One of the best things that Mr. Boo made me do was to learn to drive. He didn’t want me to have to struggle on and off buses with a pushchair so before we started a family I needed to pass my driving test. Luckily, I passed both my theory and practical driving tests the first time and it only took me six months in total.
Having only one car back then Mr. Boo had to put me onto his car insurance policy which actually made it cheaper than he was paying. Apparently, if there are two drivers on the policy the car is more likely to be looked after, checked that it is locked etc. Who knew?
I can still remember those early days of driving with nobody else in the car, it was so nerve wrecking. Over time I built up my confidence and in no time I was able to simply hop in the car and head off into the sunset (so to speak). With my parents living 300 miles away it took a year or so before I felt comfortable enough to brave the distance, the roads, and the local drivers.
Driving would be OK if it weren’t for the other drivers
Driving to a little village in Cumbria sounds idyllic, however, when you consider the drive from Norfolk it’s not quite so straight forward. After you have navigated your way along single carriageway, usually stuck behind a tractor or a lorry you finally hit the A1. Whilst there are some numpties driving with their foot to the floor it is a relatively easy journey. That is until you get to Scotch Corner and turn on to the A66. A notorious road which is bad enough in the daylight but mix in bad weather (it rains, snows and blows a gale quite a lot along there) or darkness and you are looking at a recipe for disaster.
Throughout my childhood, I’d heard stories of accidents and the long diversions when it is closed to high sided vehicles. Whilst accidents happen on all roads there is a certain class of driver that thinks that the A66 is a racetrack and I’ve endured some near misses on that carriageway. Nothing, however, compared to the local drivers around the small village my parents lived in.
There is a busy crossroads junction high up on a hill. Which in pitch darkness the locals decide to switch off their headlights and if they can’t see any other headlights they just go for it. No stopping at the junction, just straight across. There is, of course, a big flaw with this plan… they all switch their lights off so they won’t see any other cars coming. I always dreaded this junction, I’d keep my lights on, stop and the junction, wind down my window to see if I could hear any other cars coming before moving off. Madness!
I quite like driving, if it weren’t for the other drivers.
Driving would be OK if it weren’t for the other drivers
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post
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