This may be viewed as thread creep but driving idiocy happens even in fine weather in Spring. Last May I was driving down the A30 dual carriageway in Devon (it may have been just inside Cornwall) and there was a guy in the inside lane going relatively slowly so I was in lane 2 overtaking him.

Anyway, I'm so close to him that I've stopped taking him into account when he suddenly turns sharp right in front of me, heading for a gap in the central reservation (US: median). No looking in his mirror, no signal, nothing. I'm doing about 75 and he's right in front of me, broadside on. It took me about one nanosecond to realise that braking wouldn't help so I did the only thing I could - swerved around his front end, using the gap as manouvering room. I just about made it as well...there was a huge clunk as I clipped his front end as I passed by.

The road was busy and I managed to stop in a lay-by about half-a-mile up the road, expecting to see a missing rear wing. I was shaking like a leaf from all the adrenaline. There were a few faint scratches either side of the rear n/s wheel and the wheel itself had some black scuff marks on it. Looking back down the road, the guy was nowhere to be seen.

Jesus, were we lucky or what? Good job I was paying my usual 100% attention on the road.