Closest you've come to certain death whilst driving?
Discussion
Driving up a main street in a small town with numerous crossroads in 1981 , 20m from one with right of way when a car came straight across in front of me doing 40+
My mum was in the passenger seat, if I'd have been 2-3 seconds earlier she would definitely have been killed and possibly me as well the car being a MK 3 cortina.
99.9% of incidents like that I'd have just thought t
t , I turned the car round to try and find him but he'd disappeared in the many side streets.
A good thing I didn't find him because I would have beat the crap out of him , it was one of the few red mist moments
My mum was in the passenger seat, if I'd have been 2-3 seconds earlier she would definitely have been killed and possibly me as well the car being a MK 3 cortina.
99.9% of incidents like that I'd have just thought t
t , I turned the car round to try and find him but he'd disappeared in the many side streets.A good thing I didn't find him because I would have beat the crap out of him , it was one of the few red mist moments
Last week, on a bike trip through the Alps, riding down from the summit of the Col de la Bonnette towards Italy. It's a twisty and dangerous road, so we're within the speed limit although the limit isn't a low one. Went round a steep downhill right hand bend to find a complete retard on a KTM coming up the hill in a big hurry on my side of the road.
I was probably doing about 35mph, him closer to 50. Would have been very, very untidy but fortunately he swerved to his right and I to mine although I didn't have much room for it.
I was probably doing about 35mph, him closer to 50. Would have been very, very untidy but fortunately he swerved to his right and I to mine although I didn't have much room for it.
WinstonWolf said:
ChasW said:
EazyDuz said:
ChasW said:
Years ago I worked in the medical industry supplying products that put badly injured people, lots of them bikers, back together again after serious trauma. One biker had a bad femur break which was treated by inserting a metal rod down the shaft of his femur. No sooner had he been discharged, and against doctor's advice, he was back on his bike. Before long he had another smash, took the impact on his knee forcing the metal rod back out through his buttock. A real mess but he survived. Cost to the NHS would have been huge. Good business for us though. Interestingly business was better in the summer than winter. Bikers and drivers appear to take more risks when the weather is good.
As a rider myself and many others, we all accept the dangers as part of it. If motorcycles had a big plastic bubble with total guarantee of survival no matter what kind of crash, no one would ride them. A family friend was riding to his mothers birthday dinner, on the way skidded on some wet leaves. Slid right into a tree, brown bread.
Dr Jekyll said:
+1
Part of the reason I parted company with my IAM bike group is a conversation with an observer who queried how much I slowed for blind bends. "What if there is a tractor blocking the road?" I asked, "what if there isn't?" he replied. Which really summed up the attitude difference.
It also rather explained why the announcements at the monthly meetings invariably included a list of supposed 'advanced' riders who had injured themselves, often in single vehicle cornering accidents.
I went to an IAM bike thang many moons for one of those introductory review rides. The guy couldn't understand why I keep out wide on blind corners ( on my side of the road ) and will lean my head if its really tight to get as much as view I can. Sometimes the ol' 6th sense kicks in on some corners and after lots of experience you're unconsciously doing vanishing points. He said I should keep much nearer the kerb and brake on entry, because gears and engine braking aren't suitable.Part of the reason I parted company with my IAM bike group is a conversation with an observer who queried how much I slowed for blind bends. "What if there is a tractor blocking the road?" I asked, "what if there isn't?" he replied. Which really summed up the attitude difference.
It also rather explained why the announcements at the monthly meetings invariably included a list of supposed 'advanced' riders who had injured themselves, often in single vehicle cornering accidents.
Anyway I decided that my continual 35000 miles a year of riding without incident trumped his weekend riding and IAM badge. I'm not sure how he'd have handled a days worth of mountain passes and hairpins...
Swampy1982 said:
E36Ross said:
WaspsNest said:
Odd thing is I'm sure I actually did die and the life I live now is in some kind of parallel universe, guess that's another story.
Anyway, all grown up now and wiser etc..
Intrigued by this, Do go on. Anyway, all grown up now and wiser etc..
Notwithstanding that, when I got out of the motor everything felt a bit different, same feeling you get when you get deja-vu, except the feeling never stopped, I'd love to explain it in more detail if I had the words.
On a different note though, some really lucky people in this thread, some very sobering near misses. Glad everyone is here to talk about it.
seyre1972 said:
We were North of Toulouse I think - and coming down a long hill - pitch black, and it had just started raining - I'd slowed a bit - but was probably still doing 80mph. At the bottom of the hill (more a valley) the road had flooded with another car coming opposite direction at a similar speed - we both hit the standing water @ the same time - well thought it was game over - both cars aquaplaning/water splash from opposing car huge - like a wave hitting the windscreen.
What was probably 2-3 seconds - time just stopped/slowed - felt like this was it/we're brown bread.
I had similar, but less dramatic, going for an overtake on a fairly rainy day. I knew the road had a nice straight before the junction to save getting stuck behind car and trailer. Pulled out and went for it, but a dip hid a huge wall of run-off water... The world turned completely opaque and watery for a few seconds and I was convinced I would have gone sideways into the overtaken car. All good though, survived and completed the overtake but for a few seconds it was all 'fWhat was probably 2-3 seconds - time just stopped/slowed - felt like this was it/we're brown bread.
kfkfkfkfk!"I was driving a F5000 Lola filming for 'Salvage Squad', I was dropping down the hill and shifted to fourth pretty much flat out out, as I let the clutch up the car bottomed in a dip and the resultant force snapped a weak rear link which in turn allowed the rear wheel to twist and hit the frame locking it up. I don't remember but the playback footage shows I caught the first slide but then it span 360 degrees onto the grass and head on into the tyre wall 
All the time I remember thinking it will stop, I had loads of time to steer away from the tyres etc...wrong! it stopped from approx 100 mph in about 7 foot! I remember steam and fiberglass, turning off the power, checking for fire, popping the belts and digging myself out of the wreck.
That was a close one, it was also only fair to comment I then staggered across a live track towards the pits...that could have been closer.
All the time I remember thinking it will stop, I had loads of time to steer away from the tyres etc...wrong! it stopped from approx 100 mph in about 7 foot! I remember steam and fiberglass, turning off the power, checking for fire, popping the belts and digging myself out of the wreck.
That was a close one, it was also only fair to comment I then staggered across a live track towards the pits...that could have been closer.
2001 17 yrs old had a van as my first car and one night it was raining heavily I was on a duel carriageway doing 70mph for some reason I attempted to take the roundabout at 70mph understeered hit the curb, both front wheels buckled under the van and I hit a concrete lamp post at around 50mph! And spun into the trees
Police came the bottom of the engine (sump) was in the road so the curb must have ripped that off along with the alternator!
They breathalised me twice as it was such a bad accident with 2 different machines (I am tee total) they did loads of measuring stuff and they worked out that if the wheels hadn't have buckled the van wouldn't have glanced off the lamppost and spun into trees it would have stopped dead and me and my mate would have been killed! A 2 inch difference is position saved my life! I then had to ring my dad as it was his van to which he rly wasn't happy
Police came the bottom of the engine (sump) was in the road so the curb must have ripped that off along with the alternator!
They breathalised me twice as it was such a bad accident with 2 different machines (I am tee total) they did loads of measuring stuff and they worked out that if the wheels hadn't have buckled the van wouldn't have glanced off the lamppost and spun into trees it would have stopped dead and me and my mate would have been killed! A 2 inch difference is position saved my life! I then had to ring my dad as it was his van to which he rly wasn't happy
Sat in the middle of a road(the main straight into coleraine on the NW200 circuit) with my indicator on waiting to turn right in my old XR2i, Minding my own business when I hear tyres squealing. Just enough time to brace then SMACK, I was hit from behind hard enough to spin me through 450 degrees. I was now actually pointing down the road I wanted to go down. Somehow the car still drove so I pulled over and got out. There was a chap in a black freelander waiting to come out of that junction. His words were "fk me that was close are you ok?" I said what do you mean that was close, he hit me! Freelander man said "no, the Lorry coming the other way!"
I never noticed through the commotion but when the guy hit me, he pushed me into the side of a Lorry travelling in the opposite direction. I had a dirty black tyre mark on my front bumper off of the lorries tyre. I had a weird cold sweat and I went white. He thought he'd just seen someone get killed.
If he had hit me one second earlier, I would have gone under the back wheels of the Lorry.
The Corolla that hit me, hit me hard enough to push the engine and box of his car straight up against the bulkhead, pulling the driveshafts out of the gearbox. I can still smell the gearbox oil now!
The fiesta's seat back broke with the impact, I insisted through the insurance it was fixed rather than written off. Chassis was pulled straight, new seat, bumper, boot lid and exhaust and it was as good as new. Tough little cars. Strangely enough, I was fine! Just shaken up.
Don't want to do that again.
k me that was close are you ok?" I said what do you mean that was close, he hit me! Freelander man said "no, the Lorry coming the other way!" I never noticed through the commotion but when the guy hit me, he pushed me into the side of a Lorry travelling in the opposite direction. I had a dirty black tyre mark on my front bumper off of the lorries tyre. I had a weird cold sweat and I went white. He thought he'd just seen someone get killed.
If he had hit me one second earlier, I would have gone under the back wheels of the Lorry.
The Corolla that hit me, hit me hard enough to push the engine and box of his car straight up against the bulkhead, pulling the driveshafts out of the gearbox. I can still smell the gearbox oil now!
The fiesta's seat back broke with the impact, I insisted through the insurance it was fixed rather than written off. Chassis was pulled straight, new seat, bumper, boot lid and exhaust and it was as good as new. Tough little cars. Strangely enough, I was fine! Just shaken up.
Don't want to do that again.
These days I am office based, but I used to travel a lot for work. I have at points regularly driven in excess of 1000 miles per week, so there are quite a few heart stoppers I could mention. I had a rather heavy right foot when I first started out too.
I had a sierra up on two wheels once, aged 18, on the "no hand chef" roundabout on the A21. I also fishtailed a couple of cars in London at night at around that age. No impacts from any of that though, somehow.
Other notable moments from decades past include having someone pull out of a slip road on the M5 at about 40 miles an hour straight into middle lane in an otherwise empty motorway. I had pulled into the middle lane to them them out and they went straight in front of me doing less half my speed.
Somewhere on the way back from the west country in the middle of the night I crest the brow of a hill on a completely empty dual carriageway and see a car stopped sideways across both lanes with the driver stood beside it. Somehow the driver got in and moved it before I hit it.
I also had someone reverse out of their drive in front of me at high speed. I managed to stop about an inch from them.
More recently, I have nearly had a couple of serious head on collisions. One where someone pulled out of a side road in front of me to turn right, but stopped half way at the centre line, looking left in the opposite direction. I managed to power past them on the wrong side of the road before they started moving again. A couple of others where people have been aggressively overtaking bikes/cars and I've wound up having to go off the road to avoid them.
I had a sierra up on two wheels once, aged 18, on the "no hand chef" roundabout on the A21. I also fishtailed a couple of cars in London at night at around that age. No impacts from any of that though, somehow.
Other notable moments from decades past include having someone pull out of a slip road on the M5 at about 40 miles an hour straight into middle lane in an otherwise empty motorway. I had pulled into the middle lane to them them out and they went straight in front of me doing less half my speed.
Somewhere on the way back from the west country in the middle of the night I crest the brow of a hill on a completely empty dual carriageway and see a car stopped sideways across both lanes with the driver stood beside it. Somehow the driver got in and moved it before I hit it.
I also had someone reverse out of their drive in front of me at high speed. I managed to stop about an inch from them.
More recently, I have nearly had a couple of serious head on collisions. One where someone pulled out of a side road in front of me to turn right, but stopped half way at the centre line, looking left in the opposite direction. I managed to power past them on the wrong side of the road before they started moving again. A couple of others where people have been aggressively overtaking bikes/cars and I've wound up having to go off the road to avoid them.
Closest one I had was a few years ago, coming home from work late at night with a large (read: fat bd) mate in the passenger seat. I took a short cut down a lane not far from my place, and an Astra came bombing over a brow heading towards me, flashed its headlights about three times and then veered straight across onto my side of the road. I threw the car towards the bank on the left, we clipped wing mirrors and my car rode up the bank and almost up onto two wheels. If it hadn't had my mate's bulk in the passenger seat there was a chance it would have gone over.
Pulled over afterwards and checked the car which luckily didn't have a scratch on it, but it certainly shook both of us up. I can only assume the Astra driver was either pissed up or did it on purpose - and I was in a Peugeot 206 (don't laugh) so if he'd hit me head-on at the speed he was doing I probably wouldn't be here now. I think I've only ever driven down that lane once since it happened.
d) mate in the passenger seat. I took a short cut down a lane not far from my place, and an Astra came bombing over a brow heading towards me, flashed its headlights about three times and then veered straight across onto my side of the road. I threw the car towards the bank on the left, we clipped wing mirrors and my car rode up the bank and almost up onto two wheels. If it hadn't had my mate's bulk in the passenger seat there was a chance it would have gone over.Pulled over afterwards and checked the car which luckily didn't have a scratch on it, but it certainly shook both of us up. I can only assume the Astra driver was either pissed up or did it on purpose - and I was in a Peugeot 206 (don't laugh) so if he'd hit me head-on at the speed he was doing I probably wouldn't be here now. I think I've only ever driven down that lane once since it happened.
Not technically driving (not at all to be fair) but as a pedestrian crossing the road at a zebra crossing a lorry on the opposite side of the road wasn't paying attention to the stopped car in front of him as a woman and pram used the crossing.
When the lorry suddenly realised he couldn't stop in time if he started braking he instead swerved in to the oncoming lane aimed right at me. Now I don't subscribe to any mythical deity's but 1/2 a second before I would have started to cross *something* (no idea what) made me stop and take a look at the opposite side of the road just as I put one foot on the road.
The lorry shot past missing me by about a metre and didn't even stop so if I hadn't had that 0.5-1 second pause I'd very probably be dead.
Plus I did 20 years in the military so there a whole bunch of stuff there
When the lorry suddenly realised he couldn't stop in time if he started braking he instead swerved in to the oncoming lane aimed right at me. Now I don't subscribe to any mythical deity's but 1/2 a second before I would have started to cross *something* (no idea what) made me stop and take a look at the opposite side of the road just as I put one foot on the road.
The lorry shot past missing me by about a metre and didn't even stop so if I hadn't had that 0.5-1 second pause I'd very probably be dead.
Plus I did 20 years in the military so there a whole bunch of stuff there
Just remembered another one, not as close a call as the above but still could have been nasty. I was on the M6 near Coventry late on a Saturday night coming back from a job, and as I came up to pass a lorry in lane one I noticed it suddenly start braking quite sharply. Slightly puzzled I looked away and thought I could see something in the road quite a distance ahead and almost instinctively moved into lane three...moments later I passed a Land Rover and trailer which had spun and was stationary across lanes one and two. No idea how or why I didn't see it sooner, but that certainly got me thinking "what if.."
Again just remembered another one. Not me coming close to death, but a young lad (between 6 and 8) on a bike. Driving near my parents in a 30 built up residential area, at around bang on 30 (thankfully) I clocked said lad riding down a side road towards the main road. You know sometimes you just have a six sense RE what's going to happen, well, I did, I thought he's not going to stop at the junction.
Sure enough he sailed straight through, straight in front of me. I was in a Saxo VTR (this was 15 years ago, not last week....) with no ABS, so my reaction resulted in a lovely skid to a halt..... stopping a mere 6 inches away from his bike.
For a moment I was fired up to jump out the car with a 'what the f*** are you playing at?!' type shout, however, the 'I've just soiled myself' expression on his face, knowing he very nearly got hit, was enough for me to think that was punishment enough for him.
It reminded me at the time of an 8 year old me legging it across the road on the walk home from school. Not looking before I crossed the first I knew of a Peugeot 504 (or 5) pick up was the blare of a horn, as I just jumped out the way before his wing mirror missed me by what felt like millimetres!
Sure enough he sailed straight through, straight in front of me. I was in a Saxo VTR (this was 15 years ago, not last week....) with no ABS, so my reaction resulted in a lovely skid to a halt..... stopping a mere 6 inches away from his bike.
For a moment I was fired up to jump out the car with a 'what the f*** are you playing at?!' type shout, however, the 'I've just soiled myself' expression on his face, knowing he very nearly got hit, was enough for me to think that was punishment enough for him.
It reminded me at the time of an 8 year old me legging it across the road on the walk home from school. Not looking before I crossed the first I knew of a Peugeot 504 (or 5) pick up was the blare of a horn, as I just jumped out the way before his wing mirror missed me by what felt like millimetres!
SeeFive said:
Documented on here somewhere else over the years. Short version... No pics this time 
Sunday afternoon, Grif speed on a DC, roof down so not mentally quick. Lorry appeared from other side side of road in an instant and took both lanes on my side coming head on, didn't really want to hit that, especially in a Grif. So milliseconds to pick a soft spot in the scenery. Well it looked soft.
In this hedge was a barbed wire fence and a number of pointy sticks and trees later on. Car slewed through the barbed wire ripping out posts and started tearing through my face and arms on the way down. End of nose cut off, eyelids ripped through, bridge of nose missing and arteries cut through, lots of other facial cuts and a large stick through my neck. Another stick through my arm and a muscle hanging out of a puncture hole in the arm. So a bit messy. Hit a tree hard and stopped on the stump.
Couldn't see, thought I have been blinded but it turned out to be just a lot of blood. When sight returned after what seemed like an eternity, I could close my eyes and still see out of the cuts through the eyelids. Realised I was in danger of running out of blood so calmed the f*** down! sat down upright and took off tee shirt and pushed it into the hole in the front of my head where my nose used to be to stem the artery flow. A nurse arrived on scene and helped hold that in place while we waited for the ambulance. Phoned the missus to say I would be a bit delayed as I had a few scratches from a shunt...
250+ stitches in the face and neck plus more in arms. Fair amount of blood missing too, but just enough to keep going till I got to hospital thankfully. Missus came to pick me up and walked straight past me as she didn't recognise me!
Had a few days off work and went back looking like a bad pizza to find a picture of me from the day after it happened on the coffee machine with the note "Kev cuts himself shaving". Thanked my boss for coming to see me... I knew there was an ulterior motive
Sunday afternoon, Grif speed on a DC, roof down so not mentally quick. Lorry appeared from other side side of road in an instant and took both lanes on my side coming head on, didn't really want to hit that, especially in a Grif. So milliseconds to pick a soft spot in the scenery. Well it looked soft.
In this hedge was a barbed wire fence and a number of pointy sticks and trees later on. Car slewed through the barbed wire ripping out posts and started tearing through my face and arms on the way down. End of nose cut off, eyelids ripped through, bridge of nose missing and arteries cut through, lots of other facial cuts and a large stick through my neck. Another stick through my arm and a muscle hanging out of a puncture hole in the arm. So a bit messy. Hit a tree hard and stopped on the stump.
Couldn't see, thought I have been blinded but it turned out to be just a lot of blood. When sight returned after what seemed like an eternity, I could close my eyes and still see out of the cuts through the eyelids
. Realised I was in danger of running out of blood so calmed the f*** down! sat down upright and took off tee shirt and pushed it into the hole in the front of my head where my nose used to be to stem the artery flow. A nurse arrived on scene and helped hold that in place while we waited for the ambulance. Phoned the missus to say I would be a bit delayed as I had a few scratches from a shunt...250+ stitches in the face and neck plus more in arms. Fair amount of blood missing too, but just enough to keep going till I got to hospital thankfully. Missus came to pick me up and walked straight past me as she didn't recognise me!
Had a few days off work and went back looking like a bad pizza to find a picture of me from the day after it happened on the coffee machine with the note "Kev cuts himself shaving". Thanked my boss for coming to see me... I knew there was an ulterior motive
s
t the bed. Glad I missed the 'with pics' version.
It may not be my closest shave, but this is my most terrifying driving (riding) experience :
Coming down a mountain on an old Suzuki many years ago, on a wet, pitch black night, travelling quickly but not stupid fast.
Cliff face on the left, drop off with no guard rail on the right.
No risk, no problems - until the main lighting fuse failed half way around a left-hand bend, and everything suddenly went dark!
I managed to wash off most of the speed I was carrying before hitting the wall on the left, but it felt like I was on the brakes forever, with no sense of speed, trying to remember how tight the curve was and scared to lock up and spear off the edge.
Coming down a mountain on an old Suzuki many years ago, on a wet, pitch black night, travelling quickly but not stupid fast.
Cliff face on the left, drop off with no guard rail on the right.
No risk, no problems - until the main lighting fuse failed half way around a left-hand bend, and everything suddenly went dark!
I managed to wash off most of the speed I was carrying before hitting the wall on the left, but it felt like I was on the brakes forever, with no sense of speed, trying to remember how tight the curve was and scared to lock up and spear off the edge.
T-boned by a 44ton atriculated lorry in my orginal Mini Cooper. Driver admitted he didnt see the traffic lights yet still tried to claim for loss of frozen food (sauasges?) in the trailer.
Glanced to my left at the instant the large Mercedes grill badge came through the passenger door. I ended flying out of the car via the drivers door and coming around on wet grass in the verge. Head and face had hit the mangled dash, cutting half of my left ear off (stiched back on)and cuts to face and arms.
Glanced to my left at the instant the large Mercedes grill badge came through the passenger door. I ended flying out of the car via the drivers door and coming around on wet grass in the verge. Head and face had hit the mangled dash, cutting half of my left ear off (stiched back on)and cuts to face and arms.
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