I saw a car crash today. I was following a car along an
urban motorway, that part of the A57 that is called The
Mancunian Way, in Manchester. I could see him flip his
brake lights a few times, obviously undecided about which
exit to take. There was an off-ramp on his immediate left
and he appeared to decide not to take it. Then he changed
his mind, slammed on his brakes, skidded a little and
burned rubber, swung the wheel over hard and tried to make
the exit. He didn't make it. The car slammed into the light
bollard and was sent right up over the crash barrier. It
was suspended in space, above a small grassy knoll.

I saw all this happen in a split-second. I also saw that I
couldn't stop, as there were people close behind me. I
swung out, passed the crashed car and carried on down to my
own exit, some distance on. I clearly saw that if I had
tried to stop, I could have caused an accident. I also saw
other people, behind and with more space, pull in, go to
the man's aid and summon the emergency services.

What did I learn from this experience? That every day you
can see the best and worst of human behaviour. The worst,
resulted in the car crash. No doubt it will be written up
as 'an accident', but it was nothing like that. It was all
about not being prepared, not knowing your way round the
town maybe, but also not bothering to check the map before
you set out. Then, when an option came up, not reacting
decisively, but hesitating, dithering, and making the worst
of all choices. Make the exit? Carry on to the next exit?
Neither. Don't do either choice, just smack into the crash
barrier and ruin your car. It's like life, isn't it? Choose
this road, or the other? Neither. Just write your car off.
If I tell my children anything, it will be to always look
at the road atlas before setting out, so you know which
turning you need to look out for. If it says 'A34' on the
sign, you need to know if that's relevant to you, or not.
Also, once you see a choice, make it. Don't dither, or fail
to decide. What's the worst that can happen if you do? You
miss your exist, maybe, have to carry on to the next one
and turn around. Big deal. You're still alive and you've
still got a functioning vehicle. Ditto if you take the exit
and it's the wrong one. You may have to carry on, find a
new turning and get back on the road. Big deal. You're not
damaged, you don't need repairs and you're still mobile.
That's the important thing.

That was the worst, but there was also the best present.
The people who stopped, the ones who were concerned enough
to go to the victim's aid, summoning help and seeing what
they could do. How often that happens, and thank the
heavens that it does. The unsung heroes, whose first
natural instinct is to help. That shows something, doesn't
it? Some of us are truly selfish, uncaring, arrogant and
stupid, and demonstrate behaviour that falls far short of
the best. Others aren't. Those people, well, they aren't
much different to you and me, they have two arms and two
legs and one brain. They just make a different choice. To
be the best. To demonstrate what human beings are capable
of, in the field of caring and unselfishness. It's always a
choice.

My journey didn't stop there. I was on the way to a tyre
centre to get a puncture repaired. I made it safely and
drove my car in. Then another strange thing happened. There
were six young men standing around in overalls. Not one of
them would come to my assistance, and one had to be ordered
to attend to me. He did it with good grace, admittedly, but
when a moment later a young lady in a red sports car drove
into the building, all remaining five young men leapt into
action. Their choice? 'Human nature'? Maybe my charms don't
impact on these youngsters like hers obviously did. But I
wasn't expecting to be popular. All I wanted was the
service of a tyre engineer. I thought that was their job.
Maybe not. Maybe they go to work for other reasons.

My learning didn't stop there. Once my tyre was repaired
and replaced, I nervously reversed my car, turned and went
to exit the building. My way was blocked by a big white
van. I didn't panic. My own car required a tyre to be
ordered, and it had had to be delivered. Maybe this van was
delivering more tyres, I reasoned. I waited patiently, but
it didn't move. Then, another strange thing happened. The
passenger door opened and someone got out. A young lady in
a red dress, the same one who owned the sports car. She
said a few more words to the driver of the van, then went
back to her car ' being attended to by five young willing
workers ' and took two bottles of wine out of the back
seat. She then walked languidly back to the van and handed
the bottles to the driver. They talked for a bit more and
she walked off. He looked around, thought about his
position for a while, and eventually made a decision to
move his van back out of the way and into a parking space.

Well, it's a minor little story, and we know that every
road in Britain is plagued by the selfish driving of white
van drivers, but why, oh why, would that particular driver
think it was his right to park his van across a busy
entrance in the first place, then deem it still worthy to
carry on his conversation when he could plainly see that
someone was trying to get past him? What business could he
possibly have been conducting that was so important that
every other car owner would have to wait for him to finish
what he was doing, then make room for them to pass? Who the
hell did he think he is? Unfortunately, that's often the
way. Most of us seem too preoccupied with our mundane
trials and tribulations to ever spare a thought for other
people and their needs. It's one of the worst aspects of
human nature. Or maybe it's a choice. Every day, every
hour, every action you take is a choice ' between the best
and the worst of human nature. Even in the small things,
the everyday little actions, the slights, the snipes, the
cruel words, the insults, the offhand remarks, we have a
choice about who we are and who we intend to be. Are you a
car driver too? Then maybe you need to think about this.

About the Author:

Mike Scantlebury is an ordinary person, residing in
Manchester, England. From there he sends out stories and
articles to the world, through the internet and his many
websites, plus YouTube, FreeIQ and Facebook. Look for him
on MySpace or start with his home page:
http://www.mikescantlebury.biz