Your Top Three Brown Trouser Moments?
Discussion
In third place:
The moment a deer came over a hedge last year and missed my bonnet by inches when I was pressing on to get home late one night.
Second:
On dual carriageway as I was overtaking going round a corner only to be met by a car heading right at me driving in the wrong direction in my lane, we went three abreast with the errant driver going between us at a closing speed of 140 ish. My then pregnant wife nearly had our baby on the spot.
And the winner, by a country mile, is:
Heading home on the M4 one evening in lane three when the door of a car 50 yards ahead of me in lane two opened and a passenger fell out on to the carriageway with me and others swerving around the bouncing body. Everyone missed him and the somewhat scraped/bruised bloke picked himself up and walked to the hard shoulder. Scary!
The moment a deer came over a hedge last year and missed my bonnet by inches when I was pressing on to get home late one night.
Second:
On dual carriageway as I was overtaking going round a corner only to be met by a car heading right at me driving in the wrong direction in my lane, we went three abreast with the errant driver going between us at a closing speed of 140 ish. My then pregnant wife nearly had our baby on the spot.
And the winner, by a country mile, is:
Heading home on the M4 one evening in lane three when the door of a car 50 yards ahead of me in lane two opened and a passenger fell out on to the carriageway with me and others swerving around the bouncing body. Everyone missed him and the somewhat scraped/bruised bloke picked himself up and walked to the hard shoulder. Scary!
Can only think of one proper brown trouser moment right now...
Young and stupid, tearing along a country lane late one night, in a Peugeot 205 GTi, being closely followed by a mate in an Alfa GTV.
I THOUGHT I knew the lane quite well...
As I rounded a slight bend, doing around 70 or 80 leptons, I thought that the lane was a bit longer than it was. Turns out, after this slight bend, that the lane terminated within about 50 yards, to a larger A road.
I braked for England, but the car was never going to stop in time - not helped by a liberal sprinkling of gravel and bits of mud...
Looking at the other side of the A road in front of me, I saw a grass bank about 4 feet high, which I assumed was going to be where my skid stopped. It would have been a pretty major clump - not withstanding the fact that I was also going to career out of a side road onto another road, and of course, if anything was coming along the A road, it would have been messy..
However, to the right of my exit point, there was a small entrance to a farm track. There was a gate there, but it was open... I slithered into the A road, still doing around 30 or 40 mph, yanked the steering to the right, went straight across the road, up the farm track, still braking heavily on mud and gravel, and stopped, unscathed, around 30 feet into a field
There but for the grace of God - and I was so lucky some poor innocent wasn't driving past the junction at the same time either!
You live and learn...
Young and stupid, tearing along a country lane late one night, in a Peugeot 205 GTi, being closely followed by a mate in an Alfa GTV.
I THOUGHT I knew the lane quite well...
As I rounded a slight bend, doing around 70 or 80 leptons, I thought that the lane was a bit longer than it was. Turns out, after this slight bend, that the lane terminated within about 50 yards, to a larger A road.
I braked for England, but the car was never going to stop in time - not helped by a liberal sprinkling of gravel and bits of mud...
Looking at the other side of the A road in front of me, I saw a grass bank about 4 feet high, which I assumed was going to be where my skid stopped. It would have been a pretty major clump - not withstanding the fact that I was also going to career out of a side road onto another road, and of course, if anything was coming along the A road, it would have been messy..
However, to the right of my exit point, there was a small entrance to a farm track. There was a gate there, but it was open... I slithered into the A road, still doing around 30 or 40 mph, yanked the steering to the right, went straight across the road, up the farm track, still braking heavily on mud and gravel, and stopped, unscathed, around 30 feet into a field
There but for the grace of God - and I was so lucky some poor innocent wasn't driving past the junction at the same time either!
You live and learn...
Night drive through Scotland, heading from Hawick to Carter Bar. I wasn't driving, I was the passenger in the back seat. We were pressing on down an NSL road and the lad driving misjudged a pothole on the nearside where the tarmac had subsided. As we came over it the rear N/S wheel got dragged in, he turned sharply to counteract this effect and the car was tilted at a queer angle before straightening up and shooting off down the road. Would have swept us off the road and into the trees without much effort if his reactions hadn't been so fast.
Deer are common in this business.....
Driving home one winter's evening....twilight.....almost dark.....pressing on in an Evo......saw a weird shadow coming onto the road ahead.....f
k me...a deer......hit brakes....then see another one coming.....fk it...foot to the floor to get through the gap.....and I did.....I'll never forget the look on that second deer's face!!
Driving home one winter's evening....twilight.....almost dark.....pressing on in an Evo......saw a weird shadow coming onto the road ahead.....f
k me...a deer......hit brakes....then see another one coming.....fk it...foot to the floor to get through the gap.....and I did.....I'll never forget the look on that second deer's face!!Jazzer said:
Deer are common in this business.....
Driving home one winter's evening....twilight.....almost dark.....pressing on in an Evo......saw a weird shadow coming onto the road ahead.....fk me...a deer......hit brakes....then see another one coming.....fk it...foot to the floor to get through the gap.....and I did.....I'll never forget the look on that second deer's face!!
I was driving home one night through a 30 limit. A small, young deer ran out in front of me - I didn't even have time to hit the brakes hard. Driving home one winter's evening....twilight.....almost dark.....pressing on in an Evo......saw a weird shadow coming onto the road ahead.....f
k me...a deer......hit brakes....then see another one coming.....fk it...foot to the floor to get through the gap.....and I did.....I'll never forget the look on that second deer's face!!I clumped it, the poor thing bounced off the front of the car, slid up the road a few yards, picked itself up and ran away!
That resulted in having to have a new front bumper, two new headlamps and a dent in the front of the bonnet.
Years before this, I was following a mate through a country lane - we were doing around 60. He was in a Mark 3 Cortina - a pretty big lump of metal.
Same again - only this time he hit a huge, fully grown stag. The thing also got up and ran off - but his car was a write-off
The front end looked like he'd hit a wall. Properly stoved in, radiator pissing coolant, knackered!
They're big old lumps, deer!
Few years ago now but descending long steep hill down from Mont Blanc tunnel. Fully loaded artic all braking systems in use (retarder and exhaust brake) and still on footbrake tryng to get it to slow... when l/h front tyre blows. Very long drop into the valley below after flimsy hard sholder barrier. Still makes me shiver even now.
In my HGV.
Driving at 30 MPH [or less] a kid on one of those push n ride scooter things
presses the pedestrian crossing button and proceeds straight out into the road
without stopping .
In fact he was closer to hitting the car going the other way IN THE SIDE than being
hit by me but it was a bum clench moment.
The only thing was it was right outside an A n E hospital.
Driving at 30 MPH [or less] a kid on one of those push n ride scooter things
presses the pedestrian crossing button and proceeds straight out into the road
without stopping .
In fact he was closer to hitting the car going the other way IN THE SIDE than being
hit by me but it was a bum clench moment.
The only thing was it was right outside an A n E hospital.
1. On way back from honeymoon in lake district / just overtook an HGV petrol tanker on dual carriageway before the road merged into single lanes (A69), came around long sweeping left hand bend, van waiting to cross the central reservation, me wondering if he'd take the chance to pull out (I was doing about 75), he took the chance then stalled it right in the middle of my lane.
Now in under a second I had to guess what he was going to do:-
1. Start engine & reverse back.
2. Start engine & continue forward.
3. Unable to start engine and stay as is.
I slammed the brakes on (1990 pre-ABS car) and guessed option 2 / veered behind the car fishtailing everywhere trying to control the car - which turned out to be the correct guess, as he moved forward thank god !
It was very nearly a short marriage, as if i'd have guessed 1 or 3 i'd have hit him, then the tanker would have come around the bend and hit us both.
2. I've rolled a car on a trackday at Oulton Park / hitting the barrier at the end of the start / finish straight approx 85mph.
3. AYC tank slapper on a country lane which threw me into a ditch pointing in the wrong direction off the other side of the road. Old guy come along and tows me out / asks where I was going. "Croft circuit" I say. "Oh, well you were going in the wrong direction" he says !!!
Now in under a second I had to guess what he was going to do:-
1. Start engine & reverse back.
2. Start engine & continue forward.
3. Unable to start engine and stay as is.
I slammed the brakes on (1990 pre-ABS car) and guessed option 2 / veered behind the car fishtailing everywhere trying to control the car - which turned out to be the correct guess, as he moved forward thank god !
It was very nearly a short marriage, as if i'd have guessed 1 or 3 i'd have hit him, then the tanker would have come around the bend and hit us both.
2. I've rolled a car on a trackday at Oulton Park / hitting the barrier at the end of the start / finish straight approx 85mph.
3. AYC tank slapper on a country lane which threw me into a ditch pointing in the wrong direction off the other side of the road. Old guy come along and tows me out / asks where I was going. "Croft circuit" I say. "Oh, well you were going in the wrong direction" he says !!!
Edited by gsrgeoff on Friday 8th June 23:29
Edited by gsrgeoff on Friday 8th June 23:30
Passengering in a very high powered Corrado G60 (not in this country) and at 95mph we felt a massive wobble and vibration. We slow to about 50mph, Seconds later, the near side front alloy wheel detaches itself from its hub and shoots off down the dual carriageway in front of us, cue us sliding down the road into the lay by on 3 wheels. It was a customers car and he'd used wheel spacers that failed! The realisation hits us moments later as about 15mins beforehand we were upto 140mph!
Driving along in my own Corrado G60 on a road I didn't know, and overtook a car doing 50mph on a long straight, with me just doing 60mph past him. Moments after, i came along a right hand bend, nowt too bad then it dipped and was off camber. The back end came out as had me over correcting too much causing me to swing the other way then spin it and park it backwards into a farmers wall and a telegraph pole. I admit to just closing my eyes once id spun and waited for the impact. The car I'd overtook previously, didn't even stop, just drove around me, lol.
My other one was when driving home from work at 11pm, pitch black country lane and a badger walked out in front of me. Hit the front of my then Punto, cracking the coolant bottle causing it to steam everywhere making it impossible to see for those few seconds and me knowing the next bend is due any second.
Driving along in my own Corrado G60 on a road I didn't know, and overtook a car doing 50mph on a long straight, with me just doing 60mph past him. Moments after, i came along a right hand bend, nowt too bad then it dipped and was off camber. The back end came out as had me over correcting too much causing me to swing the other way then spin it and park it backwards into a farmers wall and a telegraph pole. I admit to just closing my eyes once id spun and waited for the impact. The car I'd overtook previously, didn't even stop, just drove around me, lol.
My other one was when driving home from work at 11pm, pitch black country lane and a badger walked out in front of me. Hit the front of my then Punto, cracking the coolant bottle causing it to steam everywhere making it impossible to see for those few seconds and me knowing the next bend is due any second.
Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, and I'd been driving an auto Nissan Patrol most of the day.
That evening I was in some van thing (manual) and was approaching a T junction at about 35mph, with the main road crossing in front of me.
I went to brake for the junction, but my foot just went straight to the floor. Confused, I mashed around a bit more and still I was stamping on nothing. Then I noticed another car on the road, and it looked like we were approaching the same spot at the same time. Now I'm panicking and trying to find that brake pedal, but its just not there!
I feel totally helpless as this van I'm in won't stop, and I'm about to connect with the oncoming car. I fly through the junction and straight across the nose of this car, missing by very little, and hitting the gravel area off the road where I suddenly think to pull the handbrake.
I skid to a stop in a cloud of dust, with an American guard running towards me asking if I was alright.
After a moment to get my thoughts together I realised what I had done, I was putting my foot in the area between the gas pedal and the brake pedal, so I was stamping on thin air to try and stop.
I was young, and it had been a long day!
That evening I was in some van thing (manual) and was approaching a T junction at about 35mph, with the main road crossing in front of me.
I went to brake for the junction, but my foot just went straight to the floor. Confused, I mashed around a bit more and still I was stamping on nothing. Then I noticed another car on the road, and it looked like we were approaching the same spot at the same time. Now I'm panicking and trying to find that brake pedal, but its just not there!
I feel totally helpless as this van I'm in won't stop, and I'm about to connect with the oncoming car. I fly through the junction and straight across the nose of this car, missing by very little, and hitting the gravel area off the road where I suddenly think to pull the handbrake.
I skid to a stop in a cloud of dust, with an American guard running towards me asking if I was alright.
After a moment to get my thoughts together I realised what I had done, I was putting my foot in the area between the gas pedal and the brake pedal, so I was stamping on thin air to try and stop.
I was young, and it had been a long day!
Losing the back end of my work van on a sharp right hander in the wet and doing a complete 360 into the path of a VW Golf coming the other way. He miraculously avoided me, albeit by burying himself in a ditch.
Accelerating off a wet roundabout in my old Camaro and the back stepping out completely. Managed to wrestle it back under control but it was completely unexpected and really shook me up, I think I scared the person behind me too.
Again in my Camaro, going to overtake a car along a straight section of road. Planted it and moved to overtake and the back went completely, fishtailing all over the place. A brief and effective initiation to rear wheel drive.
None of these were at particularly high speeds or when behaving stupidly, just lack of talent, and the loss of control was immediate and terrifying. I’ve learnt something from it; there’s a very fine line between thinking you’re in control and being on the verge of total loss of control!
Accelerating off a wet roundabout in my old Camaro and the back stepping out completely. Managed to wrestle it back under control but it was completely unexpected and really shook me up, I think I scared the person behind me too.
Again in my Camaro, going to overtake a car along a straight section of road. Planted it and moved to overtake and the back went completely, fishtailing all over the place. A brief and effective initiation to rear wheel drive.
None of these were at particularly high speeds or when behaving stupidly, just lack of talent, and the loss of control was immediate and terrifying. I’ve learnt something from it; there’s a very fine line between thinking you’re in control and being on the verge of total loss of control!
Edited by IROC-Z on Sunday 10th June 14:58
Mine was when I was a young, silly fool and had just passed my test.
I had an argument with someone and got angry. So I took my mums fiesta out in the wet and drove it Like I stole it. Only thing was, was that I 'forgot' about the tight right-hand bend.
I braked heavily but as it had no ABS, the wheels locked and I was heading straight for a graveyard wall (the irony) at 60ish MPH. Somehow, the car did a 360 - I missed the wall and landed inches from a parked corsa.
I was so scared that I then drove to an empty car park and cried my teenage heart out
I will never drive like a tw@ in the wet again.
I had an argument with someone and got angry. So I took my mums fiesta out in the wet and drove it Like I stole it. Only thing was, was that I 'forgot' about the tight right-hand bend.
I braked heavily but as it had no ABS, the wheels locked and I was heading straight for a graveyard wall (the irony) at 60ish MPH. Somehow, the car did a 360 - I missed the wall and landed inches from a parked corsa.
I was so scared that I then drove to an empty car park and cried my teenage heart out
I will never drive like a tw@ in the wet again.
On the B road between Bala and Corwen over the top of the mountains two instances...
The first there was a fair bit of snow so I drove very slowly but when I got to the section where the mountain splits to a valley with a sheer drop one side I go round the corner into a snow drift slide right to the very edge. I couldn't get out the drivers door else I'd fall down the side of the mountain...
I got out passenger side buzzing it's fking do so lucky.
Second time on the top pressing on its a bumpy section crests lots of sheep anyway to my horror two sheep look up and I see it in slow motion they run out in front of me (no other traffic) so I swerve at 80-90ish car totally unbalanced with mum and dad in the car both asleep i catch the drift in one direction avoiding the first sheep but no way could I miss the second it's head smashed the bottom of one side of the bumper. So so lucky not to roll the car. Had I hit them dead on they would be through the windscreen.
Worst one I will not dispose on an Internet forum. But let's say I was a foolish young driver 5 adults in the car tempered all four discs and had to go the wrong way round the roundabout as my brakes were shot pedal rock hard down a steep gradient from limiter in top gear of a car I owned. It was like yes this is cool max speed but then oh st slow down oh fkme were screwed here missed cars by inches. More through luck than anything else. That was 18 years ago
We stopped in the side of the road for half an hour all in deadly silence. I've never done that since nor will I again idiotic and so lucky.
The first there was a fair bit of snow so I drove very slowly but when I got to the section where the mountain splits to a valley with a sheer drop one side I go round the corner into a snow drift slide right to the very edge. I couldn't get out the drivers door else I'd fall down the side of the mountain...
I got out passenger side buzzing it's f
king do so lucky. Second time on the top pressing on its a bumpy section crests lots of sheep anyway to my horror two sheep look up and I see it in slow motion they run out in front of me (no other traffic) so I swerve at 80-90ish car totally unbalanced with mum and dad in the car both asleep i catch the drift in one direction avoiding the first sheep but no way could I miss the second it's head smashed the bottom of one side of the bumper. So so lucky not to roll the car. Had I hit them dead on they would be through the windscreen.
Worst one I will not dispose on an Internet forum. But let's say I was a foolish young driver 5 adults in the car tempered all four discs and had to go the wrong way round the roundabout as my brakes were shot pedal rock hard down a steep gradient from limiter in top gear of a car I owned. It was like yes this is cool max speed but then oh s
t slow down oh fkme were screwed here missed cars by inches. More through luck than anything else. That was 18 years ago We stopped in the side of the road for half an hour all in deadly silence. I've never done that since nor will I again idiotic and so lucky.
On the B road between Bala and Corwen over the top of the mountains two instances...
The first there was a fair bit of snow so I drove very slowly but when I got to the section where the mountain splits to a valley with a sheer drop one side I go round the corner into a snow drift slide right to the very edge. I couldn't get out the drivers door else I'd fall down the side of the mountain...
I got out passenger side buzzing it's fking do so lucky.
Second time on the top pressing on its a bumpy section crests lots of sheep anyway to my horror two sheep look up and I see it in slow motion they run out in front of me (no other traffic) so I swerve at 80-90ish car totally unbalanced with mum and dad in the car both asleep i catch the drift in one direction avoiding the first sheep but no way could I miss the second it's head smashed the bottom of one side of the bumper. So so lucky not to roll the car. Had I hit them dead on they would be through the windscreen.
Worst one I will not dispose on an Internet forum. But let's say I was a foolish young driver 5 adults in the car tempered all four discs and had to go the wrong way round the roundabout as my brakes were shot pedal rock hard down a steep gradient from limiter in top gear of a car I owned. It was like yes this is cool max speed but then oh st slow down oh fkme were screwed here missed cars by inches. More through luck than anything else. That was 18 years ago
We stopped in the side of the road for half an hour all in deadly silence. I've never done that since nor will I again idiotic and so lucky.
The first there was a fair bit of snow so I drove very slowly but when I got to the section where the mountain splits to a valley with a sheer drop one side I go round the corner into a snow drift slide right to the very edge. I couldn't get out the drivers door else I'd fall down the side of the mountain...
I got out passenger side buzzing it's f
king do so lucky. Second time on the top pressing on its a bumpy section crests lots of sheep anyway to my horror two sheep look up and I see it in slow motion they run out in front of me (no other traffic) so I swerve at 80-90ish car totally unbalanced with mum and dad in the car both asleep i catch the drift in one direction avoiding the first sheep but no way could I miss the second it's head smashed the bottom of one side of the bumper. So so lucky not to roll the car. Had I hit them dead on they would be through the windscreen.
Worst one I will not dispose on an Internet forum. But let's say I was a foolish young driver 5 adults in the car tempered all four discs and had to go the wrong way round the roundabout as my brakes were shot pedal rock hard down a steep gradient from limiter in top gear of a car I owned. It was like yes this is cool max speed but then oh s
t slow down oh fkme were screwed here missed cars by inches. More through luck than anything else. That was 18 years ago We stopped in the side of the road for half an hour all in deadly silence. I've never done that since nor will I again idiotic and so lucky.
My top three..
The first was on the A9 in Scotland, 2 friends asleep in the car, pissing down with rain, moving past an HGV, hit a giant puddle. The whole car jumped 2 or 3 feet to the left, I'm just thankful I kept the wheel straight, that could have gone very wrong.
Driving down a road I knew well, having done it many times in my own car, when I took my mum's down the same road, underestimated the softness of the suspension over a crest, landed slightly sideways and kept my foot in.
Third was some ninja cyclists in Lincoln. I was moving up my clear lane with stopped traffic to my right. Cyclists riding across a crossing without looking directly into my path. Discovered I do not have ABS, but stopped just short of hitting his back wheel. Gave him what for out of the window. I'd clocked him, but didn't think anyone was that moronic.
The first was on the A9 in Scotland, 2 friends asleep in the car, pissing down with rain, moving past an HGV, hit a giant puddle. The whole car jumped 2 or 3 feet to the left, I'm just thankful I kept the wheel straight, that could have gone very wrong.
Driving down a road I knew well, having done it many times in my own car, when I took my mum's down the same road, underestimated the softness of the suspension over a crest, landed slightly sideways and kept my foot in.
Third was some ninja cyclists in Lincoln. I was moving up my clear lane with stopped traffic to my right. Cyclists riding across a crossing without looking directly into my path. Discovered I do not have ABS, but stopped just short of hitting his back wheel. Gave him what for out of the window. I'd clocked him, but didn't think anyone was that moronic.
Only one big one so far - but it was quite enough.
The scene: 1996, graduate me, in a 25-year Beetle 1303S, on phat tyres on dubious 'roads' somewhere on northern Borneo. Me, dressed in stinger-suit (black/yellow stripes) and dive boots in a slight hurry on the way to meet the dive boat. Two 10L scuba cylinders of 300bar air strapped in the (LHS) passenger footwell. It's a sunny Sunday morning about 7am; air temp already it's 30degC, wringing-wet humidity, both climbing.
So - winding it out easily around the smooth curves on a road I thought I knew well, doing about 50-55mph. Round a 180deg bend...and on that side of the hill it's been raining, and there's mud on the road from a minor landslide. The back end steps right out, and...
Around we go.
And again.
One deep breath, let go of everything and drag brakes gently - car sharply straightens right up...then twitches the other way arse-first off adverse, muddy, camber.
All this down the middle of a godforsaken jungle-bound road; I'm down to about c.30-35mph by now which suddenly seems hopelessly fricking fast and all I can see in front is a deep monsoon ditch and either a huge concrete water main abutment or a telegraph pole to hit. VERY conscious of the compressed air and relatively fragile car I eye them and figure This Is It Right Now.
Amazing how time drags when you really are expecting Something Bad, but it wasn't to be - somehow the car left-side rear, then front wheels ran down into deeper mud and that dragged things just enough that we abruptly slid off sideways into the ditch between the concrete and the pole. A space about 6 feet longer than the car, and a full 5 feet below road level.
It took a moment to realise I was very much alive - a long moment I will never forget. Opened the car door...upwards, climb out: sit on the driver's side C-panel, dangling legs into cabin and give thanks to a creator I don't believe in. That was all my chips, in one generous parcel.
(NB when later winched free the damage cost me all of SD$600 to have a Thai guy beat-out and respray better than new. The ego took rather longer)
The scene: 1996, graduate me, in a 25-year Beetle 1303S, on phat tyres on dubious 'roads' somewhere on northern Borneo. Me, dressed in stinger-suit (black/yellow stripes) and dive boots in a slight hurry on the way to meet the dive boat. Two 10L scuba cylinders of 300bar air strapped in the (LHS) passenger footwell. It's a sunny Sunday morning about 7am; air temp already it's 30degC, wringing-wet humidity, both climbing.
So - winding it out easily around the smooth curves on a road I thought I knew well, doing about 50-55mph. Round a 180deg bend...and on that side of the hill it's been raining, and there's mud on the road from a minor landslide. The back end steps right out, and...
Around we go.
And again.
One deep breath, let go of everything and drag brakes gently - car sharply straightens right up...then twitches the other way arse-first off adverse, muddy, camber.
All this down the middle of a godforsaken jungle-bound road; I'm down to about c.30-35mph by now which suddenly seems hopelessly fricking fast and all I can see in front is a deep monsoon ditch and either a huge concrete water main abutment or a telegraph pole to hit. VERY conscious of the compressed air and relatively fragile car I eye them and figure This Is It Right Now.
Amazing how time drags when you really are expecting Something Bad, but it wasn't to be - somehow the car left-side rear, then front wheels ran down into deeper mud and that dragged things just enough that we abruptly slid off sideways into the ditch between the concrete and the pole. A space about 6 feet longer than the car, and a full 5 feet below road level.
It took a moment to realise I was very much alive - a long moment I will never forget. Opened the car door...upwards, climb out: sit on the driver's side C-panel, dangling legs into cabin and give thanks to a creator I don't believe in. That was all my chips, in one generous parcel.
(NB when later winched free the damage cost me all of SD$600 to have a Thai guy beat-out and respray better than new. The ego took rather longer)
I was about 18/19 and had a Megane Coupe 1.6 no idea on tyres etc. but coming home on a B road and it's WET, hit some standing water and must have been sliding for what felt like about 50metres extremely close to a wall with traffic on coming and no control of the car whatsoever, somehow we didn't end up across the road or in the wall but definitely through luck and not judgement. Lessons were learnt.
Can only think of two.
2, Driving through a very pleasant area of York and an extremely sophisticated looking person in a modified skoda comes racing (it was actually racing someone) round a corner nearly going head on with me, I seem to recall I got a honk and wker sign when I braked really quite hard.
1, Driving sensibly on a B-road; came round a blind bend and there was a Peugeot driving much less sensibly about to go round the corner on the wrong side of the road. Closest I've come to a head on crash!
2, Driving through a very pleasant area of York and an extremely sophisticated looking person in a modified skoda comes racing (it was actually racing someone) round a corner nearly going head on with me, I seem to recall I got a honk and w
ker sign when I braked really quite hard.1, Driving sensibly on a B-road; came round a blind bend and there was a Peugeot driving much less sensibly about to go round the corner on the wrong side of the road. Closest I've come to a head on crash!
Edited by carlove on Saturday 9th June 01:30
Mine all happened in the earlier stages of my driving career - between the ages of 17 and 19 (really not that long ago, worryingly).
3rd - travelling down a back road enjoying myself when I became quite focused on the rather attractive girl in the Mini behind me. She looked like she was up for a play, so I felt obliged to throw my car around the corners (I was in a 1.6 ZS and she was in a Cooper S) and show her what my baby Rover could do. After a while I became slightly more fixated on her and ended up staring a bit too much - when I looked forwards again I was doing 0.8 leptons about 50 metres from a T-junction where I'd be emerging. I hit the brakes and tried to stop in time, but it wasn't happening. Luckily the junction was clear so I just managed to throw myself into the correct lane and slow down (thankfully, Miss MINI went the other way). A few deep breaths, a change of underwear and a couple of cigarettes soon followed.
2nd - Being a bit exuberant in an Impreza, tried to tackle the A3 Hook corner at 70mph. Threw it into the corner and instantly knew I'd overcooked it. Backed off to try and coax the back end out to get round the corner, but it wasn't happening, and I was getting closer and closer to the armco. I paniced and slammed on the brakes, ending up going sideways around the corner. With friends in the car I kept a brave face on, but secretly stting myself as to what I'd ended up putting my poor car through. Thankfully, the Subaru managed to make the turn, albeit with a large sideways drift around the last part of the corner. If I was Ken Block trying to get round that corner sideways, I'd have been well pleased with my effort - but at the time it was st scary. In the end, I managed to sell it to my friends in the car as a deliberate drift, but they won't know just how close I came to binning it that day.
1st - driving down the M25 from a friend's house fairly late on a Saturday morning, I'd not been drinking but was knackered after a week of work. There was a crash further ahead closing the entire motorway between junctions 12 and 11, so I came off at 13 and tried to work my way home on the back roads. At 3am, this wasn't a good idea, and after a while my radio switched to the traffic alert system letting me know that there was a crash on the motorway I'd just come off of. On a straight bit of road doing 60mph (NSL), I foolishly took my eyes off the road for 5-10 seconds while I jabbed at the radio to try and turn off the TA system. When I looked back up again, I was doing 60mph on the apex of a blind bend. I instinctively hit the brakes, but by this time I'd gone onto the wet grass on the other side of the road and locked up. I saw a tree approaching and knew I was in for it - amazing how when you know something bad's going to happen, it takes an age to actually do so. At the last second I let off the brakes and tried to steer round, but it was too late. I hit the tree and wrote off my car (the front axle sheared and the n/s/f tyre ended up about 25 metres from where the tree was), the speedo was frozen at 42mph. Something I learnt after the airbag deployed was that I was expecting it to be a nice soft cushion, but it's more like someone's whacked you across the face with a bag of books.
3rd - travelling down a back road enjoying myself when I became quite focused on the rather attractive girl in the Mini behind me. She looked like she was up for a play, so I felt obliged to throw my car around the corners (I was in a 1.6 ZS and she was in a Cooper S) and show her what my baby Rover could do. After a while I became slightly more fixated on her and ended up staring a bit too much - when I looked forwards again I was doing 0.8 leptons about 50 metres from a T-junction where I'd be emerging. I hit the brakes and tried to stop in time, but it wasn't happening. Luckily the junction was clear so I just managed to throw myself into the correct lane and slow down (thankfully, Miss MINI went the other way). A few deep breaths, a change of underwear and a couple of cigarettes soon followed.
2nd - Being a bit exuberant in an Impreza, tried to tackle the A3 Hook corner at 70mph. Threw it into the corner and instantly knew I'd overcooked it. Backed off to try and coax the back end out to get round the corner, but it wasn't happening, and I was getting closer and closer to the armco. I paniced and slammed on the brakes, ending up going sideways around the corner. With friends in the car I kept a brave face on, but secretly s
tting myself as to what I'd ended up putting my poor car through. Thankfully, the Subaru managed to make the turn, albeit with a large sideways drift around the last part of the corner. If I was Ken Block trying to get round that corner sideways, I'd have been well pleased with my effort - but at the time it was st scary. In the end, I managed to sell it to my friends in the car as a deliberate drift, but they won't know just how close I came to binning it that day.1st - driving down the M25 from a friend's house fairly late on a Saturday morning, I'd not been drinking but was knackered after a week of work. There was a crash further ahead closing the entire motorway between junctions 12 and 11, so I came off at 13 and tried to work my way home on the back roads. At 3am, this wasn't a good idea, and after a while my radio switched to the traffic alert system letting me know that there was a crash on the motorway I'd just come off of. On a straight bit of road doing 60mph (NSL), I foolishly took my eyes off the road for 5-10 seconds while I jabbed at the radio to try and turn off the TA system. When I looked back up again, I was doing 60mph on the apex of a blind bend. I instinctively hit the brakes, but by this time I'd gone onto the wet grass on the other side of the road and locked up. I saw a tree approaching and knew I was in for it - amazing how when you know something bad's going to happen, it takes an age to actually do so. At the last second I let off the brakes and tried to steer round, but it was too late. I hit the tree and wrote off my car (the front axle sheared and the n/s/f tyre ended up about 25 metres from where the tree was), the speedo was frozen at 42mph. Something I learnt after the airbag deployed was that I was expecting it to be a nice soft cushion, but it's more like someone's whacked you across the face with a bag of books.
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