In motoring terms, if there’s one thing worse that breaking down during rush hour on a roundabout, it’s breaking down during rush-hour on a double roundabout. As I know, having done both, 40 years apart. For both incidents, the clutch was to blame.
Breaking Down on a Single Roundabout
The first time, a loose connection silently leaked clutch fluid in my wake on my morning commute to Queen Square before I ground to halt at Stokes Croft. I could hardly believe what was happening. This was my brand-new company car, a cute metallic green Renault 5, of which I’d proudly taken delivery only the previous day. Although this was before the age of mobile phones enabling drivers to call for help, the timing was on my side. Almost immediately, a traffic officer arrived on the scene to investigate the cause of the bottleneck.
“What seems to be the problem, madam?” he asked kindly, noticing my visible distress.
“It’s my birthday!” I sobbed, which was true. “It’s not fair!”
Continue reading “A Tale of Two Clutch Failures: What I Learned When My Car Broke Down”