I am re-reading James Lees-Milne’s diaries. Like re-reading Marcel Proust or Anthony Powell each visitation is rewarding. Spot the lie? Yes, I have never read Proust; maybe a project for winter nights? More likely an unfulfilled aspiration.
As JL-M has featured 49 times on this website I am reluctant to revisit old territory but part of his entry for Friday 28th January 1949 made me remember and reflect.
“Had a tyre puncture in Exeter last night; and on return from Cotehele this evening just missed by a bee’s knee a head-on collision with a lorry. E. said it was the most miraculous escape from sudden death he has ever had. I kept my head but nearly died of shock when it was over.”
By coincidence, Dame Edna would say spookily, I had a nasty moment on an icy road when driving to Cotehele. I was as shaken up as JL-M but my passenger nonchalantly said “nice driving” as I slalomed and skidded to a stop, approaching a busy roundabout. I learnt skid control driving to shoots (birds, not films) on icy Irish roads.
But I digress. First, cars were not reliable, even in 1949. JL-M drives to and fro across the country and has many malfunctions. My grandfather told me he looked for three qualities in a car: reliability, reliability, reliability. He always drove a VW “beetle”. I don’t think JL-M is interested in the manufacturer of his car but he does get one repainted. I could not imagine that happening today until I read Andrew Windsor had his Bentley repainted. Today punctures and breakdowns are rare and for some reason there’s no need to top up radiator or battery. What will they think of next?
Secondly, deaths on the roads (I mean vehicle on vehicle) are dramatically lower. I have been looking into this. If I was a mathematician like my Mendoza ancestor I could write a formula. Number of drivers, miles of motorway and age of vehicles seem to determine fatal accidents. The countries that have most deaths are in Eastern Europe – my research did not go outside Europe, another project for another day. More than half road deaths happen on rural roads; fewer than 10% happen on motorways. So that explains a lot but countries with apparently relatively high death rates seek to improve this by making it more difficult for drivers to get a licence. They should be improving their roads and ideally persuading people to use trains. Rail travel across European countries is about 28 times safer than travelling in a car.