Well I've had a few fingers of vodka and I'm just waiting for that warm glow to kick in but today has been horrific for me. I'm an o.c.d. "sufferer" since my earliest memory but I'm also slightly agoraphobic. I'm not frightened of leaving the house or anything, it's more subtle than that - I have to drive to particular places or go by particular routes when I'm on my own. I can do the school run but I can't go to a certain Tesco for example or down a certain road or over a certain bridge (unless my wife with me, then everything's ok). I even have to walk around shopping malls in a particular way, and then another particular way back to the car park. One way this manifests itself as a problem is I really need to use the right petrol station if I'm alone.

So last week I was driving back from the mountains after skiing and about 100km from home the fuel light came on but the trip comp said I had enough for 160km so no problem. My wife was asleep, it was 2 am or something so I thought I'd hang on till I was on familiar ground or get it the next day. Anyway, the kids were off school for another week and I didn't leave the house until today at which point it said 20km remaining and my round trip school run is about 20 km. I still wasn't worried, even though my station is a bit out of my way, I knew there would always be a safety margin. But in the last two days we've had three heavy snow falls so today, traffic was thick and slow and much of it was crunching and bulldozing through fresh snow especially where oncoming cars are passing on the narrow roads around the schools. My "20k to fill" was quickly eaten up by the conditions and by the time I'd dropped off my lad, the indicator was flashing a warning. I still knew that I'd make it, my station was on a long, clear dual carriageway going out of town and completely clear. However, as I pulled onto the slip road I saw that the station exit was barricaded due to construction work. I was instantly filled with dread, partly because of the petrol situation but mainly because i knew I'd have to find an unfamiliar station and i made the logical decision (for me) to hit the gas and smash the car over a wide grass, snow covered verge to get off the dual carriage way and onto the local roads to try and work my way to my petrol station.

Thanks to a stonking set of snow tyres, I got away with it but could I find another way to the station? - No, I got hopelessly lost, I knew I was only a few hundred metres away but just couldn't get there and then I got the dreaded fuel starvation vibrations. It was like a bank of cylinders was being starved of fuel and it felt like I had a pneumatic drill running in the boot. I was panicking by now and holding the car on the brakes while keeping it at 2000 rpm in the hope that it wouldn't stall. And it didn't, the vibrations passed and I continued to search for another station. Then began a 15 minute test of nerves as I frantically tried to find a petrol station in thick rush-hour traffic with these vibrations becoming more and more frequent and more and more severe. And suddenly I was on a road that i knew and about 4 km from a petrol station that I'd used before and it became a game of trying to bully my way through traffic whilst staying as much as possible in the inside lane incase I had to ditch. To say that the language in the cabin was foul would be an understatement, my poor wife had to endure several calls that would have made a marine blush, but I eventually skidded into a petrol station, pump on the wrong side, car vibrating like crazy and me sweating and shaking.

So I filled up, and paid and set off and after 100 metres the vibrations had gone and it was back to its silky smooth self and I tried to compose myself before walking into the house (by shoveling snow for an hour) and of course my wife went on and on about how I brought it on myself but people like me find it easier to lie and make convoluted excuses than admit we're a couple of marbles short.

Forward a few hours and my wife is with me to do the second leg of the school run, chaos in the carpark because the snow is piling everywhere and spaces are short. That doesn't stress me at all, wife is with me and I helped dig out a yummy mummy in a stranded 207 and just before getting home we made the decision to nip to the local mini mart place for essentials. There is a main entrance on the main road and a secondary entrance from a side road which also serves for lorries to load and unload. I took the secondary road and drove round the back of the building only to find that as the road leads in to the car park, some idiot had just stopped there, left his Kangoo and gone shopping. I couldn't believe it - two cars behind me, getting impatient and a selfish, moronic cretin blocking me in front. Had there not been a mountain of snow I could have passed but even on full lock the car was pushed sideways by snow into the offending vehicle. I got the red-mist. I nudge up to the bumper and floored it - nothing but wheelspin and a smell of burning, the Kangoo wouldn't move. By this time I was hammering the steering wheel and in a total rage. If the guy had come at that point, I would have killed him and enjoyed it. A crowd was starting to form and I made a final attempt to flatten the snow mountain to get past and after a minute or so and more foul burning smells I was passed. I immediately reversed right up to his front bumper and well and truly blocked him and everybody else using that road. What else could I do? I got out and shouted some abuse at the gathering crowd about Poles and driving licenses, heaven knows what they thought of some foreigner mouthing off at them.

So we were pushing this trolley around and all the time I was desperate to get outside and confront the idiot who would no doubt be waiting but at the same time, trying to do things as slowly as possible. Of course we got outside and guess what - yup, the driver was a hot chick and there was a huge line of angry drivers behind her - the rest of it just degenerated into verbal abuse of which I'm not proud, but at least I didn't punch her in the face or worse, get punched the face by a girl in front of the kids. She was very feisty, she used a shopping trolley to block me and push her way in front and then do a series of brake tests and slow manouevres. Good for her.

So I'm sitting here, trying to calm down, glass in hand, I just thought i'd relay the sorry tale of my driving day, perhaps as some form of therapy. The glow from the (several shots of) vodka has kicked in (and eased the pain of breaking a headlight in my adventures, and possibly the exhaust which is now growling). Thanks for listening and thanks to my beautiful wife who thinks I am strong and silent and will probably never know what a fundamental pillar of strength she is for me. Read more

Been out and about a bit today and seen some shocking attempts at steering wheel control.

Many defy the 'hands of the clock' method of description.

One driver had the fingers of both hands interwined and was hugging the top of the wheel.

No way has he proper control, and it's not a position I could take up even if I wanted to, unless I lost a bit of weight. :)

The other one you see quite a bit is one arm straight out, with the underside of the wrist resting on the top of the wheel.

Both of these positions might be fine for a straight line, but neither gives the driver much hope of reacting swiftly to an unexpected need to change direction.

Needless to say, I'm perfect with my hands at 'ten to two' - most of time.

Where on the wheel do you usually put your hands?

And can there be any excuse for the unconventional positions I've described?

Read more

Hi

Mrs G (who has never forgiven me selling our Merc CLK for my Jag XJS) is now looking to replace our big MPV.

Currently it is a Mitsubishi Grandis, as 7 seaters go, one of the best, but too big, and too thirsty to be worth taking off the drive these days given that we rarely if ever need the extra seats these days (though i did yesterday).

Looking to change it for something smaller, under 15ft to be usefully so. It needs to be something that has been around a few years so that we can find a 2 - 3 year old one.

The children are growing up, the eldest (18) rarely comes with us, and the youngest (9) no longer needs booster seats.

The number of occasions that we need 6 or more seats is now very small, and on those occasions we could take two cars.

We want to be able to seat 5 in comfort and carry luggage for 5 in a small(ish) footprint. On looking at 5 seaters, even some quite big ones, it is clear that the centre seat in the back is not suitable for a long comfortable place to be, knowing that Mrs G misses terribly the Merc CLK (for occasions when children are not in tow) and that the Merc C Class is mechanically siimilar, I am suggesting a C Class estate. Budget of £10 - £12k should get us a tidy example od a 200CDi.

We have both seen merc B classes and the "format" looks appealing, plenty of space for 5, Merc levels of refinement, except reading www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=75...2 makes me wonder if they missed the mark on this, failing to deliver Merc levels of refinement in a 5 door format

Common sense tells me a Ford C Max would be a good bet, but Mrs G is seeking something a bit "plusher", and is NOT keen, can't even get her to look at them on Autotrader. Golf Plus doesn't seem to come with full leather and all the toys (judging by current EBAY and Cargiant offerings).

Incidentally, we did look at the new Pug 5008, on the basis that if it raised the bar considerably we might talk to the dealer about trading in the Grandis, but the Grandis has leather seats, DVD etc etc, and we were getting in to £22K territory on the 5008 and the material qualities here and there felt cheap and not very nice compared with the 3008. If it had been aroud long enough to get a 2 year old used one the 3008 would be very interesting indeed.

so whats around in the Merc / Jag area of plushness and luxury, that really does seat 5, and is under 15ft? Anyone carry 5 people in a Merc C Class estate? or BMW 3?


Read more

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insura...l

The article talks about hefty fines of £200........................
£200 fine seems very low when these drivers are avoiding insurance premiums of £1500+ / year.

2/3 of my neighbours have sons/daughters in the 17/18 bracket and £1500 seems the base premium - makes the £500 on driving lessons look the cheap part of the exercise!

Read more

Just come back from a few days north of the Arctic Circle.

Interesting in that there is little obvious road clearing of the style we see in the UK. Yes main roads are cleared but not down to tarmac, but down to a manageable level of snow (two inches?) and thereafter cars are on snow tyres with little metal studs. They drive remarkably quickly for the conditions, but all the cars I saw seem to be in very good condition for their age (some at least 20 years old).

No salt is put down, but some form of grit which provides grip but no melting facility.

Mostly 2WD cars with plenty of RWD and a few 4WD including some Subaru Outback and Forester taxis! Saw very few large SUVs - in fact I saw just two Merc MLs, two XC90s and I think that was it. Read more