Why me?

[quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

I was caught up today in a traffic incident that has already made the
East of England news ...

I was shopping in Kettering when an acquaintance from the village asked
for help - his car wouldn't start.  His request was for a tow, but I
trust neither his sobriety nor his reactions.  I agreed to have a look
at the car.

I found it abandoned at the end of Montagu Street, and prepared to park
in front of it.  As I positioned to reverse, I was rear-ended by a white
van.  The van immediately reversed, and obviously hit something behind
it.  I got out to tell the driver I was calling the police and not to
bother moving.  He drove forward, hit the back of my car again, and then
applied full lock and revved his engine to push his way free.  The front
of my car was blocking the junction, so he had to drive up on the
pavement (sidewalk in US-speak) and around _behind_ the traffic lights
to make a getaway.

It turned out within minutes that he'd hit seven cars.  HM Fuzz took
fifteen minutes to arrive and were spectacularly useless.  They were
_much_ more interested in proclaiming each car undamaged than they
were in apprehending the villain of the piece.  A rookie even refused
to note damage to my car, saying it was a ten-year-old car and the
marks were probably there before.  On yer bike, constable!

One amusement.  When a Renault van tries to push a Type 44 Avant out of
the way, and the Type 44 is equipped with the factory tow hitch and
reinforced bumper beam with the handbrake well on - the Renault folds
like paper.

--
 Phil Payne
 UK Audi quattro Owners Club
 Phone: 07785 302803   Fax: 0870 0883933