I gave my brakes a serious test early yesterday morning. To set the scene, it's 6:20AM and still dark, I'm on a highway heading north, about halfway into a trip to an early softball game. I have my partner, our kid, and my mother in law in the vehicle. Our kid is 16 and I've been teaching her how to drive for a while now, and she has been driving us just about anywhere when we need to go some place. Well on this morning, her mother didn't feel great about that and asked if I would drive instead, and of course I obliged.
Back to 6:20AM in the dark, cruise set at 78mph (was not using adaptive just because I haven't gotten into the habit of using it) and we are coming down a hill and I see a vehicle pulled over on the right shoulder without hazards on. So I promptly moved over into the passing lane as a precaution and it was right about then that I had an experience that I have never had as a driver....a person appeared and I noticed their silhouette starting to run across the highway into the right lane, and then into my lane as my headlights hit them. The person had ran into the lane I was in and squared up to face my truck, no hands in the air, just faced me. I slammed on the brakes for all they were worth and they got me slowed down enough to maneuver around her to the right and miss her.
Of course we immediately called 911, as did a truck that was behind us the she also tried to jump in front of. Part of me wanted to stop but I also was not willing to put anyone in my family at risk, the night before there were several shootings and stabbings with people on the run still within that area. It was still difficult not knowing what was going on with her, but hopefully I made the right decision.
We got to the softball game and another softball dad arrived about 10-15 minutes later, I knew he had travelled the same route so I asked what he saw at that location when he passed. He told me police were just arriving on scene but he did not see any one with the vehicle.
Talking with my partner later, who was riding up front with me....she said before I changed lanes she spotted the woman walking from the front of her vehicle to the drivers door, and then look right at us as we were coming down the hill before darting out in front of us. I was so focused on trying to not hit her and also not get rear ended by that truck that was a distance behind me that I didn't get as many details as she did. She said I got the truck down to maybe 20mph and barely was able to avoid her to the right, and that she came back at us when I did that to try to get hit. And then the truck behind us went to the left and she darted over towards them too.
I guess in the end I'm just thankful the truck has good headlights and brakes, and the way I was taught how to drive by my father. I was constantly scanning the sides of the road for deer, and also to immediately get over whenever there's a vehicle on the shoulder. If I hadn't gotten over she may have been able to accomplish her goal, if that is what she was trying to do. I hope to never have an encounter like that again, and am glad our daughter didn't have to in this instance either.