A cautionary tail of road positioning at junctions......

[MadDad]

Out for a spin in the Chilterns yesterday evening and came to a junction where I wanted to turn right. Two cars in front of me and one behind me, I stopped in the middle of the carriageway between the cars so drivers front and back could see me. The old lady at the junction was taking an age to pull out onto a quiet road so I decided to nip around the cars and pull out - it was obvious I could get out much quicker than she could!

Just as I pulled out of the junction (while she still waited for her written invitation) a van ploughed into the car at the back of the queue which in turn pushed it into the 2nd car in the queue, the force was so hard it actually pushed the 2nd car into the old lady still sat at the junction. Had I not lost my patience with the dithering old woman at the front of the queue I would have been crushed between the 2nd and 3rd cars in the queue for the junction - and given the force with which the van hit the cars I think it is fair to assume resultant injuries would have been fairly serious.

In future I will be holding my position to the left or right of the queue of traffic - I will also be doing the lotto this weekend......

[Devil2575]

I wait at a set of traffic lights regularly and position myself similar to you. It does cross my mind what migt happen if a car coming up behind just doesn't stop.

[Kell]

Wow. Lucky escape.

[MacW]

Don't bother with the lottery, you've used all your luck.

[SteveSteveson]

Unfortunately I fear that someone clipping you squeezing past if you are not in the middle is far more of a risk than this. I think it's a matter of taking your choice of which risk you take.

[Usget]

Fuuuuuuck!

I don't think that's a tale of road positioning. I would have been in exactly the same place. I think that's a tale of being bloody lucky!

[Kell]

Just out of interest, did you hear the van before the smash?

I just wonder if he'd made enough road noise that you would/could have noticed and moved in time.

Probably not, but thought I'd ask.

What was he doing? Looking at his mobile? (I assume it was a he.)

[Fugazi]

Funnily enough on my way home a couple of hours ago I saw the aftermath of a similar accident where a black cab had driven into a car waiting at a set of lights, which had also nudged the car in front. It's also a junction where I'd be waiting in the middle of the lane with the rest of the traffic as there's no ASL zone... Trouble is that a lot of modern vehicles are very quiet, especially at typical urban road speeds when the tyre noise is also at a minimum so you might never hear it coming to be able to avoid being hit.

[boyse7en]

SteveSteveson said:

Unfortunately I fear that someone clipping you squeezing past if you are not in the middle is far more of a risk than this. I think it's a matter of taking your choice of which risk you take.

Well, given that you'd be stationary, and a car in that situation would be doing about 5mph (unless being propelled forward by a raging Transit) I think that it sounds better a bet than hanging about waiting in the middle.