By Scott Shephard

Since March, 2017, I have logged close to 184,000 miles in 2 F150s and a Mustang Mach-E. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent accumulating those miles but it would no doubt number in the hundreds.

And through all of the time and distance covered, I would say that I (or Deb, when she is driving) and those in other vehicles I have encountered have generally exhibited skill and caution. . . except for the short time documented in this dash cam video recorded out of the front window of my pickup. In the frame capture you see here, I am milliseconds away from T-boning a car at roughly 65 mph. The silver car is in the frame for only 8 seconds.

Take 90 seconds to watch the video below and then I’ve got a few things to share with you.

Amazing isn’t it? I’m happy to tell you that no one was injured. And in my case, I was merely a witness with no damage done to my vehicle. I watch the video and wonder again and again how that could happen. I have three theories.

First, two people close to me told me they prayed for my safe travels on this day. Another very close friend said he had a premonition about me early on the same morning. Did prayers and premonitions save me? Some will take issue with this but here’s what I think about that: I’m not worthy.

Second, because it was dark, raining and congested where I was, I was very highly focused. When all of this happened, I think the fact that I was’t talking on the phone or searching for a podcast made a huge difference. So the focus and reflexes of a 69 year old driver helped avoid this? It didn’t hurt.

My third theory is the answer - at least for me. Quite simply, I got lucky. A half second of difference on either side of this event would have resulted in a very different story. Frankly, the guy in the white truck got lucky, too. If the semi truck hadn’t blocked him and kept him heading straight, his truck may have gone completely off the road. Maybe it would have rolled over. The guy in the silver car, whose careless driving caused what you see, got lucky as well. The slick road allowed just enough spin to keep him from more serious consequences.

The most interesting visuals in this short video are the frames in which you can see me heading closer to his car and his face is illuminated by my headlights. I’m wondering what he was thinking? I’m hoping he was thinking that he shouldn’t have tried that crazy pass maneuver.