The student of driving.

The student, I might have observed before has a rather brisk style of driving. Scenery can seem to whiz by as she deftly steers the car along.



I think though this morning she might have had a bit of a "bathroom moment" taking the kids to college. Reliable witnesses mention: S bend, unseen patch of ice, sliding car,  grass, verge, hedge, grass, verge, hedge.

With a suggestion that there was no need to be alarmed as it would come round again in a minute

Despite this, there might also have been an outbreak  of fervent religious devotion from those in the passenger seats, that's not unusual when herself is driving though.

So anyway she came home and then we went out. All fine and dandy, I became aware that she might have taken a bit of fright when we entered a patch of road which could have been described as a "bit icy". This produced a response akin to transferring us back to Edwardian times when a car could proceed no faster than the chap walking in front with a red flag.

This was all very well, but when the road got properly frozen I thought I would have to measure our speed with a theodolite....

Having suggested using the conditions to practice a bit of cadence braking and other skills we did eventually get to the other side but not before being passed by a couple of Telecom engineers travelling totally too fast for the conditions.

We had a quick trip to get the student a new pair of jeans (not I hasten to add because of any soiling incidents)  then arrived at the wholesalers just as a freezer full of meats went on special reduction.

All in all it was an hour and a half later when we returned and found the Telecoms chaps had got a good 150 metres up the road from where they had passed us. A trailer was abandoned in a gateway one vehicle was in the hedge at a strange angle. They were in that condition known as stuck.  Gently I eased the AX up the icy slope passed first one then two of them. A bit further on was the milk lorry who had just had someone in a car wrap it all round the front of his lorry. Spreading an impressive mix of bits of hedge and broken plastic across the road.

Then finally I drove the last bit home, oh did I mention that, the student felt she had experienced quite enough ice driving and she was letting me experience it instead....

She did mention  that conditions had improved a great deal in the time we had been out, it was nothing like as slippery as when she had been driving.  Naturally, I agreed, it's always far more sensible to agree with the student.

R