How not to drive

Had a bit of an automotive incident this evening. Not to put to fine a point on it, and borrowing from popular rallying parlance, I spunked my car off the road into a telegraph pole.

Now, before you start, I wasn't speeding. I was under the speed limit for the road, although under oath I would probably say I was driving a little too fast for the conditions (although the car felt fine until this moment). I passed a couple of pedestrians on a country road, and at that split second my fuel light came on. In the second I glanced at it and back, I was on top of a sharp left corner. I put the anchors on, tried to go left then right, had none of it and punted the pole at about 10mph. Oops.

There is no obvious damage to me or the car (although I appear to be suffering some old man-esque aching in the lumbar region). The biggest harm has undoubtedly occurred to my ego, as I have had to concede that my driving skills aren't up to the Lauda standards I previously believed.

Being serious for a minute, I'm genuinely glad the Mrs and cats weren't with me at the time, as I should be the sole victim of my indiscretions, but it does concern me how easily I came off the road. Aside from ever-so-slightly bumping into someone who set off then stopped at a roundabout, I've had a flawless record in 11 years driving, but it just goes to show that if all of the necessary conditions come together, all hell can break loose.

So there you have it; an embarrassing moment which could have been much, much worse. If I've learnt anything, and if I could pass on any advice to others, it would be this:

Make sure you ALWAYS wear decent kecks when you're driving. You never know if you're gonna be cut out of a wreck, and if you are, you want to be wearing decent bills.