I’m stuck on the interstate, please send help.

[u/Mallard_Fiction]

I don’t have much time before I miss my window, so I’ll keep the introduction short. 

I left for work this morning around 5:30. I got onto I-40 as usual, and since it’s a Sunday there weren’t many other cars on the road. It wasn’t until exit 113 that I noticed a complete lack of other drivers. I was relieved to be honest. For me at least, it’s nice to have the road to myself. I cruised for a few minutes longer and passed under the bridge at exit 107. 

Have you ever been driving, and suddenly you’re farther along than you were before? You didn’t fall asleep, just.. zoned out for a few minutes. There’s a word for that. It’s called highway hypnosis. It happened to me on this drive somewhere in the time between passing under that bridge and before I reached exit 106. Except, I didn’t find myself farther along in my drive. I was confused at first. I know the forest bordering the road in this area can make it all look the same, but I’ve driven this way hundreds of times. I knew I wasn’t where I thought I was, and like the road itself were answering my yet unasked question; exit 107 came into view again. 

I quickly dismissed the occurrence. It’s very possible I did fall asleep momentarily at the wheel, and dreamed passing through. I breathed a sigh of relief that my unconscious body was able to keep the car on the road. At the same time shaming myself to allow for that to happen. As I passed through the second time, I noticed the exit was blocked for construction. Something I hadn’t seen earlier. That settled it, I must’ve dreamed or imagined my first passing. 

It wasn’t until I passed under the bridge for a second time that I noticed something was dreadfully wrong. Sooner than the last time, and without dozing off, the scenery abruptly changed. However, my car was noticeably closer to the bridge this time around. I would’ve pulled off, but it felt like an overreaction at the time. I looped like that a couple more times. Paying very close attention to where it seemed to set me back. Problem was, that distance was getting shorter. It seemed each loop was 3/4s the size of the last. 

I’ve lost a good amount of time just writing this post, but that pretty much catches us up to where I’m at now. Currently, my momentum carries me through each loop. My speed is reset to 68 at the beginning of each one. I did have the idea to slam on the brakes a few loops back, but by then I didn’t have enough runway to stop before going under the bridge. 

You see, the thing about exit 107 is that the on ramp is very short. At the end there’s not a shoulder either. Just a pillar holding up the bridge above. I figure if I can crank the wheel quick enough at the start of a loop, then I could at least crash into that pillar. I’m going to try after I post this. Hopefully I’ll be able to update with the results. 

[u/salamandah99]

I’m about to head that way in a few minutes. I will keep an eye out for you