The Sunday Times runs a column for celebs unde rthe above heading.
In 197* whilst under instruction in a Morris 1000. I was reversing in a large(almost) empty car park and managed to collide with a lime yellow parked Princess denting my pride and joy.The cause was a large horsefly that buzzed in through the open window (ok it may have been a bluebottle)
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Many years ago on a camping holiday with a mate I got lost mainly because my mate could not tell his left from his right.
I ended up in a tiny courtyard in the pitch black night ,in a torrential downpour,with steamed up windows,in a Mini Van,and trying to get out I stalled it and rolled backwards at a good pace and crumpled the rear corner of my pride and joy.
I`d crashed into the base of the Lizard Lighthouse.
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Many years ago at the age of 16, crashed into the back of the local vicar's A30, creasing the bumper with my motor-assisted cycle.
It only occurred to me afterwards that about all I said in his presence was 'Oh Christ!'
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19 years old. Borrowed boss's car to nip home at lunchtime. Roundabout. car in front went but then changed his mind. Stoved the back in. Funny thing about it was that both cars were Morris Marina's.
Looking back I like to think I was doing the car world a favour.
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Funny that, I t-boned OUR local vicar's Astra estate in my Allegro when I was 17! He pulled out from a row of parked cars to do the first third of a 3-point turn without looking... I think I taught him some new words that night!
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Not exactly a crash, but in a pea-souper fog in the 1960s I was having difficulty seeing the road when travelling northbound on the A1. This road was largely single-carriageway with lots of bends in those days and I decided to closely follow a lorry to give my eyes a rest. This went well until he stopped and I found myself in a farmyard a long way off the main road!
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197? - My father had given up driving when he retired, but bought a car to teach me to drive in. (Singer Chamois MkII - GWM 97E)
First time out and I was putting it on the drive - I'd only had a few lessons and the drive was narrow, so I asked him to tell me if there was enough space on his side of the car. Yes he said - as the wrought iron gate when all down the side of the car and took all the fiberglass filler from the wheelarches !
Learnt a lesson that day !
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Funny isn't it? FIRST crash! How many have people had?
Mine was when I was 16 on my Raleigh Runabout moped. There was a Green Morris Minor traveller in front of me with two nuns in it only doing about 20 mph and me just following. The road was wet but it wasn't raining, the Minor suddenly stopped for no reason that I could see, panic braking on my part and the front wheel went under. The bike ran under the rear of the Minor and I ran into the bike. I never got to say anything to the driver, they just drove off leaving me in the middle of the road. I found out afterwards that this particular section of road in Formby was noted for being "slippery when wet"
Bill
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My first actual contact (at very slow motion) was in my 15 year old Mini 850, bought off a little old lady for £175 with a shocking 44,000 on the clock.
A friend of mine and I were taking part in a treasure hunt that took us all over the area. At the start of it all, our local copper (nice chap), who was about 6'10 and had the build to match was marshalling the large number of cars in the car park, when I decided to do a spot of reversing.
Fortunately I was going very gingerly, but I did make contact with him and my boot whilst he was on foot.
"Oops sorry about that" I said
"That's OK Hugo" came his reply, with a grin from ear to ear!
No injuries and no ticket!
Can anyone beat that?
Happy Christmas
H
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Road rally selective section on packed snow and ice.
navigator said "It's flat over brow!"
(meaning = flat out over a crest where you cannot see where the road goes)
Of course once over the brow it wasn't flat at all, went about 45 degrees left, DOH!
Tried in best Scandinavian style to put the tail out and lean on the snowbank to help us get round. The snowbank just sucked us in and o/s front wing made surprisingly gentle contact with a dry stone wall.
Grovelled out and still only dropped a minute but lesson well and truly learnt.
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A bit of a "welcome to the world moment" back in 1978. There are some nasty people out there.
A motorcyclist came careering around a roundabout off the M32 in Bristol, wrong lane, no lights, wet road. He clipped my trusty Peugeot 404 and came off. No damage, slightly shaken but we exchanged details and that was that.
About a week later plod arrives at my house, said motorcyclist had reported me for failing to stop and had filed claim for over £1000 of damage to bike. Mysteriously two witnesses appeared both of whom claimed that I had cut the biker up.
It never came to court, when plod had my statement it transpired that neither "witness" got the type and colour of my car right, or the time of the incident, or the exact location, and both claimed extensive damage to the near side of my car ..... wonder how much they cost the biker?
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First one was in my early teens when I was trying to turn right when cycling on a dual carriageway at night and a motorbike removed the light from the offside front fork without touching me or any other part of the cycle.
Second was when I had a front tyre burst when turning right on a Honda 50, had a real tank-slapper and came off.
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Shortly after passing my test, roundabout near Andover, Triumph Herald 13/60 on crossply tyres. Misjudged my approach speed, lifted off the throttle, the back end snapped out of line just to prove that all the old stories about Herald handling were true, and I ended up facing the wrong way. Luckily no other cars about, and the lessons I learned have stayed with me ever since.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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