I know that I don’t have my learner’s permit yet, but our John Deere L110 tractor is a lot of fun to practice towing and mowing and driving with. I’ve had a few, er, experiences that I hope other drivers (of cars and tractors) will take notice of:
One day, I was towing our trailer that we use for the tractor to haul firewood from our property to our house. I didn’t realize that I’d need to cut a big hole in the fence to get through (oops!). I decided to turn around. I thought I’d make it (the tractor literally turns on a dime). The trailer disagreed. I was stuck against our gigantic rock pile and our fence. I was jackknifed. I got off the tractor and got my dad. We ended up taking the tailgate off the trailer and literally picking it up and moving it!
Another time, I was mowing for our neighbors and they have a very large field in front of their house. I didn’t see the ditch in between the driveway and the field. I was going about six or seven miles an hour when I went down in the ditch and came flying out of it on one wheel (I thought that I was going to flip!). I landed and almost fell off (I was sitting). The tractor has a seat sensor that automatically turns off the engine if there is no pressure on the seat, or if there is too much pressure on the seat. I came down onto the seat with so much force that the pin that disengages the drivetrain popped out. The tractor stalled. My butt hurt. I then pushed the pin back in, restarted the tractor, and started mowing. Ouch. If you don’t believe me, ask the blown seat springs on the tractor…
Care to share your bad driving experience? Don’t be shy, let it fly (almost literally!).
The Unmuffled Auto News 
Well, since you are airing family skeletons again (referring to Your ‘Sheep in a Car’ and ‘Stories From the Land of Booyah’)…., should I mention a certain cousin taking the top off of a van in the Fox Hills Mall? No? Okay. Well, your safety conscious mom doesn’t have a story to share. Would this be a good time to remind you to ‘never text, dial the phone, or answer the phone while driving’. Well, at least when you start to drive.
I won’t tell names,but I know who that cousin is…
Okay, one morning rushing out of the house to make it to a teaching assignment, I backed up into my husbands car in my very own driveway! Only a little little dent!
Cynthia
Just a fender-bender
Just after swapping my little Ranger pickup for a much bigger F250 I drove to the downtown SR Sears to get a Craftsman gift certificate for part of a certain blogger’s Bar Mitzvah present. New truck didn’t fit in the parking structure quite as well as the old one, smacking into the ceiling as I drove in then backed out. The lumber rack has a far more interesting shape now; I kind of like it.
Oops!
I’m sworn to secrecy as any “bad” stories may cause you to get the impression I ever drove in anything but a safe, law-abiding manner! Now, if you’d care to hear about all of the parking lot posts and tress that have chased your grandfather over the years…
I’d LOVE to hear those…