Thing 138 Handbrake Turn

I'm no boy racer. That's a fact. Like everyone else who ever drove a car or even turned a key in an ignition switch, I think I'm excellent at driving, but I'm probably no better or worse than average. I also lack the necessary image and attitude. Pony Boy on the other hand, I think he could wear the "boy racer" tag and get away with it. He's edgy...

He's actually the one I had to go to with questions. Questions like; how does one pull a handbrake turn; how fast should the car be going; will it damage the car, or any part of it; where's my wallet; where'd I put that business card I was given the other day; are those my feet? The first three were relevant, the others were not, but that doesn't mean they weren't important.

Here's the science: Turning rapidly at a decent speed transfers the weight to the outside tyres. Slam on the handbrake; this apparently reduces the friction between the tyres and the road resulting in slide.

Science makes it sound crap. In real life it was cool. I was nervous about it. How sad eh? But I was. First time for most things is a nerve-wracking affair. And I didn't get it right at the first time of asking either. The first two times I wasn't going fast enough, but after that, I looked cool. And hard and stuff.

Alright I didn't. But I'm still glad I did it. It was an excellent Thing to do.

I got into an accident last December. Serious crap. Made an absolute mess of my car, and the bit that was worst of all was the lack of control. When you sit into your car, you expect a degree of control, when the car decides it's going right, while you tug on the wheel and beg it to turn left, you start to feel a tad frightened. Which is what I expected from the hand-brake turn. It wasn't like that though. It was much smoother than I thought it would be.

It's not like I'm planning to ever do it again. Like I said, I just don't have it in me to be a boy racer. And unless I get into a high speed shoot out with some bad guys, while I try to save the girl, I don't think I'll need this skill.
Also I do look like a douche when driving my car. I look like that? Really? Aww well.