A slight road traffic accident.

[Lancman]

Some years ago my Dad owned a 500 c.c. “Bronze Head” Rudge Ulster of which he was rather proud. One night he was riding up the Great Nortb Road, as it was then called, when he saw a hitch-hiker ahead. It was a miserble night, cold and windy with a touch of rain so Dad stopped to offer him a pillion ride, which he gratefully accepted.

A few miles on the passenger began to complain about the cold and as there was very little traffic Dad suggested that the passenger could turn his coat around to face the other way in order to keep his chest warmer. So they stopped, turned the coat and with the sleeves reversed set off again.

A few miles furthter on Dad noticed that the passenger had fallen off so Dad turned round again to investigate and found a small crowd had formed round the fallen passenger in the road, with a policeman. Dad asked if there had been an accident and if the casualty was OK to which the policeman replied that he had seemed OK until they’d turned his head the right way around again.

 

[Pickman's model]

Many years ago I was told of an accident at a roundabout on the outskirts of aberwrystwyth. My informant was one of a group of students at the university there, who had gone to a party about 20 miles down the coast. They appointed a designated driver. But this fellow was quiet when sober and quieter when drunk. By the time they embarked on the return leg he was 1 over the 8. Nonetheless everything went well until they arrived at the roundabout mentioned,when for some reason he began to reverse around it. Unsurprisingly another car soon struck it - fortunately at a low speed - but a passing police patrol car pulled over to investigate. They went first to the second car. The designated driver began to panic - it wasn't his car and the smash had been his fault. But as the policeman stopped talking to the other driver and came to talk to him he pulled himself together. The cop tapped on the window,and he lowered it with trepidation. The officer said 'sorry to delay you, sir, the man behind's as pissed as a fart. Swears blind he saw some lunatic reversing round the roundabout. We'll take it from here, you're free to go.' He drove at about 10mph the brief remainder of the journey home.