I am not a very confident driver – I will openly admit that. I once arrived home and was shocked to discover several ugly brown stripes along the side of my white car. I was convinced that I had been the victim of a ‘hit and run’ while my car had been parked up. However, my parents, on the other hand, took one look and decided it more likely to be a close encounter with a garden fence. Upon reflection, I did have some difficulty turning near my friend’s house which is enclosed by a wood-stained fence.

My Dad still laughs about finding the 1970s throwback which I believed may have glanced off my vehicle – after all you don’t see so many brown cars these days. In any case, the brown paint wiped off, so no harm done, unlike a later encounter with a different fence…

So safe to say, I have a love/hate relationship with driving, but I think that partly stems from the impatience of other drivers. Everybody appears to be in a rush to get from A to B and woe betide anyone who dithers or hesitates – you are likely to be on the receiving end of a blared horn, a flash of lights or an aggressive overtake, often accompanied by some rude hand gestures.

© The Irish News