Parked on the wall

The other day found us tootling along a familiar road with lots of gentle bends and some pleasantly scenic views. A pavement runs by the side of the road and on the other side of the pavement is a low stone wall.

Towards the end of a bendy stretch there is a gentle right hand bend and on the bend was a fairly new car straddling the stone wall. It was broad daylight, the road was dry and no other vehicle was involved. Yet somehow the car had recently left the road, hit the stone wall and ended up on top of it. A number of vehicles had stopped to help and fortunately the driver seemed okay although the car was obviously a write-off.

There are a number of possible causes one could guess at such as mechanical failure or a puncture. As the speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 mph and that equates to about 73 feet per second, a brief distraction could also cause such an accident. 

I’ve no idea what actually did cause this particular accident and maybe it wasn’t the driver’s fault at all, but modern cars have at least three significant ways by which drivers can be distracted for that crucial second. Or in this case that crucial 73 feet. Sat nav, mobile phone or music system would do it.