After reading the fifth and sixth essay in 'Tremendous Trifles', I looked up the hansom cab online. I knew that it was a sort of carriage, pulled by a horse, but I had not realized how common this type of transportation was. In Chesterton's time, thousands of these cabs drove around in London.
The exact shape of the cab is important to understand the accident Chesterton describes. A hansom cab has two wheels (so it is balanced by the horse); the cabman actually stands at the back of the cab. The customer sits quite low (so that the cab has a low point of gravity); he can see the horse but not the driver.
Apparently, it is not uncommon for cabhorses to stumble; Chesterton did not see anything unusual in it. He notices people looking odd, but does not know why. when the horse starts running. Chesterton realizes that the cabman has fallen off and the horse is running wild. In seconds, the cab crashes into an omnibus.
Chesterton uses this experience to describe his own reactions, both before and after the crash. These tales about 'trifles' again indicate some deeper understanding of the world around us.
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