Wow. Didn’t know about the picnic tables. Respect for ripping off the Allegro Vanden Plas! Although if they were in the doors, not in the back of the front seats, that makes it all ok, and no patent infringements!
(Fun fact: I once knew a lad who bought a Allegro VDP purely for those tables. He didn’t have picnics in mind though..... He just found them useful for rolling jazz cigarettes. They were in the back, of course, so you couldn’t use them while driving. Safety first!)
This was a Vanden Plas I was passenger in, Lord knows how I survived, I was upside down (car was) roof squashed on me, neck bent down, my leg bent the auto gearstick over and took a huge lump out my leg, no blood, no pain. Woman passerby shouts 'Quick, get out, it's on fire!!' so I was quick and got out and it wasn't on fire, just steam from engine. Took me ages to get the seat belt off.
We dragged the driver out, fuucking nut case, showing off and basically risked our lives got partial what he deserved, a broken leg right at the pelvic joint and lost a kidney, I have little sympathy. I'd like to cut some slack, but he was a genuine ********. Anyway he was screaming in pain obvs and we could only ignore it till we got on the roadside till ambulance came.
Then I remember my mate Bill was in the back seat, no belt, dragged him out, no serious injuries.
My mate had neck injuries and asked about claiming on insurance and drivers dad went on one and started all this 'How much do you want, go on, give it to me..' Turns out driver not insured and not only that somehow some witnesses turned up to say accident happened when car was doing 40 mph, and I know he was doing well over 80, as we all went quiet in the car thinking 'shiiiittt'
So that was me 24 yo, after a few days my ribs started hurting like fuuck and couldn't turn my neck, three weeks off work and forced to watch Live Aid beginning to end the following weekend as I could hardly move. Still, recovered....
And got a £15 bill for the ambulance......