BP GEOGRAPHIC

While an Aston Martin DBS actually needs a ramp for being able to roll over, the small Chevrolet Matiz can do it on its own.

I drove the car over half of the way from Fes to Casablanca through semi arid yet fascinating landscapes.

I noticed the car was not very stable, I had to hold the steering wheel firmly. Earlier I had already noticed that the car doesn’t even have ABS. Still, after a stop at a fuel station, I made the mistake to let a friend drive who had just gotten her driving license.

Inexperience and the lack of motorway driving lessons in Morocco contributed to her turning the steering wheel sharply when she was distracted by the navigation map and noticed that she had slightly driven over the line on the side of the road. We ended up with the car in a triple barrel roll. I had prepared myself with a brace position, felt the impacts, and was eventually hanging upside down in the seatbelt.

I was able to climb out through the broken side window with only some scratches. First I had a look whether it was safe to climb out, but the car had come to a rest in the middle between the two sides of the motorway. Suddenly I found us surrounded by many people who stopped to help us.

Then the police arrived and eventually a recovery truck. The driver took us back to Fes where the car was put back into the parking garage until a decision could be made what to do with it.