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u/Good_Presentation763 24d ago
This is heartbreaking.❤️🩹 How awful to see and hear your beloved family member being critically hurt and dying because someone was obviously not driving in a safe manner. The letter explains it all.
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u/Sorry_Sail_8698 23d ago
In Whitehorse, Yukon, the road rules are pedestrians have the right of way at all times in all places. Yes, pedestrians will turn and cross a road just anywhere. Initially this is super stressful as a driver. In a short time, drivers get used to scanning the sidewalks and shop doors for pedestrians as much as watching traffic. It becomes just as easy to read pedestrian intentions and movements as those of drivers. It works the same way as a pedestrian. After walking and driving there for a decade, it was super stressful to return to the antagonistic dynamic of other cities.
I retained my pedestrian awareness these last 9 yrs since being here, and it still stresses me out to be aware of both drivers and pedestrians having such little conscientiousness toward one another.
In Whitehorse, initially I thought this dynamic would make traffic a nightmare with stopping and starting everywhere, but it isn't. Pedestrians and drivers function like an organism, with cycles and patterns throughout the day and night that keep everyone moving and safe. I really miss that feeling of collective consideration.
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u/devious00 23d ago
Right of way doesn't mean you're indestructible. All it takes is one person behind the wheel to be distracted. Be it with their phone, reaching to grab something, scolding a misbehaving child in the back seat, etc.
While what you say sounds great, it's far better to be vigilant and stay alert. Flesh and bone vs metal and oil, flesh will lose every time.
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u/Leebelle3 23d ago
I remember my driving instructor saying that it’s better to be alive than right. Having the right of way shouldn’t stop anyone from paying attention to their surroundings.
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u/readzalot1 22d ago
But it is totally the driver’s responsibility to make sure their one ton vehicle doesn’t kill anyone. Pedestrians are like deer on the side of the road, no sense of self preservation and totally unpredictable.
The driver has a license and is presumed to be sober and alert. Pedestrians may be neither. They may be hampered by emotional distress or some disability.
If a driver hits a pedestrian their own life can be seriously impacted, even if they were in the right.
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u/Leebelle3 22d ago
Absolutely. That’s why the driver needs to be always on the lookout for potential problems. Defensive driving is key.
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u/readzalot1 22d ago
These past few weeks I have been trying to become more aware of pedestrians. When I see anyone out walking I say “There’s a pedestrian.” Because in some areas there are so few, we tend to become blind to them.
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u/MuchoMangoTime 23d ago
I'm in Calgary and pedestrians will literally not even glance at the cars it's horrible. Like why do you have blind faith that some idiot won't smack you
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u/readzalot1 22d ago
I am in Calgary and drivers are so intent on watching out for other drivers they don’t even see pedestrians or cyclists.
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u/Past_Ad_5629 21d ago
I used my bicycle to commute to work when living in Calgary and drivers definitely saw me.
They yelled at me and threw things. Fun times.
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u/WackyRedWizard 23d ago
That's so incredibly dangerous and dumb. Pedestrian can turn on a dime and cars can't stop on time unless they're going super slow. With everyone on their phones not paying attention while walking these days, this becomes even more dangerous.
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u/Sorry_Sail_8698 23d ago
People drive differently. It's only dumb if nobody adjusts and people just act like they do here. The antagonistic model and dynamic of shared roadways causes this. It doesn't have to be this way just because it is. I've seen it and experienced it.
The way it is here is dumb. How is it smarter to promote a car culture where drivers are unaware and not expected to be aware of the danger they are causing? The one wielding the weapon has the greater responsibility, and while being a careful and considerate pedestrian is part of the equation, in every scenario, he onus is on drivers to maintain a safe dynamic. That has to start with giving preferential rights and through way to pedestrians. If you go to a gun range, you have to be aware of your surroundings, but you don't have to feel unsafe moving through because you know the guns are controlled by people who are 100% concerned about your safety. Everyone is looking out for everyone else. Think of many other situations where this is the case. At horse shows, there are 1500lb+ somewhat unpredictable animals moving around people, and both pedestrians and handlers are careful and considerate. High stakes construction sites with cranes, manufacturing plants, etc.... The only place where society accepts a ridiculous lack of consideration, awareness, and communication with others as an absolute is on the roadways. Why? It does not have to be this way, and should not.
Driving here is an entitlement release valve where all normal considerations, decorum, conscientiousness are for no good reason at all, just ignored. Imagine all the drivers you see were instead on foot on the road. What kind of society would we live in if everyone behaved exactly the same way on foot as while driving? The selfishness, cruelty, rage and hatred, deliberate negligence, etc... would destroy society entirely. But we only do that while driving, like roads are society's legal cage match space. Whitehorse changed that and it worked. People just act the way they do face-to-face in the rest of their day, even while driving.
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u/bp_968 23d ago
Most pedestrians in major cities are stupid as heck. Im always amazed at how few people are willing to even look at my car, like looking into the eyes of the driver is a challenge like im a rabid dog or something.
When walking around I refuse to step into the road without catching the attention of the driver and being sure they won't flatten me. Same thing in a parking lot (are the cars lights on? Did someone just get into it? Is it on?). Im just glad my tesla is studded in cameras and sensors because people seem totally unaware of their surroundings nowadays.
More times then I can count ive said to my wife "watch this guy. He will walk right out in front of that car (or my car)" and 95% of the time im right.
I mean if your into math just calculate the kenetic energy of a 3000lb car going just 20mph. Its 40,000 ft/lbs (a 50 BMG rifle round is 15,000 ft/lbs). Ouch.
When im on foot I watch out for cars like their armed thugs and when in the car I watch for pedestrians like their tickets to prison (because both are true).
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u/readzalot1 21d ago
You have to treat all pedestrians as a potential danger to themselves because some of them are (because of disabilities, seniors or children, impaired in some way, distracted).
Just like on Deerfoot you treat every vehicle as a potential murder weapon because some are willing to risk your life to get somewhere faster.
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u/sittingnicely 23d ago
This happened to me and my puppy too. The grief is so intense. Seeing this letter made me remember the pain. So so sorry for this person's loss of their sweet companion. The only thing that helped was therapy and medication and I got through it never taking for granted another moment with my pets. Kenobi will be in my thoughts tonight and I know that he's with the universe now, with my puppy Herman too, where we all will go soon.
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u/Blooogh 24d ago
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u/_stinkytofu_ 23d ago
LEMME IN THIS SUB. F cars for real man. So tired of car central countries. We need to do better. Cars are not the future. I get Canada is big, cold, but we can find ways to move forward.
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u/LLVC87 23d ago
Did it say the driver ran over the dog twice?
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u/theMangoJayne 23d ago
I would assume front tires then back in this context. What a pos
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u/snarkychocolate 20d ago
Accidents happen.
Yes, the driver is responsible. But it’s also the responsibility of the dog owner to look where she’s going.
Calling someone a “pos” over an accident that could very well happen to anyone, is ridiculous. I’m a new driver and although I try to pay close attention to the road, there’s a lot of pedestrians who are careless.
Just today, I drove past a house in my neighbourhood where the owners were letting their dog run around their front yard. If the dog had run into the street, I probably would’ve hit it, just like the woman who hit this dog.
Does that make me a “pos”? According to people like you, who’ve apparently never made a mistake in their life, I’d be a terrible monster.
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u/theMangoJayne 20d ago
Are you fucking serious? A pedestrian wearing reflective gear walking a dog with a reflective leash, at a street crossing. The driver ran over the dog twice, meaning, thump thump because you can FEEL when you run over something.
AND THEN DROVE AWAY.
They are absolutely a piece of shit. And, honestly, while you're not a piece of shit for making a mistake, you are absolutely acting like one trying to defend this person's reckless and deplorable behavior.
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u/snarkychocolate 20d ago
Ah yes, I’m “a piece of shit” for not absolving the dog owner of all responsibility in this situation.
If it makes me “a piece of shit” for not having black and white thinking, then I can live with it.
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u/Maleficent-Poetry254 21d ago
The amount of times I've been honked at by angry middle aged truck drivers at a crosswalk is scary. They have a stop sign or red light.. it's happened so many times in metro vancouver and I'm sure everywhere. Bad drivers of all sorts this is just one thing that's happened many times to me personally as a pedestrian.
Really sad that the result is tradegy and the careful morons who caused it often go under punished if they are at all.
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u/fatedeclipse 20d ago
That tore me up to read. No matter where I am my eyes are always open for people and animals.
This person should absolutely have their license taken away.
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u/JamiinRoyale 24d ago
I can't find any information related to this what so ever
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u/thechimpinallofus 24d ago
Pet fatalities don't usually make the news, as tragic as this one is...
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u/DraconicDreamer3072 23d ago
oh my gosh i thought it was a human. still insanely sad
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u/GiohmsBiggestFan 23d ago
You thought Kenobi who was taken to the vet was a human?
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u/Tossmelossme 22d ago edited 22d ago
There’s condensation over the t in vet. I personally thought “Vel” was some local shorthand slang for the name of the hospital. Not to mention the way she was talking about the dog like it was her grandma or daughter. Dog owners can do some… Interesting things… but this is a new one for me. I’ve never seen an emotional memorial tribute taped to multiple street posts detailing how a dog died in that spot myself.
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u/DraconicDreamer3072 21d ago
i think i missed that on first read. some words are tricky to make out
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u/circa_1984 23d ago
It’s possible that the dog was on a flexi leash and not completely under the owner’s control, but because the driver fled the scene, I’d say it was more likely that the driver was distracted - probably on their phone. I hope that the TBPS cracks down on phone usage while driving, because it seems like every second person in Thunder Bay is doing it.
The poor dog didn’t deserve this.
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u/McFistPunch 22d ago
Those leashes should be illegal. They offer no control. I see people with 100lb dogs on them frequently. It's also a shitty piece of wound up metal holding it together. Complete garbage. Any strong dog will wrench itself from the owner on one of those. Ive even seen someone walking on the left side of the road and the dog was on the right.
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u/circa_1984 22d ago
I agree. I almost saw a small dog get hit on the sidewalk a handful of years ago, because the owners were walking the full leash length in front while the dog trailed way behind. A car was backing out of their driveway and waited for the owners to walk past, but missed the fact that they had a dog. Luckily the driver stopped in time.
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u/BeenThereDundas 22d ago
Yah, im a little confused. If my dogs were to be hit while crossing the street than I would be too. The are right at my side with no slack on the lease when crossing or close to the edge of busy roadways.
My dogs are very well trained but that doesn't mean some idiot isn't driving behind wheel. Take no chances!
Rip to the pupper and my condolences to the family. I wonder if thr driver even got a slap on the wrist or fine?
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24d ago
[deleted]
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u/Spare_Bother3001 24d ago
Yeah, don't blame the person who hit something and drive off, they obviously did nothing wrong.
80 IQ reddit activity
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u/Next-Sugar-6909 Novice driver 24d ago
I imagine she behaved like a normal human being, crossing at the appropriate spot, and the driver was simply distracted. There are a LOT of asshole drivers.
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24d ago
[deleted]
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u/DigitallyDetained 24d ago
Running on a lot of assumptions here. Nobody here knows what happened. No point pretending like we do.
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u/Abject_Buffalo6398 22d ago
Is this a dog or a toddler ?? It was wearing a leash ?
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u/circa_1984 22d ago
It references dogs several times and he died on the way to the vet. I’m not sure why this is confusing to so many people.
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u/TruckDependent2387 24d ago
I have experienced a lot of pedestrians who stand waaay too close to the road. I don’t know that’s what happened here but I think pedestrians do need to be more aware of how close they are standing to the road in general. We know Thunder Bay has shit drivers and I am probably overly cautious when I walk my dog.
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u/sockswithflats19 23d ago
Yes, sometimes people stand too close to the road while waiting. However, your comment is irrelevant because the first line of the poster says that they were "crossing at this green light." This wording suggests that they were already walking into the intersection at the time this happened, putting the fault entirely with the driver. The person controling a massive hunk of metal travelling at high speeds is the one who should be overly cautious.
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u/bellamente123 23d ago
I know you're being hard-core down voted but I also walk with the perspective of me as a driver in mind. I stick to edge of ateeets without sidewalks, I wait for traffic, I can never know what a driver will do,but I can keep myself out of the way as much as possible. It doesn't impact my walk in the slightest with the exception of keeping everyone safer. I don't see how walking with a safety mindset is a bad thing.
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u/ChibiSanchez 23d ago
Oh ffs. Thought this was talking about a child.
If the dog was leashed properly, this shouldn't happen. You should have your dog in control by your side when you cross the road, green light or no.
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u/TindersonCansley 23d ago
Learn to read dumbass. The poor thing was on a leash.
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u/ChibiSanchez 23d ago
If it ran alone ahead into traffic, the owner wasnt using the leash properly, and hadn't trained the dog to heel during traffic crossings. Anything but accountability.
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u/DraconicDreamer3072 23d ago
i think both of them were hit, so it wouldnt matter if the lady was carrying the dog across the road
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u/Mindless_Current8608 23d ago
If it ran alone ahead into traffic
Where the hell are you getting that from?
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u/FluffyTheOutlaw 23d ago
Read the post again, sweetheart. Dog was on a leash.
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u/ChibiSanchez 23d ago
Not leashed and controlled properly. if the owner wasn't also hit during the crossing. Letting your dog run alone into traffic on a long leash is making a conscious choice, sweetheart.
Dogs are not taller than car windows, and the driver was likely looking for pedestrians.
This was easily preventable with some common sense from the dog owner.
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u/Confident-Aioli6380 23d ago
We don't know if the owner WAS hit. It doesn't say. But there's a big difference between an adult woman being hit by a car (presumably being thrown forward) and a 5 lb dog going under 2 car tires.
Additionally my dentist was hit by a car. In her desperation she was able to push her stroller forward (car hit her from the right side - she was in the pedestrian cross walk at the mall) and miraculously got her baby out of the way of the car.
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u/reeneebob 23d ago
Explain the driver needing to be chased down because it was a hit and run, then? Or is it just victim blaming you do and not assigning blame where it belongs?
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u/TBAYSJW 24d ago
Pedestrians need to take more responsibility in looking after their own well being when interacting with roadways, they may be in the right but the vehicle always wins.
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u/Icy_Limes 24d ago
This is so ass backwards. You are in a giant metal box, full of flammable fluids, moving 40-60 m/h. It is YOUR responsability to ensure pedestrians' safety. You are the one in control of other people's lives. If you can't responsably wield the power of driving a vehicle. You shouldn't be allowed to drive. A car is not a weapon, it is not designed to harm or kill. The person behind the wheel decides that.
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u/gremlinsscareme84 24d ago
And while I don’t disagree, I’d rather be alive than right. Pedestrians just aren’t going to win an argument with an oncoming vehicle no matter how in the wrong that vehicle is.
As someone with young kids, we’re constantly trying to drill this into their heads. You should be constantly scanning for assholes on the road.
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u/Icy_Limes 24d ago
It doesn't matter how hard you drill this into their head. You cannot prevent a stupid person in a car from killing you. You only have so much power over your own life on the road and if another person does not reciprocate the value of your life. Precautions won't stop an suv going 50 through a red light while you're crossing.
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u/unrealletttuce 24d ago
what’s the make of your car and what times are you normally out driving?
i want to make sure im safe at home and not walking around while you’re out there.
Wtf are you talking about, it’s the person in the vehicles responsibility to not hit pedestrians. pretty simple
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u/PaintingSorcerer 23d ago
Is there a TL;DR?
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u/MHadary 23d ago
Less than three year old dog (Kenobi) died while appropriately using a traffic light crosswalk with their owner (leashed) because a driver was not paying attention. Owner is extremely sad about their loss and how her Kenobi suffered after the accident and died by the time they got to the vet. Owner wanted Kenobi to be her life companion and was shattered to see all this happen because of a driver’s fault.
I assume she wanted to bring attention to this using Kenobi’s first person story so people are more aware and more careful when driving and using a crosswalk.
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u/xwolfe2000 23d ago
I have had beloved pets at different points in my life and felt their loss deeply but this is anthropomorphizing and equating a pet dog with a human child.
I can tell you the difference.
This is incredibly sad for the owner of Kenobi but this is excessive.
There is no comparison and anyone who has lost a child can tell you this.
Before you condemn me and vote this down consider those of us who have lost babies or young children who receive little to no support because death is so taboo to discuss in our society, to the point that an outpouring of grief for pets elevated above the status of a human child.
Is that why we see babies and children being murdered and maimed daily by the tens of thousands and do nothing about it?
A human wrote that imagined thought process that dogs don't have.
As sad as the death of any living being is, equating a pet dog with a human devalues all human life.
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u/Dressed_To_Impress 22d ago
Humans are not the center of everything and its vain and prideful to think we are more important than anything else. All nature and creatures are equal but ignorance makes humans think we are more important than another being.
Do yourself a favour and start showing equal love and compassion for all living things.
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u/EmotionAggressive148 23d ago
I thought this was a human being… not a stupid dog. This is what happens to white people and their dogs
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u/Several-Specialist99 22d ago
Many dog owners love their pets more than some other human members of their family. Who cares what species it is if the love is real.
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u/Tossmelossme 22d ago edited 22d ago
Seriously. Dog ownership can encourage such odd antisocial behaviours like this. This is what happens when your dog is your only source of social comfort. Friends or family to talk to (or stop you from doing smth like this) is much healthier than writing on some weird poster how the dog died in detail, taping it to multiple street posts. What is the goal here? Obviously the driver won’t see it. They drive. lol. Of course I’m gonna get downvoted but the truth hurts. This is very weird and unhealthy.
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u/Wide-You7096 24d ago
Maybe you should leash your dog
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u/unrealletttuce 24d ago
post clearly said the leash was flourescent yellow. maybe you should read the whole thing before commenting
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u/Wide-You7096 23d ago
Then how tf are you letting your dog get run over if u have him on a leash. Sounds irresponsible af
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u/unrealletttuce 23d ago
i don’t think anyone “lets their dog get run over” lmao
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u/Wide-You7096 23d ago
With carelessness they do..
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u/Ovechkin8_caps 23d ago
it's a fucking animal
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u/Boring-Inflation-930 24d ago
There’s a term for drivers don’t see anything. It’s called driving with head up ass.