Saved (Twice)

Sometime in 2018, I was heading to work when I heard this knocking sound. It was coming from my car but I couldn't tell which part of the car it was coming from. All I knew was the intensity of the sound reduced when I drove fast (matter of fact, the sound disappeared when I drove like a maniac) and increased when I drove very slowly.

I drove from Amasaman to Cantonments and got to work incident free. The only problem was the sound (or so I thought).

After work, I had to pick my mum up from my brother's place at Korle-Bu before heading home.

The sound was still there but at a point, even when I would drive like a maniac, the sound was still unbearable (I honestly thought the solution to my problem was to drive like I'd been cast in Fast and Furious).

And then I decided to park and do the most sensible thing since this thing (sound) started. I decided to look for a mechanic to check the car or at least check the car myself.

I'd got to the Black Star Square area so I looked for a bus stop, parked my car, and that was when my tyre fell off. Apparently, the front tyre at the driver's side was being held by one bolt. When I parked, the last bolt came off and the tyre fell off. Two guys were passing by my car when this happened. They stopped, stared open mouthed at the tyre, looked at me and said, "God loves you."

Fast forward to 2021. I'm heading to church when I hear a knocking sound from my car. When I drive fast, the sound is barely audible. When I drive slow, the sound is unbearable. I am running late but from my 2018 experience, I park at a bus stop at Pokuase and I check all my tyres. All the bolts were in place so I figured it was another problem but since I was getting late and the car was working just fine, I decided I would have it looked at after church. I get onto the newly commissioned Pokuase Interchange and my driving would have had Vin Diesel wishing he could drive like me.

Somewhere on the Ablekuma road (church is in Dansoman and I was using the Ablekuma-Awoshie road) a taxi driver started honking behind me. I looked in my rear view mirror and wondered what was wrong. He kept honking and his honking seemed to be targeted at me. I kept driving (like a lunatic) until I got to a red light on the Awoshie road. Just as I was about to stop (with the knocking sound at an unbearable volume), the light turned green. I was just about to start accelerating when the taxi driver got close to me and it seemed he wanted to talk. I rolled down the passenger side window to listen and I heard him say something about my tyre. At this point, everyone behind us started honking. I had to move but now I was wondering, "could it be the 2018 thing repeating itself?" Thankfully, I got to another red light (the taxi was still following me). This time I heard everything he said. He told me to slow down because it looked like one of my back tyres was about to fall off. He said I should get to a safe place, park and have it checked. I thanked him and switched to the outer lane (oh yes! thus far I'd been in the speed lane).

But I was really running late and though I understood what was happening, the last time I checked, all the bolts were intact so I figured I had some more time before anything would happen (if anything would). I decided I'd get to church and then after church I would have the tyre checked. So I increased my speed (not to Fast and Furious levels but just a little bit) and then I heard someone honking. It was another taxi driver. This driver got next to me and was so livid. 

"Are you crazy? Reduce your speed now. Your tyre is about to fall off", he screamed when he got close to me.

"Thank you but another driver already told me about my tyre", I said.

"And you're still driving like that? You must be out of your mind", he retorted while shaking his head.

Now I was very worried. Maybe my plan to have this thing checked after church wasn't a good idea. But it was Sunday morning and everyone I saw by the roadside was dressed on their way to church. Who could I get to help me? I reduced my speed to crawling levels and just before I got to Dansoman, I saw a vulcaniser. I parked and asked him to check the bolts on my back tyre. All the bolts were loose.

Saved by grace is all I can say!

God loves me too much!

The next time I hear a knocking sound while driving, I will stop and tighten the bolts on all four tyres myself!