Today, those tires were behind me.
I had been sitting (stopped!) for several seconds, waiting for traffic to clear in the other lane so I could turn left, when I hear the squealing. I admit, my first though was to brace myself (having been rear ended before). I even had enough time to think about what having my car totalled would mean to me right now. I missed seeing the car in my rearview, but saw it going around me, up on the curb.
If the car had been RIGHT behind me, I would be examining my own actions very carefully, wondering if I had really started the turn signal in time, or if I stopped too fast or any of a number of things.
But it wasn't. That car couldn't even have crested the hill behind me when I first stopped. The driver had the WHOLE DAMN HILL to notice me, but s/he obviously didn't.
I am just glad they decided risking their tires was a better bet than slamming into me.
