Your most helpless moment in a car.
Discussion
Just last week actually.
On my way to start my nightshift, I reversed my Jag up and off my driveway and, not realising that the road was wet ice, slid straight across the street when I applied the brakes........
.......straight into the Audi A1 parked opposite
Now, my car has picked up a couple of paint chips on the rear bumper, but my God what a mess I've made of the Audi. The A1's passenger door is completely caved in.
First claim I've had to make in 24 years of driving
On my way to start my nightshift, I reversed my Jag up and off my driveway and, not realising that the road was wet ice, slid straight across the street when I applied the brakes........
.......straight into the Audi A1 parked opposite
Now, my car has picked up a couple of paint chips on the rear bumper, but my God what a mess I've made of the Audi. The A1's passenger door is completely caved in.
First claim I've had to make in 24 years of driving
Johnnytheboy said:
Taking my parents' elderly bulldog out to Maiden Castle for his birthday walk in my old Fiesta, many years ago.
Sat him on the front seat on the way back. Driving down a country lane, had to do a sudden stop on a left hand bend when something came round the corner too fast, dog slid off the seat and managed to land with the gearstick wedged more or less up his arse.
I had to grab his behind with both hands, pull him vertically upwards and back on to the seat, give the gearknob a quick wipe, then reverse out of the way of the opposing car.
LOLSat him on the front seat on the way back. Driving down a country lane, had to do a sudden stop on a left hand bend when something came round the corner too fast, dog slid off the seat and managed to land with the gearstick wedged more or less up his arse.
I had to grab his behind with both hands, pull him vertically upwards and back on to the seat, give the gearknob a quick wipe, then reverse out of the way of the opposing car.
30 odd years ago. Really snowy and icy and yet managed to get safely onto to my parents drive. At this point my MinI Clubman was still the same shape as it left the factory......until.
So the drive is really icy, no grip whatsoever so I tried gently lifting the clutch in first and second gear ..... nothing. No choice to get out and push. I regarded this as defeat....something I am most uncomfortable with. So I get out and push.......forgetting that the surface is so icy the near side front wheel is still spinning because it's still in gear. Anyway I get round the back completely unaware of the assistance the spinning front wheel may offer with my angry push at the rear.
Lo and behold my push had the desired effect to moving the Sanglow painted machine with its Brown vinyl roof sufficiently forward for those front tyres to grip on at least something......and then of course as the drive was still connected it lurched forward and proceeded to use the substantial wooden flower planter to make an assault for the glazed front door and panels. Slow motion then switched on from my safe but helpless vantage point at the rear and the Mini slightly changed course to the left and hit the retaining pillar.
So at least the house was safe .... The planter was a write off.
I managed to beat out and fill the front of the Mini. A new bumper from the scrapyard and all is well.
So the drive is really icy, no grip whatsoever so I tried gently lifting the clutch in first and second gear ..... nothing. No choice to get out and push. I regarded this as defeat....something I am most uncomfortable with. So I get out and push.......forgetting that the surface is so icy the near side front wheel is still spinning because it's still in gear. Anyway I get round the back completely unaware of the assistance the spinning front wheel may offer with my angry push at the rear.
Lo and behold my push had the desired effect to moving the Sanglow painted machine with its Brown vinyl roof sufficiently forward for those front tyres to grip on at least something......and then of course as the drive was still connected it lurched forward and proceeded to use the substantial wooden flower planter to make an assault for the glazed front door and panels. Slow motion then switched on from my safe but helpless vantage point at the rear and the Mini slightly changed course to the left and hit the retaining pillar.
So at least the house was safe .... The planter was a write off.
I managed to beat out and fill the front of the Mini. A new bumper from the scrapyard and all is well.
Wet, Icy and no ABS... I think you know where this is going..
driving down a hill slowly near me the road turns left and the left hand side drops away quite aggressively, taking it at under 10 as I know that my old Ka hasn't got ABS so I was playing it cautious.. until I saw a van coming up the other way. Touched the brakes, locked up, but the road was begging to turn left, and there are large rocks on the side of the road... tried to steer, nothing..... bang!
needed a new bumper, knackered the undertray, burst a tyre and needed a new steering arm.
£100 and some cable ties later, all was well. Drove like that for 5 months until I sold the car.
driving down a hill slowly near me the road turns left and the left hand side drops away quite aggressively, taking it at under 10 as I know that my old Ka hasn't got ABS so I was playing it cautious.. until I saw a van coming up the other way. Touched the brakes, locked up, but the road was begging to turn left, and there are large rocks on the side of the road... tried to steer, nothing..... bang!
needed a new bumper, knackered the undertray, burst a tyre and needed a new steering arm.
£100 and some cable ties later, all was well. Drove like that for 5 months until I sold the car.
Being dragged along the motorway near Bristol by an articulated lorry who was completely oblivious to us. My wife was driving in the inside lane, lorry in the middle, pulled straight over the rear arch of the Golf, an almighty bang and then completely powerless. Those few seconds you're looking at the front bumper and wheel of a lorry you think is sucking you under are horrendous, made worse by the fact that I had my wife and dog on board. As it happened we fishtailed free, went into a spin only to have the lorry drive into us a second time, only this time I was looking across at the wife with the lorry bearing down towards her, the lorry's front light smashed in through her window this time, smacking the front wing and luckily pushing into another spin, amazingly we ended up on the chevrons without a scratch. The initial impact saw us dragged about 100 yards.
It took us all a long time to get over that, even the dog. He never liked it in the car again and I spent the next 6 months accelerating swiftly passed ever lorry I came across.
It took us all a long time to get over that, even the dog. He never liked it in the car again and I spent the next 6 months accelerating swiftly passed ever lorry I came across.
civicduty said:
What punishment did the lorry driver receive?
The only punishment was me dragging him out of the cab and throwing him over some barriers. By which time I'd ran several hundred yards to where he eventually stopped and was too knackered to do anything else to him...After apologising and saying he didn't see us, when it came down to it he denied it all and said my wife drove into him. As it was one word against another, that was that.
California in 2008. I was driving a rental Sebring down Rt 99, just past Visalia. Both lanes had just been re-laid but said re-laying stopped abruptly at the edge of both lanes leaving ahalf foot drop at both sides with a few sparsly laid out cones as warning. One moments inattention from me at 65mph and my front passenger wheel had fallen off the edge.
Cue major amateur reactions from me in automatically turning the wheel to the right as far and quickly as possible, resulting in a complete 360 across two busy freeway lanes. I still rememnber, mid-turn, glancing out of the driver's window and seeing the concrete divider heading my way. Absolutely nothing I could do and I rememnber just holding the wheel and bracing for impact. Thankfully I kept spinning and ended up facing the correct way, stopped perfectly between the concrete barrier and L2. Car was knacked but fair play to the rental car company who supplied me with a brand new convertible replacement the next morning.
Cue major amateur reactions from me in automatically turning the wheel to the right as far and quickly as possible, resulting in a complete 360 across two busy freeway lanes. I still rememnber, mid-turn, glancing out of the driver's window and seeing the concrete divider heading my way. Absolutely nothing I could do and I rememnber just holding the wheel and bracing for impact. Thankfully I kept spinning and ended up facing the correct way, stopped perfectly between the concrete barrier and L2. Car was knacked but fair play to the rental car company who supplied me with a brand new convertible replacement the next morning.
RowntreesCabana said:
The only punishment was me dragging him out of the cab and throwing him over some barriers. By which time I'd ran several hundred yards to where he eventually stopped and was too knackered to do anything else to him...
After apologising and saying he didn't see us, when it came down to it he denied it all and said my wife drove into him. As it was one word against another, that was that.
Good job you all came out of this incedent in one piece then, now where is that dash cam thread?After apologising and saying he didn't see us, when it came down to it he denied it all and said my wife drove into him. As it was one word against another, that was that.
civicduty said:
Good job you all came out of this incedent in one piece then, now where is that dash cam thread?
Yes, that was the main thing. This happened before dash cams were about, probably about 7 or 8 years ago. Once we heard what was going on through our insurance company, I actually emailed the department responsible for the road cameras on that stretch, only to be told they'd be deleted a few weeks earlier, only keeping them if there had been a fatality.Anyway, as you say, we all survived without a scratch and thats something to be grateful for.
Funnily enough, I had to recount this one recently..
Mine was probably on the A1 just south of Leeming. During student days, a few of us had piled into a mates old Talbot Solara to go from Edinburgh to London to see a gig at the Marquee, driving straight back afterwards. I was asleep in the middle of the back seat, as I was due to do a stint behind the wheel from around Newcastle.
At around 8am, I woke up when there was a load bang and saw things spinning round while we were still travelling forwards at about 80 - the rear suspension had collapsed on the passenger side and the car spun about three and a half times before coming to a standstill. All the time before the car came to a rest I was thinking "F*ck I'm gonna die"' then the car stopped, and the sense of relief was massive, then looking back down the A1, there was a truck coming straight towards us so it was "f*ck were still gonna die".
The truck managed to stop, but one memory would be the road workers who saw this, and stopped to help started pushing us off the road - one was calling us lazy bds for not being able to get out the car and push it off the road immediately, which was pretty much due to the shock.
We were just lucky due to the time as there was nothing close enough to hit, and turn the car over - an hour later would have been a very different story..
My mate actually had the car fixed after that, and getting back in to it a few weeks later wasn't a good experience.
Mine was probably on the A1 just south of Leeming. During student days, a few of us had piled into a mates old Talbot Solara to go from Edinburgh to London to see a gig at the Marquee, driving straight back afterwards. I was asleep in the middle of the back seat, as I was due to do a stint behind the wheel from around Newcastle.
At around 8am, I woke up when there was a load bang and saw things spinning round while we were still travelling forwards at about 80 - the rear suspension had collapsed on the passenger side and the car spun about three and a half times before coming to a standstill. All the time before the car came to a rest I was thinking "F*ck I'm gonna die"' then the car stopped, and the sense of relief was massive, then looking back down the A1, there was a truck coming straight towards us so it was "f*ck were still gonna die".
The truck managed to stop, but one memory would be the road workers who saw this, and stopped to help started pushing us off the road - one was calling us lazy bds for not being able to get out the car and push it off the road immediately, which was pretty much due to the shock.
We were just lucky due to the time as there was nothing close enough to hit, and turn the car over - an hour later would have been a very different story..
My mate actually had the car fixed after that, and getting back in to it a few weeks later wasn't a good experience.
hoegaardenruls said:
Funnily enough, I had to recount this one recently..
Mine was probably on the A1 just south of Leeming. During student days, a few of us had piled into a mates old Talbot Solara to go from Edinburgh to London to see a gig at the Marquee, driving straight back afterwards. I was asleep in the middle of the back seat, as I was due to do a stint behind the wheel from around Newcastle.
At around 8am, I woke up when there was a load bang and saw things spinning round while we were still travelling forwards at about 80 - the rear suspension had collapsed on the passenger side and the car spun about three and a half times before coming to a standstill. All the time before the car came to a rest I was thinking "F*ck I'm gonna die"' then the car stopped, and the sense of relief was massive, then looking back down the A1, there was a truck coming straight towards us so it was "f*ck were still gonna die".
The truck managed to stop, but one memory would be the road workers who saw this, and stopped to help started pushing us off the road - one was calling us lazy bds for not being able to get out the car and push it off the road immediately, which was pretty much due to the shock.
We were just lucky due to the time as there was nothing close enough to hit, and turn the car over - an hour later would have been a very different story..
My mate actually had the car fixed after that, and getting back in to it a few weeks later wasn't a good experience.
There's a video on youtube where a lorry's suspension collapses, sending it across the motorway to the opposite side. Unfortunately 2 cars cannot stop in time and plough straight into it, very sad. That was the first time I'd heard of it happening, obviously its not as rare as I'd thought.Mine was probably on the A1 just south of Leeming. During student days, a few of us had piled into a mates old Talbot Solara to go from Edinburgh to London to see a gig at the Marquee, driving straight back afterwards. I was asleep in the middle of the back seat, as I was due to do a stint behind the wheel from around Newcastle.
At around 8am, I woke up when there was a load bang and saw things spinning round while we were still travelling forwards at about 80 - the rear suspension had collapsed on the passenger side and the car spun about three and a half times before coming to a standstill. All the time before the car came to a rest I was thinking "F*ck I'm gonna die"' then the car stopped, and the sense of relief was massive, then looking back down the A1, there was a truck coming straight towards us so it was "f*ck were still gonna die".
The truck managed to stop, but one memory would be the road workers who saw this, and stopped to help started pushing us off the road - one was calling us lazy bds for not being able to get out the car and push it off the road immediately, which was pretty much due to the shock.
We were just lucky due to the time as there was nothing close enough to hit, and turn the car over - an hour later would have been a very different story..
My mate actually had the car fixed after that, and getting back in to it a few weeks later wasn't a good experience.
Roundabout in the wet, start to slide. Not a problem in most cars but the amazing 4motion system in the golf decides today is a good day to die and subsequently it's fishtailing all over the place, lots of swearing and trying to correct.
Thankfully i missed the cars and motorbike (this was in 8:45am traffic) and smashed off the kerb instead.
Oh and once i pulled into works car park in my old mondeo too fast to show off to the birds (as you do), hit some black ice and was momentarily sliding towards the CEO's brand new e-class. I missed it by what felt like an inch.
Thankfully i missed the cars and motorbike (this was in 8:45am traffic) and smashed off the kerb instead.
Oh and once i pulled into works car park in my old mondeo too fast to show off to the birds (as you do), hit some black ice and was momentarily sliding towards the CEO's brand new e-class. I missed it by what felt like an inch.
A couple of winters ago, coming home from work after a nightshift. The roads were covered in snow, and I was in my 106 Rallye. Not so much of an issue as it generally coped alright with adverse conditions, but I wasn't looking forward to driving down the steep hill near my village, down into the valley where my house is. It's narrow, with high walls and trees around it so it's microclimate is always colder than the surrounding areas, with water constantly running off a field which freezes in a sheet over the road.
It was clear as I entered Northumberland that their gritters hadn't been out at all, in contrast to Newcastle. I got to the hill and started driving down it, taking it slowly. There was a Northumbrian Water vehicle in front of me, some sort of Japanese pickup with a cab on the back. I recall sliding down the hill towards it as it braked for a corner. I braked too, but my car didn't stop, it just slid at about 10mph down the hill. Nowhere in the travel of the pedal did the brakes seem to take affect. I held the pedal in, and my breath, at just above lock up point and drifted slowly towards the back of the pickup. I had visions of my bonnet crumpling against the back of the truck, but I miraculously stopped about two foot short of contact, whereupon the pickup sped up again and gave me some breathing room.
The rest of the hill wasn't much better, where the gradient decreases and it straightens out a little but was still slippery. Every steering input started a new skid, and the brakes again weren't braking, the (new!) Yokohama tyres weren't gripping. Even sneaky braking wasn't helping. Cadence braking didn't do much either, but by thumping hard and repeatedly the brake pedal I found I could 'shock' the car straight at the back and scrub a tiny bit of speed off, which was enough to see me down the rest of the hill.
It was clear as I entered Northumberland that their gritters hadn't been out at all, in contrast to Newcastle. I got to the hill and started driving down it, taking it slowly. There was a Northumbrian Water vehicle in front of me, some sort of Japanese pickup with a cab on the back. I recall sliding down the hill towards it as it braked for a corner. I braked too, but my car didn't stop, it just slid at about 10mph down the hill. Nowhere in the travel of the pedal did the brakes seem to take affect. I held the pedal in, and my breath, at just above lock up point and drifted slowly towards the back of the pickup. I had visions of my bonnet crumpling against the back of the truck, but I miraculously stopped about two foot short of contact, whereupon the pickup sped up again and gave me some breathing room.
The rest of the hill wasn't much better, where the gradient decreases and it straightens out a little but was still slippery. Every steering input started a new skid, and the brakes again weren't braking, the (new!) Yokohama tyres weren't gripping. Even sneaky braking wasn't helping. Cadence braking didn't do much either, but by thumping hard and repeatedly the brake pedal I found I could 'shock' the car straight at the back and scrub a tiny bit of speed off, which was enough to see me down the rest of the hill.
Going down an snowy/icy hill which was very steep with the OH in the car.
I had the car in first and let it roll down using no throttle, started to get a bit too fast so I touched the brake for a second and locked the front wheels (Even tough car had ABS). This made the car slide instead of roll.
This hill was 1 lane, narrow and had parked cars one side and a large stone wall the other.
Luckily I manged to get the bottom where I had the option of A. Hitting someones parked car or B. hitting the curb
I opted for B. Car bounced off the curb and stopped.
The only damage was a curbed alloy and my pride.
I had the car in first and let it roll down using no throttle, started to get a bit too fast so I touched the brake for a second and locked the front wheels (Even tough car had ABS). This made the car slide instead of roll.
This hill was 1 lane, narrow and had parked cars one side and a large stone wall the other.
Luckily I manged to get the bottom where I had the option of A. Hitting someones parked car or B. hitting the curb
I opted for B. Car bounced off the curb and stopped.
The only damage was a curbed alloy and my pride.
Following a high-sided box van on the the B4068 in the rain. A moment of inattention from the van driver and he'd clipped the soaking wet LH verge. Back end steps out, he over-corrects and suddenly I'm following a van with two wheels clearly off the carriageway as it swerves across the road. Wheels back down and it bounces in such a way that I'm convinced the whole thing is going to fall on top of my car, stand on the brakes and amazingly the driver manages to catch it.
Turning right (and indicating) into a small farm road on a 60mph stretch, getting close to the junction had a quick look in the mirror to make sure nothing trying to overtake and see a van, far too fast, smoke from locked brakes, look of panic on the drivers face as no chance of him stopping. Floored it while turning right, cut the corner, over a bit of the kerb, massive bounce as I dived over and saw the van miss me by less than a foot. Would have smashed straight into me it I hadn't looked and incredibly lucky it still didn't. Suppose I wasn't completely helpless but it still felt like it.
Around this time of year back in the late 80s I was driving my Mazda RX7 back from Myall Lakes heading south on Pacific Highway north of Buladelah. Nice long straight, girl on motorbike behind me - ahead 2 cars travelling slower, Renault and Ford LTD. I approach from behind pull out to overtake, almost alongside LTD when it pulls out to overtake Renault pushing my car onto the dirt verge, we are then 3 abreast with me stuck in the rough dirt verge. Next thing I know I am now going backwards down the road at 100kph+ looking out back window to see what part of scenery I am scheduled to hit, somehow the girl on motorbike directly behind me managed to emerge unscathed.
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