Waiting for assistance on the side of the road when your car breaks down can be quite a scary experience for a woman. While I’ve always contemplated learning how to change a tyre, I’ve always put it off. I would think, next week, next month or maybe sometime in the near future! Little did I know I would eventually be put to the test. While driving to a work appointment in Margate last week, I realised my car’s tyre was flat. I pulled over and had a look, realising that it was bad enough that I could not afford to keep driving.
ALSO READ : Zimasa in the Zone: Is there life and security beyond extended lockdown?
Oh Lord, the clock is ticking, what to do next? Now I’m thinking, if I just knew HOW to change a tyre, I would step out of my high heels, wipe off my lipstick and of course whip off my wig and do the deed myself. Then I remembered that, like many women out there, I couldn’t change a tyre even if I was paid to. I don’t even know where to begin, except for putting my hazard lights on, applying the parking brake and removing the jack and spare wheel from the boot….not forgetting the warning triangle. That’s all I can possibly do.
Anyway back to the events as they unfolded. I had to think on my feet and decided to ask a friend to come and change the tyre while I used their vehicle to get to my appointment. All’s well that ends well on this occasion, but I couldn’t help thinking how unsafe it would have been had this happened at night.
How dangerous for any woman to have to wait alone at the roadside for assistance, which might take some time to arrive.
Lesson of the day for me was to equip myself with as much knowledge as possible to deal with anything life throws at me. There’s no such thing as a man’s job, and whether it’s electrical or mechanical….we women need to learn how to DIY. These skills might save your life – or someone else’s – at some time in the future.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
