BE CAREFUL OUT THERE

I’m sure I’m not unique in taking people for their word; if someone says: “Hey, you hit my car!” my immediate assumption isn’t “Of course not, that couldn’t be!” but rather “Gosh, did I hit his car? Maybe I did!” Such was the scene that unfolded in Manchester city centre one night. And so, I was accosted by an angry motorist who accused me of hitting their car after we pulled over. I was slightly mortified by the whole experience.

There had definitely been some sort of ‘bump’, but since I’d had a jump pack in the boot that tended to rock back and forth, I assumed it was that. It was only later when I sat down and drew what had happened on paper that I realised the only way this ‘collision’, or ‘scrape’ as I would call it, could have happened would have been if I’d reversed into their car, which clearly, I hadn’t. It all happened so quickly and as I say, I was mortified and tend to take people at their word…

My point is, it’s easy to become complacent when you’re out enjoying a drive and if something suddenly happens out of the blue which shocks you out of your comfort zone it’s vital that you keep a clear head and focus on the situation at hand, no matter how unpleasant. Take a moment to think, take stock of the situation, then make sure you get down all the details you know you’re going to need later – not just the driver’s details but also the location, the time of day, the driving conditions, the positioning of the cars relative to the road and so on. Whatever you’re driving, it can be rough on the road so as they used to say in Hill Street Blues: Let’s be careful out there!