Most embarrasing motoring moment
Discussion
Seems to be a little quiet on here today, so in the quest for something to keep me entertained on a Tuesday, what was your most embarrasing motoring moment?
Perhaps I should start the ball rolling:
Several years ago, I bought a gorgeous 205 GTi. Needed a little attention to some bits, but otherwise rather well sorted. Bodywork was immaculate, the engine was LAD fettled and I fell in love with it at first sight, I came back that afternoon with the cash. It had been bought by a young lad of 17, about to start learning to drive, so had spent 6 months in his spare time polishing and fixing untill it was a minter (thank god he hadnt decided to max-powerise it!) but realised he would never be able to afford the insurance...
I drove the car away, not noticing that their garden gate was not fully open, so denting and gouging the rear 3/4 panel, ripping off the bodykit on one side and did about £500 quid of damage within my first five metres of ownership...
I still cringe thinking of that one!
Perhaps I should start the ball rolling:
Several years ago, I bought a gorgeous 205 GTi. Needed a little attention to some bits, but otherwise rather well sorted. Bodywork was immaculate, the engine was LAD fettled and I fell in love with it at first sight, I came back that afternoon with the cash. It had been bought by a young lad of 17, about to start learning to drive, so had spent 6 months in his spare time polishing and fixing untill it was a minter (thank god he hadnt decided to max-powerise it!) but realised he would never be able to afford the insurance...
I drove the car away, not noticing that their garden gate was not fully open, so denting and gouging the rear 3/4 panel, ripping off the bodykit on one side and did about £500 quid of damage within my first five metres of ownership...
I still cringe thinking of that one!
When I first got my little Ford Fiesta, back in the dark days of just passing my test, I was in a busy multi-story car park. I was halfway up a ramp to the next level when my clutch cable snapped. The cars were piling in behind, so I could not roll back out of the way, and I could not move forward as I had no clutch, and it was too steep for even me, and 3 others to push it up! had to wait about half an hour before I could convince someone to pull me off the ramp with my tow rope! I was a little embarrassed at the MASSIVE conjestion I had caused in the car park!
Riding off on my Thundercat and forgetting the disk lock was still on. Didn't ride off too quickly so no brake damage (thank god!), but crunched my nads against the tank and probably looked like a wally in front of the neighbours desperately trying in vain to not drop the bike. Hell's Angels on the corner found it rather amusing, though. 
In USA in a rental car, bimbling along out in the wilds, no hurry.
Notice a white unmarked Mack tanker catching me up.
No problem I'll speed up.
Tanker still gaining.
Get a bit of a wiggle on, tanker still gaining. He can see over hedges etc so can straight line everything.
Now get serious and give it some beans, leave tanker behind. Turn off onto side road, by this time can only think about the film Duel where Dennis Hopper was chased by a black unmarked Mack tanker.
Reckon that dude has some fun and games with that one......
Notice a white unmarked Mack tanker catching me up.
No problem I'll speed up.
Tanker still gaining.
Get a bit of a wiggle on, tanker still gaining. He can see over hedges etc so can straight line everything.
Now get serious and give it some beans, leave tanker behind. Turn off onto side road, by this time can only think about the film Duel where Dennis Hopper was chased by a black unmarked Mack tanker.
Reckon that dude has some fun and games with that one......
done this too. 
Decided one day I wanted a scooter, got it, rode it down to the roundabout, saw a biker and though I would beat him to the front of the queue of traffic, slipped wheelied the scooter striaght onto the round about, fell over, scooter landed on me. got up too quick and tried to ride off only to fall off again. dooh
Flat in Fifth said:
In USA in a rental car, bimbling along out in the wilds, no hurry.
Notice a white unmarked Mack tanker catching me up.
No problem I'll speed up.
Tanker still gaining.
Get a bit of a wiggle on, tanker still gaining. He can see over hedges etc so can straight line everything.
Now get serious and give it some beans, leave tanker behind. Turn off onto side road, by this time can only think about the film Duel where Dennis Hopper was chased by a black unmarked Mack tanker.
Reckon that dude has some fun and games with that one......
It was actually Dennis Weaver trying to escape the truck
Couple of races from the lights when joining the M4 at jc2. Just before the single lane slip road is a set of lights for 3 lanes. 2 lanes for the M4, one lane for the A4.
Set off at warp max speed, then slipped easily from 1st to 4th gear, cue a rapid loss of acceleration
Tres embarrasing! (only happens in the 206, not the S2000!!!)
Set off at warp max speed, then slipped easily from 1st to 4th gear, cue a rapid loss of acceleration
Tres embarrasing! (only happens in the 206, not the S2000!!!)
I was out jogging, so not officially a motoring moment, but there was a car involved.
Was jogging up to a t-junction that I had to cross. Saw there was a 405 estate driving towards the part of the intersection I needed to cross, but also notice there's a gorgeous blonde sitting in the back. We make eye contact as I get get closer and the car approaches the interection. She starts giving me the eye, I'm giving her the eye back, wey-hey, lots of visual flirting etc. I aim to run just behind the 405 as it pulls up to the intersection (just so the blonde lady can appreciate all my sweaty manliness from up close), but I time it completely wrong, the driver stops suddenly and instead of running round the back of the car looking good, I run into the back of the car and fall on to the road behind it. I was already off the ground, a few meters away running fast by the time the driver got out to ask if I was ok.... I wasn't sticking around after that!
Was jogging up to a t-junction that I had to cross. Saw there was a 405 estate driving towards the part of the intersection I needed to cross, but also notice there's a gorgeous blonde sitting in the back. We make eye contact as I get get closer and the car approaches the interection. She starts giving me the eye, I'm giving her the eye back, wey-hey, lots of visual flirting etc. I aim to run just behind the 405 as it pulls up to the intersection (just so the blonde lady can appreciate all my sweaty manliness from up close), but I time it completely wrong, the driver stops suddenly and instead of running round the back of the car looking good, I run into the back of the car and fall on to the road behind it. I was already off the ground, a few meters away running fast by the time the driver got out to ask if I was ok.... I wasn't sticking around after that!
In a car... Back in the Fiesta si days.. The alarm/lights were playing up, and was in a multi-story. Got in car and began to try and locate the exit..Behind a string of cars and the car horn starts beeping and the headlights flashing. The guy in front thought I was having a go and pulled over...I drove straight on without looking at him! The next car got some of the same and I had to explain (after he got out and thundered towards me) that the car had gone mental.....
On a bike. Took the GSXR 600 for a spin with a couple of friends. Was following the "main man" and wanted to keep up. Group of around 10-15 blokes (outside a shop) heard us and waited by the junction to see us pull off. Matey roared off, and I gave it the beans....10k revs in first and a quick chance into second should put a smile on all faces.......Well they pi$$ed themselves as I failed to find second for about 5 minutes and was doing around 10mph when I "got it it"!! GUTTED!
On a bike. Took the GSXR 600 for a spin with a couple of friends. Was following the "main man" and wanted to keep up. Group of around 10-15 blokes (outside a shop) heard us and waited by the junction to see us pull off. Matey roared off, and I gave it the beans....10k revs in first and a quick chance into second should put a smile on all faces.......Well they pi$$ed themselves as I failed to find second for about 5 minutes and was doing around 10mph when I "got it it"!! GUTTED!
CBR1000 past a massive queue of traffic up to the lights and ready to be the first away on green when the bloke in the car at the front opens his window and informs me that there's something coming out of the bottom of the bike (either he was winding me up or it was the battery overflow).
I leaned my head down to have a look, lost my balance and dropped the bike. Now I don't know if anyone else has had one of these but they weigh a ton and there was no way that I could lift it so I had to stand there and watch all those cars drive past until someone took petty and gave me a hand to pick it up.
I leaned my head down to have a look, lost my balance and dropped the bike. Now I don't know if anyone else has had one of these but they weigh a ton and there was no way that I could lift it so I had to stand there and watch all those cars drive past until someone took petty and gave me a hand to pick it up.
Mine was a misty morning at 4am ,20 years ago, in a van full of newspapers up to roof, going down a country lane at some speed when I see at least 30 or 40 fluffy rabbits around the bend all over the road hopping around when I hit the brakes skidded straight into a hedge then got burried in dozens of heavy newspaper bundles.Result : no dead rabbits , sore neck , dented near side wing, and having to rearrange all the bundles in the back of the van.
Bloody rabbits!
Bloody rabbits!
I was once late for work (well, more than once actually but that's another story) and was on the last stretch before the office when I was confronted by several motorists coming towards me on the wrong side of the road around a large truck parked on the other side. I went into full agressive-late mode and tried to force my way through giving the appropriate hand gestures as I did so....
...only to then notice the road work man with a large sign facing me that said STOP. He was laughing at me, as were all the other road diggers who had stopped to watch.
...only to then notice the road work man with a large sign facing me that said STOP. He was laughing at me, as were all the other road diggers who had stopped to watch.
Once went out with a policeman's daughter.
They lived at the end of a terrace in a row of police houses.
Nipped out to the shop in my car, for a pint of milk and, as I was parking up, the bottle of milk started to roll off the passenger seat.
I leant forward to stop the milk botle from falling and must have eased off the brake pedal, only to roll into the panda car parked up next door.
So, very embarrassed, I went and knocked next door to tell the copper.
He laughed cos the car was already damaged at the back and due in to be repaired, so he didn't do anything about it.
I felt a right pratt though!
They lived at the end of a terrace in a row of police houses.
Nipped out to the shop in my car, for a pint of milk and, as I was parking up, the bottle of milk started to roll off the passenger seat.
I leant forward to stop the milk botle from falling and must have eased off the brake pedal, only to roll into the panda car parked up next door.
So, very embarrassed, I went and knocked next door to tell the copper.
He laughed cos the car was already damaged at the back and due in to be repaired, so he didn't do anything about it.
I felt a right pratt though!
i'd just moved to east anglia,and decided to check out the local town (bury st edmunds) to see what the shopping was like, i finally found the town centre, but couldn't get over the number people who'd just walk out in front of you, so cue a little bit of horn blowing to force my way through these ignorant locals.....thats when i noticed the market stalls!
i could have died of shame!....i had to drive right round the market square to get back out, squeezing between the market stalls (i was in an old 'A' series manta), getting no end of comments and looks from the locals.....lots of mouthed sorries, and extreme scarlett colouring on my behalf!
i could have died of shame!....i had to drive right round the market square to get back out, squeezing between the market stalls (i was in an old 'A' series manta), getting no end of comments and looks from the locals.....lots of mouthed sorries, and extreme scarlett colouring on my behalf!
Parked a milk float at the top of this not particularly steep road, and ran around the houses dropping off the pints. Turned round to see unmanned float slowly gathering momentum down the street so ran after it to jump in. Got alongside and grabbed the nearest support to me to jump in the cab. Nearest support to me was a stack of full milk crates which, sadly, weren't heavy enough to combat my weight as I grabbed them and jumped up. So light in fact that I managed to throw about 100 pints off the float and into someones garden. Which got the curtains twitching so there was an audience to watch the float glide majestically up the arse of some blokes cavalier.
When I had the T350.
Pulled up at a really busy petrol station on the way back from a run out near Belvoir Castle. Lots of heads turned, as usual, so quite a big and generally envious audience....
The boot release switch failed so I had to climb through the car, between the seats, into the boot so that I could open the petrol filler and then climb out backwards.
Then when I was filling up the car, it decided to shoot petrol out of the filler, 3 or 4 feet into the air and then continued to piss itself until there was a massive pool of petrol on the floor so ended up having to ask for some sand (there was none in the buckets) so I could cover over the spillage.
It's a good job I didn't have a lighter on me or I would've probably done that slow-motion-toss-the-lighter-over-the-shoulder-while-walking-away-from-the-igniting-fuel-explosion thing, just to get some dignity back....
Bastard thing.
Pulled up at a really busy petrol station on the way back from a run out near Belvoir Castle. Lots of heads turned, as usual, so quite a big and generally envious audience....
The boot release switch failed so I had to climb through the car, between the seats, into the boot so that I could open the petrol filler and then climb out backwards.
Then when I was filling up the car, it decided to shoot petrol out of the filler, 3 or 4 feet into the air and then continued to piss itself until there was a massive pool of petrol on the floor so ended up having to ask for some sand (there was none in the buckets) so I could cover over the spillage.
It's a good job I didn't have a lighter on me or I would've probably done that slow-motion-toss-the-lighter-over-the-shoulder-while-walking-away-from-the-igniting-fuel-explosion thing, just to get some dignity back....
Bastard thing.
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