This is my second story on here, and I would just like to share something that happened to me last week which still gives me goosebumps to think about.
I live in Scotland - it rains alot! So driving home from my new temporary administration job, the typical Scottish summer was in full swing - it was absolutely chucking it down with rain. The route from my home to the new job is relatively scenic, so I was trying to be as careful as I could as the road was pretty bendy.
So there I was driving along, blasting the radio and having a bit of a sing-along. As I neared a corner I slowed down a bit but obviously not enough. As I manouvered the car around the bend, all of a sudden the back of the car swung out and I could feel I had lost complete control of the car - I was aqua-planing. The wheels had totally locked and the car was doing a complete 360 degree turn onto the other side of the road. At this point I just fully freaked out and took my hands off the wheel and screamed - the worst reaction ever I know but I totally panicked!
Then I tried to regain my senses and grabbed the wheel again, when all of a sudden it jerked toward the middle position and held fast, and as the feeling of control returned the wheel jerked again towards the left, changing the direction of the car slightly. The car seemed to be under my control again so I slammed on the brakes, and I saw a brown flash go by my window.
The car slid into a ditch by the road with a thud, and it started to tip over onto the driver side. Fortunately in the ditch were some very long reeds and a little hilly area and the car sort of bounced off and got back on to 4 wheels. Stationary and in a state of shock I just sat with my hands on the wheel and stared out the window. Eventually I got out of the car to assess the damage.
The car was relatively unharmed - just a few minor scratches on the bumper and on the driver side door but nothing particularly major. I then looked to my right and saw this huge telephone pole - that must of been the brown flash - I had missed it by mere millimetres. If I had hit it, I'm sure I would have been hurt pretty badly and the car would be in a much worse state. If the wheel hadn't jerked to the left I would have most certainly wrapped my car around that pole.
The car was thoroughly stuck in the ditch as the ground was so wet and muddy, and eventually I had to get the AA out and a few kind people stopped to make sure I was OK - I even saw a few other people come round that bend and loose control a little but thankfully regain it - but they probably kept their hands on the wheel and didn't panic like a big girls blouse!
I believe my grandad was in the car with me that day. He was known as an excellent driver and the car I was driving used to be his. I believe he was watching over me and saved me from crashing. I think he grabbed the wheel and steered it by the pole and helped me to regain control when he saw that I had no clue what I was doing. I can see no other way this could have happened as the wheels went from being turned round to the right, to the middle, then once control was established again, went to the left - and it was a definate pull - it didn't happen slowly as if the wheels just slowly turned themselves while in a slide. I think it might explain why I suddenly got my act together as well while panicking. He always had a huge calming affect on me and I always felt safe around him. After looking it up on my drivers theory, this was the textbook way to regain control of the vehicle, and I know my grandad would have known exactly what to do.
So its safe to say I'm taking another route to work this week! Maybe I should brush up on my drivers theory as well:P
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