Oops

I resisted the urge to send this little story to Sideswipe, complete with names... and I describe the sorry tale with names & places changed to protect the innocent & the stupid. And me, since I might get sprung on this.

Friends up North, are about to head to Europe for a few years' secondment. One of them is already there, his family are still in NZ making last minute preparations to join him soon.

The one in Europe, he has a company car here, which he was due to pass on to his successor at the beginning of this week.

In the weekend, his father offered to take the children, including a 15 year old with a learner's license to the beach.

After they'd left, the wife had a thought, and rang the father in law:

"Whatever you do, don't let the fifteen year old persuade you that she can drive tha car home. It will have been a long day & she'll be tired."

A short while later, she called him again, realising that her daughter was argumentative & persuasive, to reiterate the point.

Later, she did so again.

Late in the afternoon, she got a call from a relative to tell her that she had the kids, and the grandfather at her place & they had been in some sort of accident.

Yes.

15 year old learner driver, had persuaded her grandfather that she was competent to drive her dad's company car home.

Somewhere on the Auckland motorway, she changed lanes, without looking.

You can fill in the rest. No one hurt fortunately, aside from a few bruised egos & two mangled cars. At least one outraged mother's temper lost in the aftermath.

I confess I have been told off for finding this hugely amusing.