My laptop wasn't wearing its seatbelt

Near-collision gets morning off to a heart-pounding start

The black pick-up truck spun backward out of a right-side driveway at a speed normally reserved for evading assassins (kid you not). I was approaching at 20 mph on the narrow, winding, heavily wooded road that leads into my lakeside neighborhood.

My first thought was that there's simply no way we don't collide. I mean no one was going to be killed or anything at this speed, but my car and Jack Bauer's truck were destined to go bang on this rain-slicked road.

Glad to be wrong. Jamming my brakes to the floor and leaning on the horn kept my skidding front end from his back end by a margin that couldn't have exceeded six inches. Thanks for the great brakes, Toyota.

He pulled forward to let me by, and, since I was in no mood to chat about what had just happened, onward to work I went.

Halfway here I noticed my laptop had moved from the passenger seat to the floor. Buckle up, kids.

• Laptops