Was driving through Bedfordshire earlier this week and got stuck in a traffic jam on dual carriageway. But when I got to the front of the queue – about 30 minutes later – the reason for the delay made me hopping mad. Awaiting vehicle recovery was a man whose car had broken down. Now I can imagine it’s a frustrating situation, but does that mean that all common sense has to desert you? He had broken down on the nearside lane and it was a bottleneck, two lanes going into one.
Fine. These things happen. But instead of just standing on the hard shoulder, presumably waiting for his breakdown operator, why didn’t he spend 10 seconds pushing his car on to it? Arrgh!!! He was causing the jam and he had the power to clear it, right there in the palms of his hands. He could have used them to simply move the car out of the way!
Had I not been late for the event I was attending, I would have stopped and done it for him, making sure he got a very sarcastic look.
Traffic was crawling past so slowly there would be no risk. Instead I sat there shaking my head and swearing at him. Helpfully he’d put his hazard lights on. That made all the difference. Some people don’t deserve the privilege of driving a car.
I was heading to Millbrook. To those who don’t have anything to do with the car industry, it’s a tiny village in Bedfordshire, close to Ampthill. To the rest of us, it’s home to a world-leading vehicle engineering centre and test track. I was there yesterday to try out Vauxhall’s new Astra estate. And a fine car it is, too. Practical and flexible family transport if you don’t need a full-sized wagon like a Honda Accord.
Breakdown Cover from 
