To be honest, I didn’t expect this sort of incident to happen in real life because I have only seen it happen in TV shows and movies but well, it happened to us today while we were driving along the CTE and the temperature gauge suddenly indicated that my engine was overheating.
Since it was my first time encountering an incident like this, I told Jacqueline to look up the Owner’s Manual and it indicated that we had to drive to a safe place and stop the vehicle. However, at that point in time, I was in the 2nd lane and there weren’t any safe spots to stop my vehicle and I continued driving so that I could take the nearest exit to Serangoon.
Along the way to the Serangoon exit, the temperature gauge went back to normal and minutes later, my engine went clattering. At that point in time, I was approaching a bend and was travelling at 60km/hour. Suddenly, my whole car lost control. The steering wheel became heavy, my engine stalled, and worst still, my foot brakes were not working! As a matter of fact, we were freewheeling and because the engine stalled, the engine brake could not work too. The one and only available option that I had left was my handbrake and I waited for my car to drop to a speed of 40km/hour before engaging the handbrake which caused our car to skid a little to the side. Thankfully, there weren’t any cars in front or behind of us and we managed to stop safely under a shelter by the side of the road.
A photo of our car after stopping safely under a shelter. For us to be able to stop safely and furthermore under a shelter [as it was raining] without obstructing the traffic is truly God’s magnificent grace.
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| From Car Accident 2013 |
We got down from the car and I opened up the hood. The engine was hot and there was a burning smell. I checked for signs of leakages but could not spot any. After letting the engine cool down for what seems like half an hour, I started the car and the burning smell came back. I could also hear some sort of gas leakage and decided that it wasn’t safe to continue driving my vehicle. Hence, we got a tow truck to tow my car to the nearest car workshop that is near my place.
A first for me. Having my car towed away.
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| From Car Accident 2013 |
From this incident, I learnt many lessons.
1). The lady is always right.
Jacqueline was rather observant as she smelt a burning smell when we were driving. I dismissed it as it was raining and there were many vehicles on the road emitting carbon monoxide. When she told me that she heard that the engine was clattering, I knew I had to do something quick and that was to manoeuvre my car to the nearest safe spot.
2). Don’t take anything for granted.
Life is extremely precious and when we stopped our car safely, we reflected what could have happened had I been driving fast and had there been many vehicles travelling in front or behind of us. Through this terrifying experience, we really thank God that we are safe and sound and we truly count it a blessing to have “survive” this episode. It is also on this note that I highly encourage all of you to buy an insurance plan to protect yourself and your family.
3). Social media is powerful.
As soon as I posted a photo of our car on Instagram which was also shared on my Facebook Timeline; family members and friends started calling me to check on us and some even offered to give us a lift home. This made us realise that social media is a powerful tool if used appropriately under the right context/circumstance.
With this, we want to specially thank our Church friends, Ming Wei, Xinying, and Winnie for dropping by to give us a lift home even though it has been a long day for them. We want to thank our family members for their care and concern; Mag for offering to give us a lift; and our other friends and colleagues whom were concerned for our safety. We are really grateful and yes, we feel loved.
My Church friends to our rescue.
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| From Car Accident 2013 |
If you’re wondering what happened to my car, we’re still unsure yet and the mechanic would only be available tomorrow to carry out the necessary checks and repairs. For now, we’re just glad to be alive. 🙂
Safe and sound at the workshop pending for checks and repair tomorrow.
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| From Car Accident 2013 |
