Back seat driver (10) saves the day

From the Metro 18/08/11:

Ten-year-old Josh Hooley managed to steer his mother’s car to safety after she suffered a panic attack on a busy motorway.

He steered the car past speeding traffic on to the hard shoulder after mum Karen, 40, lost control when she missed her turn-off on Birmingham’s notorious Spaghetti Junction.

‘I didn’t know where we were and I just started sweating and breathing rapidly,’ said Mrs Hooley, from St John’s, Worcester.

We’ve all been there Karen.

‘There were articulated trucks and cars whizzing by but Josh remained calm and put his arm on mine and helped me steer the car on to the hard shoulder.’

As a reward, Josh was taken on a tour of the Highways Agency’s control room.

As a what? As a REWARD?

Poor little sod – he’s just saved God knows how many drivers from a hideous calamity and he gets a tour of the Highway Agency’s HQ as a treat. Call me ungrateful but it’s not usually the type of outing which lights many 10 year olds’ fires is it?

Three cheers for Josh then. But the cynic in me says hero Josh has deprived a firm of solicitors from a couple of juicy road traffic accident claims. But hey-ho: who cares what they think.

Don’t Shave and Drive

On the way to work this morning, I actually saw a guy with his electric razor looking up to the sky shaving at the wheel.  But even so, it's nothing compared to this:

From the Metro 08/03/10:

"A car crash in Florida is being blamed on the fact that the driver was attempting to shave her pubic hair while at the wheel.

According to reports, Trooper Gary Dunick says that the two-vehicle smash was caused by the fact that the woman was attempting to shave her bikini area, while her former husband held the wheel.

Her car then crashed into the back of a pickup truck.

I realise that people do all kinds of things in cars and act as though nobody can see them.   But this?!?

Couldn't her old hubby have taken over the driving before she started her grooming.  Or couldn’t they have called at a service station?  Was giving her nether-regions the once-over, really that crucial?

And did she get lathered up at the wheel before she started trimming her topiary?  Surely she wasn't dry-shaving down there - far too painful.

And seriously, I hope she didn't slice anything at the moment of impact.  Else that would really have put the lash in whiplash. 

But not to worry:

Two female passengers in the pickup truck were treated for minor injuries following the crash in Cudjoe Key last Tuesday.

So I'm sure there's a personal injury claim in there!