Geo Prism
I'd only just started driving and my brother and I bought a 96 Geo Prism off his girlfriend for $400. Nice buy, 0-60 in a fortnight and we were strongly advised not to use the Cruise Control 'as the wires are a bit loose so we're not sure what could happen' but this was my first motor and it was fine by me. No tint either which doesn't go down well in Orlando.

Anyway, off I was to meet a friend of mine who was going to let me do a short DJ set on the local college radio. Well excited about this I was but the (then) Mrs insists I join her for a cup of coffee (tea for me) first. This was one of those occasions where you have to show face lest piss her off.

So I'm bombing my way up the I4 and pull over at one point to fill her up (the car, not the mrs). Full tank of petrol and I'm back on the road, Saturday afternoon doing about 60 with the flow. All of a sudden, the car in front of me pulls out to the left lane and I'm stuck staring at the back of a stopped minivan in the middle of the road. I'm glad to say that I screamed in quite a manly fashion before ploughing into the back of this car which was stopped dead. It was quite scary hearing the tyres screaming against the road and yet not feeling the car slow at all. I looked to the side of me and remember seeing the face of the driver of the car located at my 7 o'clock - complete panic as he thought I was going to slam into him from the side. If I'd tried to do that I'd probably have flipped the car, and I was at a point in the road which was raised above another, with a nice drop in between traffic directions. Didn't really want to do that, then.

So I slammed the passenger side of the bonnet into the driver's side rear of the car. Airbags go off (ending the debate as to whether they actually worked or not) and my lungs get filled with white powder. I tense up and wait for the imminent collision from behind (ooh-er mrs), which luckily didn't happen.

I opened the door and stepped clumsily into the road (remember this is a 3 lane highway on a busy Saturday afternoon) and have a couple of people run up to me to see if I'm ok, which was nice. Some lads jump out and help me push her to the hard shoulder which was cool too, apart from being dazed and managing to lock my keys in the car like a twat. Had to sit there waiting for help watching the windscreen wipers forlornly screech across the window which was a bit of a twist of the knife.

Turns out, the driver I'd just hit was J-Lo's bass player. Random. He was a nice chap, gave me a bottle of water and we were having a bit of a chat (apparently J-Lo does insist on everything in her dressing room being white; it's some religious thing he said).

Copper turns up and genuinely looks surprised and wary when I put out my hand to shake his, but he does it anyway. What pissed me off was Florida's no fault law saying because I hit him it was my fault. Despite me saying to the copper that it wasn't and I had no time to stop, even being TWO car's distances behind, and EVEN though the other fella said it was his fault. Still, no. I think OB took pity though because he didn't give me a ticket.

Still, I got to be in a car crash relatively unhurt, and the insurance paid out $1,400 - make a smooth grand out of it!

Bad part was watching my bird drive past in the other direction while I was waiting for a tow truck. Good part was her feeling guilty because she'd pressured me into going to see her. Bad part was not getting to be on the radio or see American Gangster after which had just come out in the cinema. Good part was making a grand, and the fact I'd put my records and laptop into flight cases for the trip which probably saved them both.
(Mr_Lew, Tue 27 Apr 2010, 17:52, Reply)