Knitting in the Shotgun Seat…
Now, you people know I have a lot of experience in a few things:
1. Reading Books by P.G. Wodehouse;
2. Watching Movies Set Before 1960;
3. Sitting in Mr. Trask’s car while he drives us somewhere, knitting up a storm.
It’s that third one that has me thinking, and it’s all because of my favorite mechanics, Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, Tom and Ray Magliozzi — in a word, The Car Talk Guys. I love these guys, and it’s not about the content. It’s about the presentation. I love it when someone calls up and says, “Yeah, my car’s making this noise like ‘GUH guh duh, GUH guh duh,’ but only when I’m reversing, and my wife doesn’t believe it’s happening, so we haven’t been to the mechanic” and Tom and Ray say, “Oh, sure, that’s the foggratecearates arates,” or whatever it is, and they all live happily ever after.
I love it, too, when they solve their callers’ other problems. Anyone remember the one where the caller had a crush on her mechanic? Classic! That one’s got my vote for Stump the Chumps.
[I dream of a Knit Talk Gals show on NPR, in which Kay and Ann take calls from desperate knitters…but then Twist Collective has gotten us pretty close.]
I have been tempted to call Tom and Ray for years myself. I feel sure they can solve a problem that has been plaguing Mr. Trask and me since our first winter together. It involves a snow drift, a DC driver who borrowed her new boyfriend’s car, and a license plate holder. If you’re really nice to me I might tell you about it later.
At any rate, over the weekend Tom and Ray discussed one nervous knitter’s conundrum: is it safe to knit in the car if your car has airbags?
I will be honest here. I am not sure whether it’s safe or not. But I do know that it’s not safe for my husband to put me in the car and drive me, say, up to Boston without my knitting. I mean, think it through, guys. Suppose you were asked to ride in a car for hours on end without saying even one thing about batteries or carburetors or…uh…whatever? Also, I can’t imagine knitting needles injuring me in a crash, unless I were really bent over my work at a weird angle, or using super-sharp needles, or something. But perhaps I am in denial. The truth is, I’m not going to be able to stop knitting in the car. It’s kind of my thing. [That, and knitting anywhere else…]
Rant over; if you listen to the segment (about 10 minutes in if you’re podcasting) you’ll learn that Tom and Ray are honest (and unsure), as well. Anyone have thoughts?
Knit Like You Mean It. 
Consider where the airbag will hit if it goes off. 25 mph is a heck of a hit, and one woman had her knitting needle go into her heart just from falling down on it. (It took heart surgery to remove it.) I rarely have a chance to knit in a car now but when I did, I held the needles very low on my lap, at an angle where they won’t have an end pointing at me.
Goodness. Thanks for the tip, Tamar. I wasn’t able to find a story about a woman falling on her knitting needle online, but doesn’t mean it didn’t happen…I’m glad I usually use plastic or bamboo needles.
I heard Car Talk this weekend as well, and decided that given the options, I’d take my chances knitting in a car. Odds are good you won’t be involved in a accident anyway, and what is life without your latest WIP?
Hi, Lynn! I aspire to have a blog with photos as beautiful as yours. Thanks for weighing in on knitting-in-car. I am generally so anxious about being harmed in some way in the car or otherwise, and yet I find myself willing to take this risk…though not with Addi Turbos, I think. And I’ll definitely be keeping my work low in my lap from now on…