Towing a car

This morning my husband and I had to tow our car to the mechanics workshop to be repaired. I know there are couples out there who can work as a team but there are some tasks that should be left to men or women. I now know mixed sex towing isn't a good idea.

Picture the scenario, when men decide to tow a car there will be a lot of laying on the ground, tying knots, heavy equipment used and a lot of head scratching after removing their baseball caps. This will be followed with a lot of slapping on the back as in, "Good job".

Now for women, it would be different. It might be, the same great knots after a few attempts and broken fingernails. A slow drive off. Stop, check and recheck the safety of the knots before pulling out into traffic. Then at the point of destination, hugs all around.

The mechanics of towing a car are easy, you connect the two and go. In practice it isn't this easy. We used a rope that we had for our cow and my husband tied one end to the bumper of our VW Kombi and the other end to the bull bar on the beach buggy. I will give him his due, he ties a good knot.

He gave me the option of towing or being towed, then quickly withdrew this saying I would be better following. My instructions were simple. Keep the rope tight and don't apply the brakes unless you see my brake lights. No red flags or anything like that, this is towing Brazilian style.

If you have never been seated in a car being towed, it is an awful feeling. I couldn't see anything in front of me except the back of our van. It was as though I was a tailgater but without the control. Suddenly cyclists would appear, then cars would pass us. The police went by and waved. They must see a lot of buggies being towed this way, they are forever breaking down. Over bumps, and into potholes constantly looking at the rope and brake lights.

WAIT, we are slowing down, the rope is going slack and I don't see any brake lights. I can just make out the outline of a bus in front of our convoy. Perhaps my husband just down shifted and rolled to a stop waiting for the bus.

We start out again, with a bit of a jerk on the rope. Oops here comes a corner and the rope is making me swing wide. The brakes don't seem to respond like they do when the car is running, I have to pump them to keep the line stretched.

We finally reach our turning, off a tarmac road and onto a badly laid cobbled track. We drive past pedestrians, broken down cars, loose cows, and various other potential hazards. Finally we enter the mechanics yard and untie the rope. When I asked my husband why he didn't apply the brakes to let me know we were stopping, he said he had.

Next week the Kombi will be at the mechanics.

If the Automobile Association or equivalent had an agency here, they would have had a customer today.