I survived one of my car/driving fears today. I had my front tire blow out at 70 miles per hour on a major highway. I've always been worried it would happen and how bad it would be when it did, but it wasn't that bad. Now if I could stop worrying that the bridges are going to collapse under my car...

So how about the rest of you. What strange driving/riding phobias or stories do you have?

My nan used to slow down as she went through puddles. It took ages till my mum twigged she was lifting her feet to stop them getting wet...



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

My nan won't drive above 35 km/h. EVER.

I have a horror of a huntsman spider falling out of the sun visor when I put it down whilst dring.

For the record, hunstmen are HUGE spiders that can end up being as large as your hand.

When I went driving last year, I scared the instructor. Fear for his car, I suppose.



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Those who forget the pasta are doomed to reheat it.

I hate going over suspension bridges - I keep thinking that the wires are going to go. When the Dodo drives over one and I'm in the car, I just sit very still and look straight ahead, ignoring all the views and trembling until we reach solid land again.

Up to a couple of years ago, I'd never driven myelf over one - then I arranged to meet up with an old friend after 17 years and had to drive over the Humber Bridge. That was bad enough, but it was only about an hour after a mini tornado had passed over it! It was really scary; torrential rain and a bit windy. But it helped that the outside lanes were coned off and we had to drive in the inside ones.

And then I had to repeat the journey on the return..........................

I love driving; I’ll drive anything (except motorbikes). My mum can’t understand that though, she always sits behind the driver hanging on to the headrest. She truly believes that all cars have a mind of their own and are determined to crash. If something is coming towards you, she tightens her grip on the headrest until your head is quivering. She is sure that the other car will leap across the road, onto your side. I have never taken her out in the Merlin (my kit car) I don’t think either of us could take the strain.

I love driving too but I don't drive, thanks to only having taken my test once and failing spectacularly on almost every count. I got in the car a perfectly confident and competent driver, put on my seat belt, was immediately possessed by aliens who had never driven in their lives before and it showed...

Probably my most exciting drive was from South Ronaldsay to the Orkney mainland over the Churchill barriers (which at that time were just enormous blocks of concrete half sunken in the sea with a road surface on top) in a hurricane - we had waves crashing over the car, and at one time we were swept sideways, but fortunately not by enough to push us over...
one of those experiences which is great in retrospect and fairly teeth gritting while it's happening!



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If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.

my dad refused to learn to drive as he said you needed three arms, three legs and eyes in the back of your head...

Could that have been referring to the aliens that posessed AlisonS?

I think they were limbless. Possibly legless as well. Certainly brainless. And the Examiners was scared sh ok I'll get me coat.



Post Edited (08-14-03 12:26)

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If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.

My dad, god rest, was out in the car with my aunt driving they drove into a rain storm and Betty had her nose to the windscreen trying to see where they were going. Dad suggested she might like to put the windscreen wipers on at which my aunt explained that she never used them because once they were going she couldn't do anything but watch them.....

lol! "You are feeling veeeery sleepy..." could explain a lot, that!



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If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.

It certainly could. she was weird in lots of other ways too but for the sake of the family's reputation the true horror will have to remain hidden but she once kidnapped a cat and she also killed her next door neighbour. Oh and a man she worked with....

I have a severe fear of heights I think that explains my fear that the bridges are going to collapse :)

I've never even considered learning to drive, as I don't trust my reflexes to control a vehicle moving at those speeds safely... I'll stick to cycling, & public transport if necessary (or lifts from friends with cars, if we're going to the same place, of course), instead. Neither of my parents ever learnt to drive, either, for one reason or another, and my younger brother (who's just had his fortieth birthday) only did so quite recently.

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"God rot Botchkamos Itsochnik!"

Hmmm car fears.... I used to have dreams about being without brakes while driving at full speed, but they have kinda gone now...

I've had my car aquaplanning on a road, but thankfully I was going very slowly.

I used to have dreams about being without brakes while driving at full speed
That happened to me. I was wearing boots with buckle thingies at the back, and my left boot got caught up with the seat, so when I came to brake, I couldn't move my foot. That was fun, I can tell you.
Also, I once got an onion caught under my clutch pedal, so when I stopped, the car stalled and wouldn't start. I was on a hill and the only way to re-start the engine was to roll backwards and bump start. Unfortunately, it was the slip road to the M40. Some very nice policemen stopped the traffic for me.

KT _
An onion under the clutch pedal? That HAS to have been a unique occurrence...

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"God rot Botchkamos Istochnik!"

That's sort of what the policemen said.
"Well I've never f***in' seen that before!"