Put my car in a ditch tonight.
Discussion
in reverse!
Came back from my hol today via B'mouth where I had stopped to see a friend. Coming down a road I was met by a "road ahead closed" sign. Seeing a farmhouse entrance I decided to reverse into that and go back the way I came. Only problem was I missed the driveway and ended up with my rear wheels resting on the slope of the ditch and the middle of the car a bit stuck on the wet grass. I couldn't get any traction with the front wheels just to drive off so had to set up the warning triangle etc.
I rang the RAC and soon as I mentioned dich they wanted to send out a tow truck! All I needed was a tow rope, they then told me it could be up to a 2 hour wait! So there I am stuck on a unlit road in a black car facing across the road with the front half actually in the road. Que warning triangles, hazards, headlights and anything else I could find to warn everyone.
Big Thanks have to go to the volvo driver who pulled me out having just pulled is son out of a ditch futher down the road. Saved me a couple of hour wait for the RAC!
No damage to the car only my pride.
So once you have finished laughing at my stupidity (i was tired!) can anyone recommend some reversing light bulbs that are bright!
Night All,
Phill
>> Edited by pmanson on Sunday 14th August 01:12
Came back from my hol today via B'mouth where I had stopped to see a friend. Coming down a road I was met by a "road ahead closed" sign. Seeing a farmhouse entrance I decided to reverse into that and go back the way I came. Only problem was I missed the driveway and ended up with my rear wheels resting on the slope of the ditch and the middle of the car a bit stuck on the wet grass. I couldn't get any traction with the front wheels just to drive off so had to set up the warning triangle etc.
I rang the RAC and soon as I mentioned dich they wanted to send out a tow truck! All I needed was a tow rope, they then told me it could be up to a 2 hour wait! So there I am stuck on a unlit road in a black car facing across the road with the front half actually in the road. Que warning triangles, hazards, headlights and anything else I could find to warn everyone.
Big Thanks have to go to the volvo driver who pulled me out having just pulled is son out of a ditch futher down the road. Saved me a couple of hour wait for the RAC!
No damage to the car only my pride.
So once you have finished laughing at my stupidity (i was tired!) can anyone recommend some reversing light bulbs that are bright!
Night All,
Phill
>> Edited by pmanson on Sunday 14th August 01:12
At least you didn't stack it. 
Assuming it's the car on your profile (post mk2 Golf, sorry, I liked the old ones but the newer ones all look the same to me
) - was the car balancing on the middle of the chassis (i.e. front and rear wheels off the ground) ???
I don't know how heavy a newer Golf is, nor whether you're a meathead or not, but if none of the wheels have grip then surely you could have pushed it around on its axis, until one of the front wheels had enough grip to either pull it out or push it back into the ditch? The tow rope is the sensible solution of course, but as you said it could have taken a long time
I put my mk2 Golf into a ditch when I was young (AA or RAC cover too expensive for me then!) and the solution involved my girlfriend and I pushing the car round, trying to get grip in 1st or reverse, pushing again, rinse and repeat until one wheel had enough grip to move the car back onto the road. Damn open diffs, though it's good practise to balance clutch, brake, accelerator and handbrake. Easy on RWD, though a ballerina fest on FWD!
Assuming it's the car on your profile (post mk2 Golf, sorry, I liked the old ones but the newer ones all look the same to me
) - was the car balancing on the middle of the chassis (i.e. front and rear wheels off the ground) ??? I don't know how heavy a newer Golf is, nor whether you're a meathead or not, but if none of the wheels have grip then surely you could have pushed it around on its axis, until one of the front wheels had enough grip to either pull it out or push it back into the ditch? The tow rope is the sensible solution of course, but as you said it could have taken a long time
I put my mk2 Golf into a ditch when I was young (AA or RAC cover too expensive for me then!) and the solution involved my girlfriend and I pushing the car round, trying to get grip in 1st or reverse, pushing again, rinse and repeat until one wheel had enough grip to move the car back onto the road. Damn open diffs, though it's good practise to balance clutch, brake, accelerator and handbrake. Easy on RWD, though a ballerina fest on FWD!
No harm done then
I dont mean to hijack (actually I do) here's a 'lucky this didnt happen to you' story. A mate of mine was passenger in his friends car, one moment they were driving along happily, the next they were in a ditch.
Not a nice thing to happen to anyone, but to intensiy matters, the car was upside down. Due to the shape of the ditch, it was impossible to open the doors. Being upside down in any car cant be a pleasant experience.
But what makes this story really really nasty, was the fact that the ditch was full of water(!) which was very quickly flooding the car! Amazingly, they both escaped and lived to tell the tale.
I dont mean to hijack (actually I do) here's a 'lucky this didnt happen to you' story. A mate of mine was passenger in his friends car, one moment they were driving along happily, the next they were in a ditch.
Not a nice thing to happen to anyone, but to intensiy matters, the car was upside down. Due to the shape of the ditch, it was impossible to open the doors. Being upside down in any car cant be a pleasant experience.
But what makes this story really really nasty, was the fact that the ditch was full of water(!) which was very quickly flooding the car! Amazingly, they both escaped and lived to tell the tale.
Problem solved, for any further diversions from the highway
Yeehhhaaaaa
Yeehhhaaaaa
pmanson said:
in reverse!
...problem was I missed the driveway and ended up with my rear wheels resting on the slope of the ditch and the middle of the car a bit stuck on the wet grass...
Bet you felt a right TIT!
Your not alone, I managed to put my first car into a field and spun up a slope. When I was towed out I left big sausages of mud chugging out of my exhaust.
I believe a similar thing happened to an EVO test driver, although I think he did it more spectacularly
Also managed to park my AX on a tree (don't ask) in the rain when I couldn't stop at a junction. It was the day I bought it and some
had fitted discs from the 1.0 rather than the GT and the contact area for the pads was thinner than my nob 
KingRichard said:
in reverse!
...problem was I missed the driveway and ended up with my rear wheels resting on the slope of the ditch and the middle of the car a bit stuck on the wet grass...
Bet you felt a right TIT!
Yeah just a little lol! No damage to the car although i think the underneath could do with a pressure wash lol
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