We’ve all experienced embarrassing moments in life, and many of us have had them while behind the wheel of a car. Odds for embarrassment are high while driving, because we spend so much time doing it. According to AAA, the average American spends about 293 hours – or 7.3 full-time work weeks – behind the wheel each year.
Here are the Best Driving Mistakes, Car Fails, and Cringe-Worthy Memories We Could Find!
Being Stopped at Very High Speeds… in the Boss’ Car
“I was young, probably 23-years old, and my boss loaned me his car for the weekend. It was six-figure, top-of-the-line sedan, and at the time, I drove it like I was invincible.”
“I rounded a turn on the highway to find a police car on the other side. My heart jumped up into my throat! The officer who pulled me over pointed out that I’d been going 93 in a 55 mile-per-hour zone, and that a ticket for that would be close to enough to get my license revoked. He said, ‘You don’t wanna know what would happen to your license if you got a ticket for this. But worst than that, you wouldn’t want to see what would happen to your car – or to you – if you got into an accident at that speed.’ He let me off with a warning. I drove much closer to the speed limit for a long time afterward.”
Pulled Over at a Traffic Stop… With a Surprise for the Police on Duty
“During my 30-minute commute, I often apply makeup at the stop lights. I was about five miles from my house, and noticed a traffic stop ahead. I pulled over, talked to the officer, and then he went back to his police car for a few minutes. He then sent another officer over to send me off, and I was on my way. I drove away, and once readjusted the rearview mirror to get back into makeup mode to discover that I had blobs of concealer all over my face. I’d been caught off guard by the traffic stop, enough to have forgotten to blend in the makeup, so no wonder the officer had sent his colleague to take a look!”
Driving Away with the Nozzle Still in the Gas Tank
“I was getting gas, and then, while walking into the store to pay for the fill-up, some annoying kid heckled me from his mom’s nearby minivan. I ignored him, breezed inside to complete the transaction, and rushed back to my car to quickly leave before he could say another word. Turns out the kid had the last laugh. My preoccupied, hurried departure meant I’d forgotten to remove the nozzle from the car’s fuel tank. It had a quick-release, so there wasn’t a mess, but it triggered an alarm, alerting everyone inside the store. I wound up not only having to pay $150 to repair the break, but I also had to wait an hour to file a police report.”
“Moral of the story: slow down. And never drive away without checking that your gas cap is closed, and that the nozzle is back on the pump.”
Putting Diesel in a Gas Engine*
“One Friday afternoon, I was driving out of town in my new car (less than 15K miles!), and stopped for fuel. A mile or two down the road, the car slowly crawled to a stop, and wouldn’t start again. I had the car towed to the dealer. After inspection, the service advisor asked whether the car had been recently filled up. When I said yes, they noted that it’d been filled with diesel, rather than gas!”
“Only a couple of weeks later did I finally admit that I’d really had to jam the nozzle into the fuel tank. It wound up costing a ton of money over time. Putting diesel in a gas engine is not a mistake I’ll make again!”
If these stories have reminded you of any of your own, email us at [email protected]! We’d love to do a follow-up!
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