Having a smashing time

After a lovely family dinner celebrating my mum’s 60th birthday last week, I turned a corner I had rounded a hundred times before and heard a horrible, gut-wrenching crunch as the metal of my car bonded with the metal of someone else’s (parked) car. To make matters work, I had to keep crunching before I was able to move my poor battered motor away from its new buddy.

I pulled up at the side of the road, and I’ll admit that a series of thoughts went through my head. Would anybody ever know if I just drove off without saying anything? (Yes, I’m ashamed about that one.) The thing is, my car has been hit two or three times in the four months I’ve lived in my street and no one owned up, so what goes around comes around, right? I couldn’t exactly justify that to myself.

Anyway, I left a note on the Audi (I don’t do things by half), apologising and providing my details. Then I went to my friend’s and wept a little. And panicked… And waited… And then, when I remembered what one should do in situations like this, I prayed.

Around this time, my mum texted me Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It was hard to see how anything good could come out of a car accident, but I guess that’s why they call it faith.

Almost a week later I had heard nothing. Deep down I hoped that whoever owned it had chalked it up to bad experience and that I was off the hook. Not likely! I eventually received a call from a friend of the Audi owner, as the owner doesn’t speak English. The friend thanked me for owning up and said Mr Audi would accept a very small cash payment to fix his bashed-up motor. It then transpired that said friend is a car bodywork specialist and will be able to fix the damage to my car for next to nothing.

This might not sound like much to you, but I guess this was the best possible result from a situation that seemed pretty bleak at the time. I don’t need to claim on my insurance, and I’ve also made connections with two local people who I otherwise wouldn’t have crossed paths with. And now if anyone else bashes into my car and doesn’t own up, I at least know who to call!

While I was looking for news stories to populate the Sorted site in the aftermath, I couldn’t seem to avoid car-related press releases. The first, from Admiral Car Insurance, was about drink driving, and worryingly revealed that 19% of Brits (27% of men and 10% of women) admit to having driven while over the limit.

The second showed that men aged 50 and over are more likely to get distracted behind the wheel than their female counterparts. Research from Saga Car Insurance claims two-thirds of men over 50 have been distracted behind the wheel during the last 12 months compared with half of women.

Men are twice as likely to be distracted by programming Sat Navs (23% versus 13%), rubbernecking (15% versus 9%) and channel hopping on the stereo (24% versus 18%). A quarter of men also admit to ogling attractive passersby, while just 1% of women say their eyes have momentarily wandered towards a good-looking male.

Having hit two parked cars and two birds with my car in the last two years, I’m hardly in a position to offer road safety advice, so I’ll let Saga's director of communication, Paul Green, do it for me. "Driving is like second nature to most of us and we forget about the risks of getting behind the wheel,” he says, adding: “The best advice to drivers is to stay safe and don't be an in-car fiddler."

When it comes to drink driving, no one says it better than Sue Longthorn, Admiral’s managing director: "It's vital that people are aware of how much alcohol they are consuming when they are due to drive, and remember that drink driving is not acceptable in any shape or form and it's never worth the risk."

"The difference between men and women in our research is a worry, as it appears the anti drink driving message is getting through to women, but not so effectively with men. The amount of alcohol in someone's blood is the same, regardless of their gender."

(Shameless plug alert) If you’re in the London area and you’ve had a few jars, why not jump into the Sorted taxi rather than taking the car? You’ll get a free copy of the magazine instead of a potential fine/ban/prison sentence! You can’t say much fairer than that.

Miracles happen when God is in the driving seat

I took ownership of my first ever car last weekend. Seeing as I’m 29, it was about time really. So what did I go for? A flashy Audi TT? A rule the road Beemer? Nope. It’s a 1995 Corsa covered in scrapes and bumps, with more than a dusting of rust around the doors.

But it’s still a miracle car as far as I’m concerned. A couple of weeks ago I started praying for a car – I felt I needed it to get around and also to make me feel like a proper grownup! My prayer warrior mum also got on the case and approached the throne room on my behalf.

Then lo and behold, my granny rings my mum to say she has decided to stop driving and would like to give me her car. I hadn’t even started praying in earnest! I had, however, told several people I was “standing in faith” for some wheels. Even my mustard-seed-sized faith was rewarded by my utterly gracious and generous God.

And that’s not the only miracle. A few weeks back my granny went missing. She’d driven to see someone, got lost and become very confused. In the end, my aunty – who was frantic by this time – rang the police, who tracked her down and brought her home.

She couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, but we’d all been pretty worried. We (once again) urged her to stop driving, but she was having none of it. Living in rural Wales, she needs a car to get her shopping, visit people in hospital, and do the many other beneficent things she does.

I could sympathise with this; being without a car can make life more difficult. Prior to getting the Corsa I cycled or walked pretty much everywhere, but at 95 that’s not really an option. The fact of the matter is, though, that her driving has never been very good and has deteriorated further as her eyesight, hearing and general skills of perception have worsened.

I honestly don’t know how she managed to avoid injuring herself or other road users/pedestrians, but judging by the state of the car, she’s had her fair share of minor accidents. And the confusion she is started experiencing more and more frequently was an added cause for concern.

My mum and aunties started praying she would come to the realisation that her driving days were over. She’s a strong, independent woman and we knew she wouldn’t give up her car without a fight.

So when my mum got the call, it was a double cause for celebration. I never thought she’d stop driving, and I didn’t have the money to buy a car. But God’s thinking doesn’t work the same way ours: there are no limits or insurmountable circumstances for our God.

I’ve learnt a few lessons from this car scenario. First, prayer really works. I knew that anyway, but this has been a great reminder. Second, rather than struggling and worrying through life, it’s better to start off with prayer – God is a lot smarter than me. Third, I really need to work on my parking. I’m pretty sure everyone in my street is also praying about that!

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Sorted magazine.