So, a news release arrives from the insurance.com website, which did a survey of 2,000 drivers — 1,000 men and 1,000 women — who were asked to share their biggest driving embarrassments or, to put it another way, their most “awkward driving flubs.”
Here are the top 10 “awkward driving flubs”:
- Forgot where they parked
- Drove over a curb in a parking lot
- Locked the keys in their car
- Drove the wrong way on a one-way street
- Drove away with something on the roof
- Tried to open a car door and realized it wasn’t their car
- Couldn’t back out of a parking place because other cars or objects were too close
- Dropped money or food at a drive-thru window
- Accidentally activated the car’s panic alarm and couldn’t turn it off promptly
- Lost a toll ticket at the pay booth.
More women admitted to making these mistakes than men, although men were more likely to lose toll tickets. And while these mistakes didn’t make the top-10, more men than women admitted they had been pulled over without their license, registration and/or insurance certificate, had been unable to operate their vehicle’s key-fob remote locking system, or had forgotten a passenger and had to go back to fetch them. Men also were twice as likely to drive away from a gas pump with the nozzle still plugged into the filler neck.
While the results of the survey are at least interesting and perhaps even significant, I’m guessing that such things occur much less often when people are driving their classic cars.
Why? Because people driving classic cars pay more attention — to everything. Everything from making sure their car is clean and in proper running condition, to never forgetting where they parked their precious classic, and of course making sure they never, ever set anything on top of its precious painted or other surfaces.
Actually, I doubt very many people with classic cars ever use the drive-thru lane — or even eat anything inside their vehicle. Oh, and since classic cars weren’t built with alarm systems, they’re never set off by accident.
However, having said that, I’m sure many of you have done something embarrassing while driving or showing your classic car and I’m offering the “Comment” box below for you to confess your sins and foibles.
My most embarrassing moment:
Parking in a shopping centre is always a challenge, more so than on the street, because cars around you come and go with unpredictable frequency and they park on all four sides of your car. This puts the car at increased risk of being dinged anywhere and everywhere.
Keeping this in mind I parked my 1969 Mercedes 280SL on level ground at a safe distance from other cars and went on my way.
When I returned I discovered to my horror that my car had rolled forward about 8 feet into a brand new Cadillac. The physical damage to both cars was minor but the emotional storm that ensued when the owner appeared was !@#$%^&***. Well, I think you may imagine how an owner of a new Cadillac feels on the occasion of the first scratch.
Long story short – the insurance settled the matter satisfactorily and we ( the two owners) decided not become friends.
Lesson learned – never leave your car in neutral and always engage the emergency brake. I hope I never have to learn this lesson again!
I always look my car over when parking and whom or what car is around it. If I could set up a camera to view my classic while in the stores, I would. Would love for someone to bless my vehicle with a new paint job. Please pimp my ride.