....are we talking about *That* Astra??
She wasn't around the westcountry was she, only I heard about conjestion down here...
....oh silly me I forgot, the M5 - M4/A303 to M3 were ALL congested up TO the M25!! :-)
Hugo
"Forever indebted to experience of others"
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Ok HF, what am I bid to delete this thread?
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All very amusing, I'm sure.
I am so pleased that ths incident has been shared on an international website.
I would suggest you all imagine what it's like to be suddenly confronted by your *very* worst phobia (and I have many of those!). No warning, it's just suddenly there.
There I was, happily driving along after being *assured* we were avoiding all motorways and signs to do with them, and then I was suddenly on one.
I had two choices - either slam on the brakes and screech to a halt in the hard shoulder, or to carry on, white-knuckled and shaking in fear. Subconsciously opting for life, I carried on.
Old-timers might remember my vow never to drive on motorways. Hell even to allow someone else to drive me on one I have to be drugged up to the eyeballs, high on vodka, and chainsmoking.
So this was, no exaggeration, sheer hell.
I did do one thing that I'm quite proud of, which was moving over lanes to allow vehicles onto the MWay.
ND - how much do you want? ;)
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You cant blame Rob, he is a bus driver, he has NO idea what a motorway looks like. ( well not till he gets the job driving all the wrinklies in a Shearings coach )
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>>driving all the wrinklies
What a spooky coincidence, RF - that's just how he put it when he took me and my parents out the other day. ;)
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You cant blame Rob, he is a bus driver, he has NO idea what a motorway looks like. ( well not till he gets the job driving all the wrinklies in a Shearings coach )
Rob, if you get a job with Shearings, any chance of getting me a spare turquoise jacket? I've always wanted one :o)
Terry
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Glad you've survived the experience, HF. At least you'll be able to get legal advice here. I'd start with mental cruelty... :-)
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I was thinking more about RTB slamming in a claim for PTSD ;-)
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Wow! This sounds like quite a momentous occasion!!
HF - I hope Rob has done some serious grovelling to get himself back into the good books, you're entitled to not make it too easy for him! ;-)
Pleased you managed to get away unscathed anyway. My friend was going home down the A1 the other day when he took a wrong turn and did the reverse of what you did, he went from the A1 and ended up stuck in a back lane in some scarey little town somewhere. Now that's gotta be even harder to do than accidentally joining the M25!
Blue
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Mental cruelty is spot-on, JBJ, and I am sure there are many other legal issues I could sue for too. Laughing at me afterwards and publicising it here might not yet have been tested in court, but I'm willing to be a guinea pig.
Blue, I'm glad you're with me on this. Enough grovelling has not yet been done, but I am working on it, and it's been quite therapeutic so far. ;) Do you think it merits a shopping trip or something? Hope all is well with you, you've been quiet for a while. Will talk to you soon (sorry been rubbish with emails lately).
Take care all,
HF
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RTB & HF : Ditto Hj's comments above, with the addition
" What you did was not too clever, nor funny or a joke . "
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HJ and eMBe (especially eMBe),
Thank you for your concern. I might add that we both fully appreciate the potential seriousness of the situation. We were very lucky that the motorway was comparatively quiet, and we were extremely lucky that nothing happened.
Please bear in mind, though, that we did not find ourselves on the M25 on purpose. It was a mistake. And not one that could be corrected. I felt it far safer to remain calm and coax HF along as best as I could than it was to have her stop on the hard shoulder and change over (illegal) or to have her reverse back up the slip road and onto the roundabout (illegal and downright dangerous).
I made the post lighthearted because regulars know about HF's fear of motorways and have, in the past, taken more than a small amount of the Michael out of her over her driving. Of course we both realise that, in essence, what happened was neither clever, funny nor a joke but at the end of the day, HF came through it extremely well and is now even contemplating doing it again with me there to guide her through it.
There is little enough levity on this site at the moment and I thought that a little gentle mickey-taking may help that. I am sorry if I was wrong.
HJ - we will find out about the Pass Plus courses in our area. Your salutary tale made grim reading and reinforced our good fortune. Your advice is appreciated, believe me.
Cheers
Rob
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Just make sure you post the route details here 48 hours in advance so everyone's got time to make alternative arrangements :-)
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I can understand that the M25 can sometimes be a scary place, but I honestly feel more concerned myself when off-motorway, where there are suicidal pedestrians and cyclists, unpredictable motorists leaping out of side turns at you, and all manner of lights, crossings and other distractions to contend with.
Well done HF. Mrs Smokie HAD to use the motorway once (kids emergency, I wasn't around) and has never looked back. Having said that, she is more comfortable now she drives a reliable car which has enough poke to keep up with the pace. From being like you, she now does a 50 mile round trip commute daily on the M4.
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Just adding me tuppence-worth as usual.
First, thanks HJ - I do accept that what happened was really not a clever thing to happen - just want you to realise it was totally accidental. I appreciate all that you have said, and will definitely either look into Pass Plus courses, or just get Rob to take me out on motorways (he was *so* calm with me that I think he might be better for me than a course - is that wise do you think?).
I echo Rob's comments about your story, too - it's slightly different in this case because I've actually been driving for about 9 years, and should be able to cope with these things much better than a new driver should. Just something I've always avoided after, coincidentally, having a not particularly nice motorway experience very soon after passing my test - although not anything like that of the young lady you speak of.
eMBe - I just want to re-iterate that it was not something we did on purpose, we took a wrong turning and I suddenly found myself driving on the motorway. I certainly don't see that as being clever, or funny, at all. I was thrust into a situation and handled it the best I could. As Rob said, we didn't mean to belittle the potential seriousness, but to be honest, having driven for as many years as I have, it really shouldn't be beyond my capabilities, should it?! Just a mental block which needs to be eroded.
Smokie - thanks for your post - it sounds eerily similar to my situation. And it's encouraging. I'm kind of determining not to allow this to be a problem anymore, and to take a course or at least to get some sort of MWay practice. I don't like to be defeated.
Thanks all,
HF
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Rob
I would argue that if you thought HF presented any danger to other road users or to yourself, for any reason, but particularly considering the stress she would have been under, you would have been justified in stopping and swapping over.
The hard shoulder is not a pleasant place to be, which is why I was suprised to see a sign on the M40 or 42 last friday saying 'Accident nn/oct/03 - ring nnnnn or use next emergency phone'
Can you not drag HF up to the land of chips and cobbles and let her loose on the M58 on a sunday morning, when you can drive the length of the motorway and only see one or two other cars.
hope she's got over it.
Bora - what Bora ?
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Rob I would argue that if you thought HF presented any danger to other road users or to yourself, for any reason, but particularly considering the stress she would have been under, you would have been justified in stopping and swapping over.
Bora,
My point exactly. Thanks for making it for me ;-)!!
At no time did I feel that HF was a danger to herself, to me, or to other road users. She drove safely and courteously. She started out begging me to guide her through every single manoeuvre, but ended up changing lanes to allow traffic to join without my saying a word. In short, she acquitted herself superbly.
>>Can you not drag HF up to the land of chips and cobbles and >>let her loose on the M58 on a sunday morning, when you can >>drive the length of the motorway and only see one or two other >>cars.
Next time we're up North, I think that I might just do that. Incidentally, last time we were up we drove through Horwich on the Old Road. I was looking out for a Bora but it seems from your signature that you no longer have it. Please do e-mail me shortly. It would be rather good if we could meet for a swift one next time I'm up.
Cheers
Rob
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Rob
I know I've said it before, but I'll be in touch.
(today has been another bad day at work, then come home and decorate the ceiling then entertain SWMBO's pet rats for half an hour 'cos she's working away, then I can get myself some tea and a glass of muscle relaxant for that bad neck (from doing the ceiling))
Tomorrow i have the pleasure of working from home, as I can't get anything done at work.
p.s. - I have a friend who was visited every christmas by relatives whose normal experience of motorways was the M25, and every time they came up, they insisted on going 'for a burn' down the m58 just for the novelty value.
Bora - what Bora ?
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Well that is shocking, thinking that the M58 is a MOTORWAY, its not its the biggest skateboarding park in Europe, mind you they did build the M65 so i could just stroll up to Burnley, Accrington why even exciting Oswaldtwistle, but at certain times other drivers think they can use it without my permission, certainly beats going over the moors through Belmont and getting on the A666.
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