Thank God

(Picture was taken last September and unrelated to subject. OK... maybe a little. But nothing more than the theme of traffic.)
Didn't get enough sleep and was tired all day. Finished work before 6:20 which was considered early. Mostly worked on lace ribbon sorting, fabric preparations and cutting. Screwed up a few times including not aligning the pattern to the grain, spraying starch too close and cause spots. My boss didn't point out the tricks and expected me to observe her and know all of it. Sigh...

Second Narrows was jammed according to the traffic news. So I decided to wait it out in Park Royal. Getting there wasn't any better either, but luckily almost all the cars were going onto Lions Gate so I was fine once past Capilano.

It was raining slightly and the ground was wet, reflecting headlights and streetlights. Not a good driving condition especially downtown. Then just before Howe, I let a car cut in front of me. However, I regretted it right away because he was moving very slowly. You can tell he was talking to his passenger by his head movements and hand gestures. Naturally, I tried to pass him.

Shower check, looked back to the car in front, shower check again, look back again.

O M G !!! I'm gonna hit that car!!!

I needed to slam on my brakes immediately. I went through that "time slows down" and "a thousand thoughts" thing. In that split second, what went through my mind was, oh no, the car behind me is for sure gonna hit me and push me into the car in front. All I could do was to slam my brakes as hard as possible.

Miraculously, I stopped in time. Thank God, thank God, thank God!!! (T_T)

What happened what, someone was parallel parking 4 cars ahead. I didn't (and couldn't) see that. Of course I was distracted by trying to change lane too. But most of all, my fatigue caused me to let my guard down on my inability to tell distance at night, compounded by the rain.

Now that I look back, my brakes didn't squeak. It was expected to. I wonder if the wet ground has anything to do with it. Which means... I was still sliding! O M G !!!

Also, it's close to Halloween. And this means close to my accident anniversary. Seems like I have bad vibes around this time of year. I must remember to take extra caution.

This incident sure scared the hell out of me, but I'm super surprised how fast I recovered. Am I so numb?

And no, I don't remember that car's license plate.