As I was driving down the A1M this morning, I saw the car in front of me (the silver one, mine is the black one) slowly drift off the road, then it looked like the driver was wrestling with it to get it in a straight line, alas, to no avail. I watched it spin around and smash into the central reservation, buck and spin. Bit of debris started flying. The other cars and lorries around me were maneuvering for avoidance. We were all travelling at around 70mph, on the motorway bridge over the river Aire – with a huge drop below. For a second I thought this metal Tasmanian devil of a thing was going to hit me. It was hurtling bits of itself all over the place – a piece of which (the mangled front wheel) caught my under bumper grill. Nothing serious though.

It made me think how lucky I am to be alive. It also made me think how even a relatively inexpensive car like the ex Peugeot there, has got so much safety technology and design built into it, that the driver and passenger can walk away, unhurt – even after a crash who’s forced does this:

I decided to abort mission and come on home, which is where I am now. Shaken, but not stirred.