This is one of those, “it could have been bad” situations. We’ve all been there, having a good time and doing something fun but mildly dangerous. All of sudden real life comes at you at 100mph, or in this case about 5mph and you are pressed into action to prevent a disaster. It seems that people on boats and snowmobiles deal with this stuff with regularity. In England you can add to the list “operators of massive old steam powered vehicles”. Over there, they have events where these guys drive steamrollers, road tractors, and other vehicles from point to point to celebrate their history and frankly to have a good time.
We’re 100% on board with that program and would likely sell an appendage to actually participate in one someday. The guy driving this massive steam powered steam roller was having a good time as part of a group and like the vehicle before him, he was presented with an intersection he needed to get through. Unlike the tractor before him he decided to drive on the wrong side of the road when approaching the intersection. While this is not an “inches from death” situation, think about the people in the little gray car that approach the corner (on the right side of the road) and then are presented with a 10-ton steam roller all up in their business. The driver quickly gives the car full right rudder and the juice to get out of the way.
We love these things and we love the fact that events like this exist. We’d just hate to see them end because of a mistake made by an operator. “Family of four squashed by steam roller” is not a headline anyone wants to see and we don’t want these to stop before we can get to one!
