I spent Saturday driving around London with a shed on the roof of my car. It wasn't assembled, obviously, but it seemed so bonkers that it might as well have been – the shed was rather bigger, heavier and wider than had been anticipated and, though it was quite secure (thanks to Al Clements doing some impressive knots learned from his yachting days), it had an interesting effect on my driving.
With a tonne of wood piled up two foot high and a couple of feet overhanging front, back and sides, you become very aware of, well, everything. Take-up and braking must be super smooth, anticipation is more vital than ever and caution and patience are your watchwords.
Gaps are smaller, speeds are slower and road rage is banished: rather than cursing slow city traffic, you find yourself counting your blessings that you will never reach such a speed that the wind might tuck under the giant wing on your roof and cause alarm systems to start blaring in little towers at Heathrow and Gatwick.
So, all in all, it had a positive effect on me. So much so that I started to think that anyone sent on one of those driver courses because of their ineptitude might just as well be forced to drive around with a shed on the roof instead. Job done.
That said, it isn't just the "shedee" whose driving is noticeably improved.
