I was driving uphill the back way past the Cheese Factory to Petaluma in my old pickup truck. I had just passed the turnoff to Nicasio. Some huge hay truck was coming downhill, took the curve too fast & had dumped hay bales everywhere.
I pulled off the road. Then I remembered what it was like to be coming downhill the other way, where the curve was blind. So I laid on my horn, long and hard.
In less than thirty seconds, just then came a truck pulling a horse trailer downhill around that curve. The attached trailer skipped onto two wheels, almost flipping, but managed to stay upright. The driver threaded his way past the bales, just dodging them.
I felt sorry for the horse... I was still on my horn until the hay truck driver walked around the curve with a flare.
The dangerous moment was past.
The driver of the horse trailer slowed to a crawl as he carefully made it down the hill. He pulled alongside me. The driver thanked me for the horn. Said he had just enough time to slow down & avoid what could have been a bad accident for his horse. Told me I was a smart driver.
I told him I remembered that curve was blind to people driving downhill, and I was glad I didn't have to see him & the horse in a crash.
He went on his way, and I had to wait for the hay bales to get rolled off the road.
Have you ever sized up the situation and done something that saved a stranger?
