While I’m not quite ready to hop into a cage filled with scorpions to “confront” these things, as you’d see on Fear Factor, there are a number of things I genuinely worry about when taking a road trip. It’s probably because, well, my trips are usually without incident: I’ve never had a flat tire, I’ve never run out of fuel, and besides a few unplanned off-road excursions, my driving experience has been quite tame as far as emergencies are concerned.
My biggest fear? Getting a flat tire at speed.
I can change a flat in my sleep—and lord knows my Citroën 2CV had a number of them until I fitted a set of new Michelins—but a flat when travelling faster, perhaps on a European holiday via the Autobahn? I’d like to think I’d be able to deal with it…but you never know.
My second somewhat irrational fear? Running out of fuel.
Sure, I’ll let the needle drop to “E” on occasion, in a car I know can go a bit “beyond”, so to speak. The trip computer in my Abarth has read “— TO EMPTY” on a few occasions, but I’ve never been stranded. Still, once the needle gets to ¼ of a tank remaining, my eyes often dart from the road to the gauge and I make mental calculations on where I’ll need to grab fuel next.
What do you worry about while on the road?
