Electric (silent) cars are probably going to be my death. #being visually impaired

I threw myself in front of a car the other day… luckily the driver saw me and stopped. I felt terrible (and guilty) because it was completely my fault! With an eye-condition that leaves you with no central vision (therefore missing like a lot..) it is not always easy to get somewhere independently. However, I am Dutch so I MUST ride my bike (haha). But seriously, I do still bike but let me tell you that I am very responsible and careful while doing so. And let’s not forget that the infrastructure in the Netherlands is amazing, so that helps too.   

                            

Biking with 5% vision is doable, if you ask me. Until there were electric cars... People often think that when one sense is missing or limited, the other senses become better. I am not so sure about that. I don’t have superhero ears but I do rely on them more. That is why I am capable of crossing the streets because I can roughly hear how far away they are.   

I guess it is good for the environment and technology that electric cars are becoming something. But I believe it could be my death someday.   

 So the other day, I was going somewhere on my bike but I couldn’t cross the street yet because of the traffic coming from too many corners (I can’t see the flashing lights so I don’t know which way they’re headed. That makes me nervous and I am not taking any risks). So what I normally do is that I bike a few meters further away from where I needed to cross (away from any intersections and therefore all the ways where cars could come form). Then I wait patiently on the sidewalk (so I am not standing in anyone’s way) until I believe it is safe for me to cross the street. A part of being safe is that I don’t see or hear any cars.   

However, it was very sunny during this particular day and I had a lot of trouble seeing anything. Meaning that I had to rely on my ears more. And just as I thought I could cross the street, a black silent car came right at me! I was spooked like hell and immediately yelled sorry, sorry, sorry! Hoping the driver could forgive me since I was the one throwing myself in front of him/her. What I don’t like is not being able to see who is in the car. I still have no idea what the driver’s reaction was and that bothers me a bit. It helps me move on to think that by saying sorry (and I really meant it) the driver might not be mad at me.   

The bottom line is: I do NOT like electric/silent cars! My mom didn’t like my joke about electric cars being my death. Haha, I guess she is right. And yes, for the haters out there. I became even more careful than I already was so don’t tell me that I can’t ride my bike anymore.   

Visually impaired or not. Does this sound familiar to anyone?   

@boosje123