Getting it wrong

[Buggerlugz]

Sometimes you get dragged back down to earth and realise youre maybes not as good as you think.

A few weeks agoI finished work and was heading home from a town 30 miles away, I took a road I didnt know, gets out of the built up area following 2 cars onto a country lane thats about 2 miles to the dual carriageway home.

Front car is bumbling along so as the 3 of us come around a right hander i check the horizon and theres a good stretch before a left hand bend that i can easily pass the two cars im following

I drop a cog and as I pass the first car and pull alongside the second I realise theres a blind dip in the road

Im about halfway past the lead car as I crest the dip and see a car coming the other way

I really dont know how I didnt connect with either the oncoming vehicle or the one I was overtaking, I just went onto auto pilot and pulled the car back to the right side of the road hoping Id passed the car I was going overtaking

It seems I did, however I feel like I got off lightly

I retraced the route the following day and while I can see how I missed the dip I know I was just too keen to overtake

Its subsided a bit but I felt like a tt of the highest order

[Rob81]

I misjudged the speed a car was joing a roundabout the other day and pulled out right into his path. Luckily, he avoided me and other cars around him. Very embarassing and left me feeling stupid all day.

[Jaged]

You "live" and learn??

I suspect the lead car saw what was going to happen and lifted off to let you in.

Similar has happend with a car trying to ovetake a line of cars I was in and I pulled back to give him space to pull in. He was also very lucky!
I suspect a lot of us have seen similar.

[FraserLFA]

Everyone makes mistakes. Learning from them is the hard part.

[CBR JGWRR]

Where do I start...

[Buggerlugz]

you meet the nicest people on a honda

[Cock Womble 7]

Getting the Caterham was such a step up for me, performance-wise, that it took a couple of "Oh st" moments to demonstrate that:

1. You don't become a great driver by osmosis just because you have a great car.

2. No matter how good the car is, it cannot disobey the laws of physics, or the laws of oncoming traffic.

3. In the words of Han Solo, "Don't get cocky kid."

[davepoth]

Buggerlugz said:

Sometimes you get dragged back down to earth and realise youre maybes not as good as you think.

A few weeks agoI finished work and was heading home from a town 30 miles away, I took a road I didnt know, gets out of the built up area following 2 cars onto a country lane thats about 2 miles to the dual carriageway home.

Front car is bumbling along so as the 3 of us come around a right hander i check the horizon and theres a good stretch before a left hand bend that i can easily pass the two cars im following

I drop a cog and as I pass the first car and pull alongside the second I realise theres a blind dip in the road

Im about halfway past the lead car as I crest the dip and see a car coming the other way

I really dont know how I didnt connect with either the oncoming vehicle or the one I was overtaking, I just went onto auto pilot and pulled the car back to the right side of the road hoping Id passed the car I was going overtaking

It seems I did, however I feel like I got off lightly

I retraced the route the following day and while I can see how I missed the dip I know I was just too keen to overtake

Its subsided a bit but I felt like a tt of the highest order

Same thing happened to me except I didn't have any room to pull in. two weeks in hospital, two months in plaster, broken collarbone, wrist, finger and heel, concussion, written off car, and a 12 month driving ban. I won't do that again...

[jdwoodbury]

I have got it wrong on a motorbike several times, thankfully never threw it down the road but you make a mental note never to do it again! Major injury and death is usually the consequence, I am a much more competent car drive as a result of my bike experiences, I think that you recognise the limitation of your ability quicker on a bike.

[designforlife]

Been there a couple of times in my mx5 when its been wet, specifically on roundabouts...the dangerous part is thinking you've got the hang of it, then being bitten.

Fishtailing out of a roundabout due to chronic overcorrection really put the scarers on me a couple of months back.

[soad]

FraserLFA said:

Everyone makes mistakes. Learning from them is the hard part.

Aye, we're only humans.

[clarkmagpie]

I have found that when I first passed my test I took the greatest risks in my little MG Metro, carried out overtakes I wouldnt contemplate these days.

Got lucky a few times.

Maybe it's the fact that the Griff is effortless.
I knoow that I dont trust the Elise in the same way.
Very wary of pulling off overtakes in that.

[Killer2005]

Cock Womble 7 said:

Getting the Caterham was such a step up for me, performance-wise, that it took a couple of "Oh st" moments to demonstrate that:

1. You don't become a great driver by osmosis just because you have a great car.

2. No matter how good the car is, it cannot disobey the laws of physics, or the laws of oncoming traffic.

3. In the words of Han Solo, "Don't get cocky kid."

This is what I'm learning with in my S2000 coming from an old Alfa 147.

It's been a big step up but I'm taking it steady and keeping within the limits

[surveyor]

clarkmagpie said:

I have found that when I first passed my test I took the greatest risks in my little MG Metro, carried out overtakes I wouldnt contemplate these days.

Got lucky a few times.

Maybe it's the fact that the Griff is effortless.
I knoow that I dont trust the Elise in the same way.
Very wary of pulling off overtakes in that.

I see gaps now that I used to see as an overtake opportunity and shudder.

On the Elise front I remember driving a 406 Pug, with my then boss in the car following a client to a different site. He commented that he could never have driven his Elise as fast, as it would have slithered off the road in Autumn conditions.

[r1ch]

Happens to us all. I always put my hand up to apologize when i do something daft. Doesn't happen very often but nobody is perfect.

[DIW35]

jdwoodbury said:

I have got it wrong on a motorbike several times, thankfully never threw it down the road but you make a mental note never to do it again!

That statement seems a tad incongruous. It would appear your mental notes are going straight in the bin before being delivered.

[Heathwood]

Buggerlugz said:

Sometimes you get dragged back down to earth and realise youre maybes not as good as you think.

A few weeks agoI finished work and was heading home from a town 30 miles away, I took a road I didnt know, gets out of the built up area following 2 cars onto a country lane thats about 2 miles to the dual carriageway home.

Front car is bumbling along so as the 3 of us come around a right hander i check the horizon and theres a good stretch before a left hand bend that i can easily pass the two cars im following

I drop a cog and as I pass the first car and pull alongside the second I realise theres a blind dip in the road

Im about halfway past the lead car as I crest the dip and see a car coming the other way

I really dont know how I didnt connect with either the oncoming vehicle or the one I was overtaking, I just went onto auto pilot and pulled the car back to the right side of the road hoping Id passed the car I was going overtaking

It seems I did, however I feel like I got off lightly

I retraced the route the following day and while I can see how I missed the dip I know I was just too keen to overtake

Its subsided a bit but I felt like a tt of the highest order

A not dissimilar thing happened to a friend of mine, except he was the unfortunate car coming the other way and didn't survive the accident Not mean't as a dig at you, it just amazes me how quickly lives can be changed by a simple mis-judgement.

[Buggerlugz]

Indeed Heathwood and Ive taken stock

There but for the grace of god etc etc

[danjama]

A lex said:

I did something today I would like to confess about.

Making progress on a wide-open and well sighted NSL single carriageway - spot two OAP on bikes about 300m ahead waiting to cross from one side to the other.

No cars behind me and a not much coming the other way. I am over the speed limit, but not by much and lift off the gas fearing the inevitable - yup they go for it...... at normal walking pace there would be plenty of time to cross (although you would still question the sanity of not waiting the 10s until I am past and then crossing in complete safety).

However, they are bumblers and kind of begin to hobble across. I am on the brakes and can stop easily in time but blow the horn anyway. Granny gets fright of her life and hobbles more quickly and looks flustered. She is out of the way and I pass.

I had the typical feeling of 'stupid pedestrians' at first, but then I thought if that was my Gran I wouldnt like someone to scare the st out of her, everyone makes mistakes. I spent the next 10 minutes feeling rotten. I scared someones Granny, shame on me.

That was pretty mean. I think I would have stopped and apologised if the road was clear. She probably would have appreciated it and cleared your conciense.

An old woman went home feeling a little bit older today.

The other day I crossed over a roundabout not realising there was a zebra on the other side of it. Someone walking their dogs was stepping onto the crossing just as I passed over it. They shouted some naughty words at me through my window, but I was already stopping as they did this and walked back and said I was really sorry as I didn't know the area too well and gave the dogs a little stroke, mentioning I hoped i didnt scare them etc. Much less sour taste after my mistake.

[Six Fiend]

We are human and we make mistakes. I did recently and got away with what, by advanced standards, was an utter shocker but something I see other people do a lot. Nobody flashed, swerved, braked or hooted but I knew I had ballsed up.

It rattled me.

I played it back in my mind several times to work out where I'd made the mistake which put me in the situation.
It was simple - being impatient.

That led me to going for too big an overtake and not asking myself my usual check question on top of all the others - what if I meet myself coming the other way? (someone driving in the same manner).
Felt a total tt for days. Have been far more considered since.

Learn and improve.