The scariest moment of my life. I have worked out what it is I don't like about most of the plinky topics. They use '-est' words and 'favourite' far too often for me. I can write a page or two on any number of answers that fit the bill - for this topic that would be scary moments. Just the same I can't think of any defining moment. One time which I would single out - which means that in answering this question I (no matter how I answer) feel like I gave an incorrect answer.
So I have decided, for the sake of my sanity, to simply pick one moment of my life where I was scared. Well a little bit more than just scared - I am not about to speak of times when my uncle came up behind my computer chair and I jumped sky high. Or even the more extreme times when after hours of playing Cluedo on my computer some of the guys I lived with decided it was a good time to play practical jokes. I with also try to find a more interest moment of gut-wrenching fear than simply confronting the first exam paper I ever failed.
Anyway - today you get to avoid listening to me harp on - thanks to darling plinky I am required to describe the scariest moment of my life from a third person perspective. Mine you - I may simply be my normal obtuse self and choose to read that as third PARTY perspective. Its cause to be my usual chatty self pretending to be somebody else.
Carnegie Shield - Royal Dornoch Golf Club, August 2007
It had been a long night already when that shaken young mid fronted to tell me she had just crashed the duty golf buggy. I have to tell you I wasn't overly surprised. She drove me around the last time she was on duty and let me tell you - despite her state issued license which allows her on the road I have to say the four months confided to base for initial training I doubted if she was safe on the road.
I have to say I didn't know quite what to do with the girl. Close to hysterical with laughter about something that would surely lead to a charge (though't I am not sure of what). Apparently she had run off the road, hit a tree and fallen completely out of the vehicle. I have to tell you how the HELL somebody does that at 25k an hour I've no idea.
I concede that it was a pretty windy evening - dark, cloudy - but not raining. A base this small the roads aren't overly well lit. With a 40 speed limit though you'd certainly expect a car's head lights to be sufficient - even if you have to dodge a kangaroo or ten. But then as I said this girl didn't seem to be the most efficient driver on offer.
Apparently slow speed can be almost as dangerous as high speeds. Knowing the dear old golf buggy had been speed limited causes most of the trainee's to try the reckless and ridiculous to make up for what it's lacking. Apparently in this case the driver had thought she was going slow enough to attempt to fix the torn plastic door while driving. It doesn't surprise me is that that girl would think the long downhill CURVE would be a good time to do such things.
What does surprise me. What surprised everybody. Is that the cart managed to get up and over the gutter. To be honest I think that is the cause of the only damage on the golf buggy - except perhaps to the girl's nerves. However after mounting the curve she had gone about 2 meters into a tree. Had it not been for the tree she would have gone over the edge of the 4 metre sheer drop onto the golf course.
I have to say the driver despite her shock got off pretty easy from the whole thing. I checked with her - nothing wrong with her but a very bruises and a whole lot of excess adrenaline. Apparently after she fell out of the vehicle - not wearing a seat belt (not that I blame her I didn't even know the old thing had one) she almost rolled down the slope. Not that I think it was the best plan for a girl still shaking when she got to the duty room but she managed to drive the buggy (front axil well bent to boot) all the way home. No more damage to come of it than the government's $5000 (thankfully not passed onto the girl).
Finally - just me again - to say my driving has got a lot better since then. Not scary at all from this perspective...
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