Well I managed to have an accident in the car I was driving yesterday. First one in 12 years. It was a company car and I assume we've been short of drivers at work (A driver usually takes me to and from work) as I've been asked to drive myself for the last week. I should have refused to drive the car as it turned out to be an automatic and I HATE automatics. I drive using gears & breaks to slow down (too many years driving two seater, mid engined sports cars I guess) and with an automatic I lost the ability to use the gears to slow down. I could never get the damn car to accelerate properly either as with an automatic it seems to be fairly random when the acceleration kicks in.
Anyway the accident was my fault as I ran into the back of the van in front. Just heard a squealling of brakes, realised the driver in front had locked up his brakes but either he had better reactions than me (entirely possible) or he could see what caused him to brake and had more time or a bigger gap between him and the car in front to react in. I don't remember seeing his brake lights come on and I should really have checked whether his brakes lights were working after the accident but I was a bit shaken up and forgot. The car was still drivable afterwards in that the engine still ran and the wheels appeared to be free from obstructions but the bonnet was bent up and in the UK it would not have been legal to have driven it. Anyway after a few hours we managed to get everything sorted (many thanks to Noel, one of the company drivers, who came out to help me) and I got a Bajaj into work, arriving only 2.5 hours late.
In case you're wondering why I have a driver to take me to and from work. Driving in Sri Lanka is an educational experience. To someone who is used to people generally using indicators most of the time, main roads being free from pot holes and other road users generally being friendly and courteous and using reasonable lane discipline Sri Lanka is a completely new experience. I have driven over here and have a Sri Lankan driving licence but always using a car with a manual gearbox and generally only at the weekends.