What's your proudest driving moment?

[Monkeylegend]

I drove a Skoda Estelle just the once and didn't die of embarrassment, very proud of myself.

[seany87]

I kept a new shape BMW Z4 in check in my girlfriends 60hp Daihatsu Copen.

I thought I was being chased by the guy because he pulled out of a junction on me and I shook my head. Cue him following me rather closely. I decided to high tail it home down the country lanes. It was chucking it down and all I saw in the mirrors was a Z4 fighting the back end squirming. In the end the country lane straightened out and he zoomed next to me. I stopped about to get out of the car (didnt want to be trapped in it if he fancied a punch up) but instead the loon inside just wanted to know what engine was in it! Didnt believe me it was just the standard 0.6 litre!

[lufbramatt]

Spotting a Vauxhall astra in the middle lane start spinning in front of me, into the lane I was doing 70(ish) in, and managing to get my car stopped with about 6 feet to spare, avoiding what could've been a very nasty accident. I was fine at the time but once I got home I was actually really shaken up. We're both here though, but it does occur to me what if I missed it for whatever reason and not instinctively slammed my foot on the brake pedal.

thankfully the guy in the Saab behind me managed to get stopped as well.





BTW there were a load of police cars behind us letting cars slowly through in lane one, I wasn't just standing in the middle of an open motorway! He had managed to hit another car on the way across the motorway who had pulled in behind me and I had gone to check if they were ok.

Edited by lufbramatt on Sunday 25th January 21:49

[carl_w]

In keeping with this thread I would say two events, both in the same Impreza:

1) Avoiding an (empty) barrel that fell off the back of a lorry on the A12 -- although I didn't know it was empty when it started to fall
2) Coming into a roundabout pretty hot at 6 o'clock heading for 12 o'clock and then having someone pull out from 9 o'clock, realize I was there and stop in the middle of the roundabout, also managed to avoid that one

But with my childish hat on I'd have to go for overtaking a row of cars in a TVR on a straight bit of road, seeing someone oncoming and dropping back into the queue with a load of bangs and spits of flames, then overtaking the rest of the row once the oncoming car had gone.

Edit: also kept up with a Cayenne S Turbo in a 320d on a bypass -- it disappeared on the straights but I made it all up on the roundabouts.

[Blayney]

Only time I've been kart racing, being able to put into practise all the things I thought I new about racing. Admittedly I think the guys we were against where clueless but my and my 3 mates took the top 4 spots on the time sheets and I set a few overtakes up 4 corners before making the move. Feeling the back end going loose when lifting off on the entry of a quick left into a tight right and knowing that I was gonna get it to go back the other way and get me around the next corner was a lovely feeling I'm keen to repeat as soon as possible. Disgraceful that it took me until 25 to get my arse down to the kart tracks tbh.

[Sir Fergie]

sometime in 1997/early 1998

Came up to a section of road with two bends on it - first one a left hander and the 2nd a right hander - both close together.

Coming around the left hander - a Sierra was exiting the right hander (a left hander for HIM) - seen the angle he waa exiting the bend at - and promptly decided he was coming over to my side of the road - BEFORE he actually did so.

Rubbed the Nissan I was driving up againsed the verge on my side and pulled up.

Inspite of my dad SUPPOSED to be supervising as I only had my provisional - he hadn't spotted the Sierra at all and was mot bothered at how close he was to the ditch.

He didn't even realise there was a problem until he went to tell me off for "taking the bend too tighly" or been "two close to the verge" (forget which) - and I had to explain.

Shame really as it would have been nice for him to realise that my paying attention saved us from a collision.

Prior to that....

My parents decided to not let me have my licence until my 18th birthday (sigh) - so I ended up getting my provisional licence about a month before my 18th birthday

My 18th birthday was a number of driving lessons - and on the 2nd lesson - my instructor says - your getting on fine - shall we do the next lesson (my third) - at 5,30 in the evening - IN THE DARK .

So off we go for my 3rd ever drive on the road - in the dark - managed fine considering.

Now to be fair - I HAD been driving an old car around the farm - so it wasn't like id NEVER driven before my first lesson - but still

[JBR Kiwi]

Probably some of my karting exploits.

First one that I always think about was against a certain individual all year, from his driving ability to some very questionable engines amongst many things, and his bunch of cronies. This event however had gone perfectly for me, fastest in qualifying by a second, 2nd in the first race (due to my own error) and had won the second race very comfortably. This meant I was placed second for the final alongside this individual.

From the rolling up lap and into the first corner, a tight right hander you take at speed, I was on the outside of the track just trying to hold my position. I then received the mother of all side swipes from my 'nemesis' which resulted in me being pitched sideways and sent shooting off the track and up the bank. This left me with dirty tyres and right at the back of the pack now about 5secs away from the 2nd to last bloke.

Over the next 15 laps it was just a blur of cutting through the field and hunting this guy down. Sat behind him for a lap before selling him a dummy and sliding up the inside and holding the position. Next 2 laps were just pulling away before crossing the line and pulling into the parc ferme. Ive never had so many people come up to me and shake my hand and seeing my dads face and getting hug off him made it all worth it. I later heard that the blokes family had cheered when I was forced off, and then had got quieter and quieter over the race



The other one would be at Lydd, and having gone round the last corner at high speed and just about to cross the start/finish line, I noticed a flash of blue from the pitlane which opened out onto the race track. Someone had released a novice back into the race and not checked whether anything was coming. Somehow I managed to flick my kart out of the way and round her at quite a massive speed difference. If I had hit her at full chat it probably would have resulted in my death and the kart flipping into the spectators on the side behind the barrior. My dad always said afterwards that he never knew how I managed to do it as all the spectators either screamed or had gone deathly quiet because of how it looked.

Still, keeps it interesting doesnt it

[Dr Jekyll]

Driving along a relatively fast but certainly not straight B road at eighty odd and occasionally 90 with a VERY well known and experienced advanced instructor perfectly content beside me.

[R8VXF]

Not my proudest moment but along the lines of knowing someone else is gonna get it wrong, the first outing with my new dash cam found me in the situation of knowing the car in front was in the wrong lane and giving them enough space to get it right.

The first 20 seconds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4e-QlLv3RA&li...

[thatdude]

Mine was on my motorbike, from london (where I was staying with my girlfriend-now-wife) to brighton (where i then lived, parental home), on my own with no-one else for company. It didnt start too well...not really knowing the area too well where my girlfriend / wife lives (i know it well now!) The second turning I took was wrong and I was suddenly in a road I didnt recognise.

But I made it down the north circular on my own (and didnt get caught by speed traps), managed to be in the correct lane at the correct time throuhg london, didnt get lost again and made it to box hill for my scheduled pee-and-tea stop.

I then happily thrashed to brighton and commended myself on a job well done at making it through london alive without any help.

[edit] in vein with other comments, I avoided 3 seperate parts of a ladder on the north circular (this was many years after my epic maiden voyage). I saw the first, avoided it, then there was the second, avoided it, then there was the third, which I hadnt seen until too late but somehow was in the right place at the right time. I was doing 60 mph at the time

Edited by thatdude on Monday 26th January 15:33

[anonymous-user]

dxg said:

By "proudest' I mean that moment that made you think "I can actually do this. I'm a competent driver."

Here's mine - I'm interested to see how it stacks up against those of others:

So, I'm heading up bottom end of the M42 one day and traffic is heavy. I'm in lane 2 and there's a flatbed car transporter in lane 1, loaded up and playing the game of conserving momentum. I'm almost in its blind spot to continue past it but, as it's rapidly coming up to the back of an artic and I can imagine how long it would take to build up speed again, I check for an indication that it wants to come out in front of me. No sign.

I then - and this is where the proud moment comes from - check its door mirror and catch the eye of its driver staring back at me desperately and - for once - actually looking in his mirrors before signalling to pull out. I catch his eye, a quick flash of the headlights and he's out without bothering with his indicators.

This was several years ago. Still makes me smile.

Edited by dxg on Sunday 25th January 11:56

You must have a very quiet life. I probably do this for myopic car and lorry drivers at least three or four times a week while travelling on the motorways. It's all part of not being involved in a big fk off accident. I guess I get what you mean though, 90% of the morons on the road would have just sat there and trapped him. It's like being proud of being able to walk and breathe at the same time though

Edited by dme123 on Monday 26th January 15:53

[Shaoxter]

Getting around the Ring in under 9 mins in my third ever lap. Also not crashing/dying there.

Karting - was consistently 2s a lap quicker (on a ~45s lap) than anyone else on an icy and very slippery track, definitely felt like a rainmeister while everyone else was spinning around

[mybrainhurts]

When I out dragged a Reliant Robin from the lights.

That showed him...

[Bonefish Blues]

A couple.

I suppose the day when I stopped in L2 on the A34 sharpish as our lane stopped from c60ish, but had the presence of mind to look behind, and have left sufficient space to dive right to avoid the coach bearing down on me. Missed us all by millimetres as it dived across to L1. Saved me from nasty injury or worse.

A track instructor once said nice drive and the passengers agreed too. That was enjoyable and made me smile.

[jhonn]

It's early morning and I'm a little late for work heading around the ring-road. The roads are damp but the Impreza is running well and I'm confident in its 4WD abilities. I tip it in to the empty roundabout confidently, a little too confidently maybe, need to scrub off some speed… I instinctively take my foot off the throttle and experience my first taste of lift-off oversteer.

Woah! Where did that come from, the car snapped sideways, the rear end heading for the kerb, visions of crunched alloys, or worse ending up in the ditch flashed through my mind. Hands twirling like a demented dervish I steered in to the skid and to my relief it arrested the slide and I was able to exit the roundabout looking vaguely in control.

Instinct or blind-luck? Not sure, but I was pretty chuffed with myself.

[mikearwas]

Beating Max Chilton and other GP2 Drivers consistently in the Sim.

[DeuxCentCinq]

The first moment I was ever proud of my driving ability would have to be at Legoland in Denmark when I was 9 years old. Passed my Lego driving test first time with no faults. I’d been practising with my pedal car back home on a makeshift road system I set up in the garden. My brother failed.

Then my first time karting when I was about 12. I lapped everyone in a five minute race. If only the Formula One scouts were there at Tivoli World nr Malaga in the summer of 1995. I did it again when we went back when I was 21, and I came 2nd – but only because I was fat by then. I kept being overtaken on the hill near the end by a bd scrawny little kid.

When it came time to graduate to real cars, I remember driving a car load of mates to Pantiles near Camberley for a night out in my Bluebird Turbo. Obviously having a Turbo badge on the back was like a red rag to a bull to some local chavs who demanded we race them in their Astra GTE down a dual carriageway. When I wouldn’t bite, despite the protestations from the back seat, they zoomed off and straight into the back of a car that had just pulled out of a layby. Then the car behind me lit up like a Christmas tree. Unmarked Police Volvo. I congratulated myself on my reserve as I’m sure I could have beaten their knackered looking Astra.

Then I moved to West Africa, and bought myself a 4wd pick up truck. One weekend I was competing in a point to point rally, the sort where you have to arrive at a checkpoint at a specific time, no later, no sooner. We’d hit all our checkpoints when we came across a fellow competitor at a ford, who had flooded his engine due to not having a snorkel. Shame as it was nice new Shogun Pinin. Anyway, by the time we pulled him out we were way down on time, needing to make 4 miles in as many minutes, on twisty dirt roads, in a non-turbo diesel twin cab pickup.
We did it, with minimal noise from my co-driver. All he could manage was at the end, once we’d had the card stamped “bloody hell you’re a good driver. I thought we were dead so many times, but you got it back and just kept on going.”

But my proudest moment has to be back in the UK. Just after the Mk3 MX-5 came out, I applied for a test drive (as I had a mk1 Eunos at the time) and was invited to a whole day driving them around the Berkshire/Wiltshire/Hampshire border area, with a pub lunch thrown in. The route was set by the Mazda events team, but we were told to choose a car, and drive as we wished to the various checkpoints. Everyone else chose the folding metal roof cars, or the ones with loads of options, or even the 1.8 as that’s what they were thinking of buying. I chose the sparsest spec’d 2.0 I could, with the cloth roof, and noticed only one other person had done the same. An older chap with what I assume was his daughter.
Anyway, after the first checkpoint I was back on the road in the middle of a bunch, and went for an overtake on a long straight section. The older chap followed me through, and we proceeded to have an epic 30 minute drive. I tried to get away and couldn’t, so slowed on a straight and waved him through. He tried to get away, and couldn’t either. At the next checkpoint he got out of the car to let his daughter drive, and came up to me to shake my hand. “That was great!” he said, “so nice to have fun with another driver who knows what he’s doing”. He got back in to the passenger side and his daughter drove them away, while I tried to convince my wife to take the wheel. As I was doing so, a man from Mazda came over to chat. I thought I was about to get a bking, but he said “do you know who that was?”
“No..?” I replied. Thinking maybe some local celebrity or an actor or something.
“That was Robb Gravett, the touring car driver. He came over to ask me if you were a Mazda driver. Apparently you had a bit of a race with him!”
“Oh God, don’t encourage him” my wife interrupted, “he’s got to get me home in one piece first.”

Another one I’ve just thought of – for anyone who knows the slip road from the A303 into Andover, it’s tight, gets tighter, and can be very slippery in the wet. I’d just bought an Octavia vRS, and was incensed when an M3 cut me up going for the junction. I simply HAD to get in front of him before the two lanes became one. It had been raining earlier, so the tarmac was wet. As I passed the M3 on the inside of the right hand bend, I felt the rear let go. Cheap tyres. I was doing 70. Any braking would have resulted in a spin into either the BMW or the Armco. I gave it the slightest, slightest touch of opposite lock, then a tad more, then a bit more. As soon as I felt the front wheels were straight I booted the throttle, which snapped it out of the slide without fishtailing and meant I kept my lead on the BMW. An utterly ridiculous thing to do that could have resulted in a nasty accident, but the M3 driver gave me a thumbs up, a fishtail-looking wiggle of the hand, and another thumbs up as we pulled up next to each other at the roundabout about a quarter of a mile down the road. I tugged dramatically at my shirt collar to indicate my relief at not binning it. He grinned. I’m convinced 99% of people would have binned the car in that situation. But then to be fair 99% of people wouldn’t have got it into that situation in the first place…

[XJ84]

A few years ago when I first decided to get a motorbike it seemed sensible to start out with a 125 and get my full licence later.
My CBT went well, and a week or so later I was on the train on my way to meet a bloke at Victoria station, helmet and envelope of cash in hand.
The deal was done, and I found myself the proud owner of a shiny red Suzuki GN125. I strapped the 'L' plates on and climbed aboard my 'mighty' machine. Excited and raring to go.
And that's when it hit me. I was on a motorbike, smack bang in the middle of London, with practically zero bike experience, I had to get home to Hounslow, and I was terrified...

Still, I made it.
Most of the journey is a blur now to be honest, I do remember snippits... Clipping a cab mirror, stalling more than once, and getting beeped at a lot.

So yeah, I suppose not dying that day would be my proudest motoring achievement...

[TREMAiNE]

Passing my ARDS test.

But actual driving act... Probably on a track day at Brands Hatch, after a lot of hard work and many, many of being destroyed on the straights, I managed to overtake an E92 M3 in my RX8. That felt good, all that hard work!

[ClarkPB]

Had the back end of my GT3 step out on me rather quickly exiting a right hander when the roads were a bit damp. I managed to resist the urge to lift off, kept the foot in and i kept it pointing (mostly) in the right direction. Had a mixture of pride and "holy sh*t that was close" about it