Get Out of the Road, Jackass

Jeff Quinton of Backcountry Conservative came close to death yesterday when he flipped his Ford Explorer(pictures here). Glad to see you're still with us, Jeff.

While Jeff was busy writing off his car I was having a little close call of my own. I went on a random 2 hour drive last night out into the hills (there's nothing quite like doing 50 on a paper-thin country road in the rain). On the way home around 9 pm I came scant inches from killing Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton, reigning WBU Light Welterweight World Champion and local hero.

Ricky lives nearby, and has a tendency to jog without paying attention to little things like roads and traffic. I don't know if he thinks 37 wins (27 KO's) and zero defeats have made him impervious to being pounded by a ton of steel moving at high speed, but he definitely has no fear.

Anyway, I was driving round a gentle bend at around 50mph when Ricky came running onto the road to pass a badly parked car, wrapped in a heavy coat and his Manchester City hat. I was fairly close to the kerb, and a few inches further to the left would have meant the end of my favourite boxer.

Maybe we should all just pay a little more attention to the road, 'kay?

*Update*

On a sombre note, my friend Danielle's 15 year old cousin was killed yesterday in a tragic car accident. Danielle, our thoughts are with you and your family tonight.