school students driving a car with R plates suddenly turned from the opposite side of the road that I was on to enter the road on my left, crossing the path right in front of me This wasn't a case of them feeling they had time to cross the road as it was well past that. They simply did not see my car which, whether you're a new driver or experienced, should not happen. Maybe they were messing around and distracted the driver, I'll never know, but they put their lives, the lives of the drivers waiting to exit the road, the cars behind them on the road I was on, the cars behind me on the road and, of course, me at risk. With this happening so suddenly immediately in front of me, the time to react was virtually non-existent. Somehow, I managed to brake hard and swerve around the back of their car, missing them by mere millimetres, keep control of my own car and avoided the oncoming traffic. It was way too close. I could be in hospital right now, or worse, rather than making this post It could have been a disaster! So.. where does Punch-Out!! come into all of this? Well, as some of you who enter the gaming boards may be aware, I've been playing Punch-Out!! on Wii recently, dodging and weaving attacks from the likes of Piston Hondo and Aran Ryan. The incident this morning happened so quickly, like a rapid left hook from Soda Popinski that could have left me out for the count. If it wasn't for playing games such as this over the years, would my reactions have been as instant as they were to avoid tragedy? The title may seem a bit over-dramatic, and it certainly isn't the only factor in what happened today, but given the time I've had to reflect on the events of the morning, I'm sure many of the potential casualties, including myself, are thankful that games such as Punch-Out!! have enhanced my reflexes to help avoid something that could have been truly awful. Edited May 23, 2013 by nekunando
MoogleViper Posted May 23, 2013 Posted May 23, 2013 What are R plates? Are they the NI equivalent of L plates (for learner drivers)?
bob Posted May 23, 2013 Posted May 23, 2013 They are from the French for slow; 'Retard', meaning go slow around this car.
nekunando Posted May 23, 2013 Author Posted May 23, 2013 What are R plates? Are they the NI equivalent of L plates (for learner drivers)? They're plates that go up after you pass your test and have to be displayed for a year..
Magnus Posted May 23, 2013 Posted May 23, 2013 Just think... if you'd bought into the hype and played Fire Emblem: Awakening instead, you'd be dead right now.
Raining_again Posted May 23, 2013 Posted May 23, 2013 Flip that's crazy. Glad yer not hurt nandorinooo I've seen some crappy driving from R's... I was doing 70 (on a 70) and got overtook by a restricted driver, not even that long ago! o_O
Recommended Posts