Gutted... bad incident on the roads tonight

[Alexander 0]

OK it's not a major tragedy but I'm pretty shaken up and I feel pretty stupid;

 

Driving back from Leeds tonight in the pitch black and rain/fog after playing a (good) gig, coming out of leeds they're doing some kind of roadworks involving coning off certain lanes and guiding you all over the place. I hate driving in and out of Leeds at the best of times so I was going steady and concentrating, but somehow the cones managed to guide me over the central reservation (about 2 inch high raised area, no barriers on it thank god) and onto oncoming traffic. Quickly slowed and steered back over the reservation again and me and my synth player were OK.

 

Now I realise this is totally driver error, but it was sickening the bangs from the wheels and something hitting the deck on the way back over (sump or wishbones I expect) - I could have cried, I totally love my C and hate the thought of damaging it. I spend a fortune and a lot of my free time keeping it just right and well loved and when something like this happens I feel like a total knob.

 

Carried on driving and luckily the car seems fine - still drives/stops in a straight line, no odd noises or play in the steering - could it be I've got away without causing any damage??? I guess if I wake up tomorrow and the oil is all over the deck I'll know if I've knackered the sump, and if my tyres are flat I'll know I've dented my alloys (no visible damage to the outside of the rim). Pretty sure the tracking has to be out now, at the very least.

 

So yeah. Totally gutted and I just hope it's alright. I'm going to buy her some new floor mats to say sorry. :(

[corozin 0]

Well I think you did well to avoid a nasty ending on that one. For what it's worth you might consider a phone call to the Highways Agency (or failing that to the Police) today to complain about the positioning of the cones. Diverting you into oncoming traffic is pretty dangerous, and you may not have been the only person affected.

 

If you don't let them know then the roadworks people may not realise the dangerous situation they created.

[boost monkey 0]

Oh dear, glad you're ok!

 

Yeah I would say that if your car is behaving normally, 99% of the time it's fine. I mean, wishbones are solid metal and the pressed layers of subframes are very strong *(unless they're rotten like that other mateys was)

 

You know those metal bollards that lie on the ground and can be locked up into a vertical position to stop people parking in places? I accidentally caight one of those with my sibframe when turning around once and I pulled it clean out of the ground! :shock: My frame was fine too.

 

Subframe 1 - 0 Bollard.

[craigowl 0]

Yes - glad you are OK. Driving at night, particularly if its wet with the glare, reflections, etc. is a lot more difficult than people like to talk about, I have found.

 

Hope your car is OK.

 

Never mind, man, you have a lot going for you - I would have given two or three digits to be able to say " I was coming home from having played a good gig........." :lol:

 

Visited your website and listened to Spiderbites - really good - and nice, dirty guitar sound.

 

Regards,

 

Craigowl (frustrated guitar owner). d.o.b. 1945 :shock:

[Alexander 0]

Thanks guys, going to give the car a thorough wash, wax and check over today - I don't really know how tough these old VWs are, maybe I'm babying it a little bit (I cringe every time I mince gingerly over a speedbump). I'm pretty sure it was totally my fault for mis-reading the cones, but if I can do it at 30mph while concentrating, I bet some people hooning it down there on autopilot must have done it as well.

 

And thanks for the nice comments Craigowl! Wish I could say they were all good gigs, and it's absolutely not as glamourous as I'd like it to be, but it's a fun life being in a band!