We got into an accident yesterday afternoon, well I was the guilty party because I was the one behind the wheel. I must've drove through that road from Kerteh to Paka, a thousand times, but somehow the traffic light presence just wasn't registered in my mind yesterday as were were travelling to the town of Paka. It is the first traffic light in Paka when you come from the Petronas Petrochemical industrial area. It was definitely a red light. My wife confirmed it immediately. A green large crane was coming from the left junction into the main road. I saw it at the very last moment and managed to swerve to the right and just slammed on the brakes. But I was too fast and to avoid hitting any cars, I went up the kerb where the traffic light pole stood and the car just stopped in its tracks.
It was a miracle. Allah must have wanted us to survive this experience. Luckily we were not hurt. Haziq was also sitting in front with Awi, and if I had hit anything, the impact would have affected him worst. I reversed the car quickly and stopped on the side of the road. My legs were trembling like jelly and according to Awi, my face was pale and white with shock. Upon checking the car, there were actually no major damage and it can be driven as normal. Another miracle. I thought the car would be damaged quite badly after such an incident.
This event really made me realise how fragile and how fast things could change our lives. If I had been slower to react or if Awi didn't warn me quick enough, (shudder) I couldn't imagine what would happen. As I hold Haziq in my arms, I am thankful to Allah for protecting us. There was no other force that could've done so.
My company has been promoting road safety all these while to the staff. It is actually what we call the Golden Rules of Safety and driving is one of the rules. We just have to be 110% alert on the road, no matter what. It was just a momentarily lapse of concentration and look what happened. We were just lucky to survive and I don't know what I would do if anything had befallen my family due to my own mistake.
Again, Alhamdulillah to Allah....