Speedy Gonzales

I passed my driving course..... :-)

Well ok the plan to update this a bit more often with what happened on the driving course didn't really materialise.... but then it would've been a tad tedious anyway, what with roughly 20 entries saying got in the car and drove around the home counties.

However, the highlights were being pulled over by a Herts traffic sergeant on the A41. We were doing 135mph at the time (the A41 is dual carriageway- at that point it crested over the chilterns and so we could clearly see the road ahead for miles, so it was safe to give it some). Anyway, when the Herts car finally caught up (it was unmarked, I might add: it'd be a bit rude to rocket past a marked car from another force) a disco of flashing lights and sirens popped up so we pulled over.

When he got out of the car he did not look happy! As you'd expect. But then he looked up, saw me and another student in uniform looking at him with expectant grins from the back seat. Our instructor got out with his documents which state we are on a bona fide training exercise and not just out for a jolly. He looked at him, said "Bollocks. Fair enough" and got back into his car!

Another day we had a fairly graphic lesson on why you don't overtake on the approach to a right hand junction. (read left hand junction if of American extraction!) I was driving, and was looking up into the distance, and saw a big yellow JCB tractor type thing sat a funny angle across the road. Don't like this, I said to this and so we slowed down. Got a bit closer and saw the remains of a Ford Focus fairly well embedded in the rear wheel of the tractor.

So we all got out. However, the wonders of modern car design meant that despite hitting several ton of tractor at (we reckoned) 50mph the woman had got out and had next to no injury- a small cut to her right wrist, and she looked like she had seen a parade of ghosts, but otherwise fine. So we looked after her and the uninjured but mightily cheesed off tractor driver until the Essex emergency services turned up.

There are other anecdotes to add but I'm straight back to work tomorrow on shifts, which means getting up at 5am so I'm off to bed. I'll try to nab a photo of the new car I'm now allowed to drive- a BMW 530! heh is cool. Don't nick a car in Camden else you might have me chasing you!