Tell us your "nearly binned it" moments
Discussion
I have seen a few threads regarding tales of crashes, but not one telling of those bum clenching f
k me that was close moments. So lets here them!
The inspiration for this thread occurred this morning. Part of my commute takes me along a small country lane. This is one of those roads that even in a drought will have water and mud across it in places. As it was -3 this morning this was now ice.
Obviously i was being careful and leaving extra space to the clio in front, this meant that as it turned the corner in front of me a i would loose sight of it. As i rounded a bend, at no more then 25mph i was faced with a stationary Clio and a dustbin lorry!
The second i hit the brakes i new i wouldn't stop. Toyo T1R's + Ice meant the car was barley slowing down. I made a split second decision to stuff the car up the bank on my left and after a moment thinking the car would tip onto its side everything was okay. Despite a funny look form the chaps in the lorry id got away with it!
k me that was close moments. So lets here them!The inspiration for this thread occurred this morning. Part of my commute takes me along a small country lane. This is one of those roads that even in a drought will have water and mud across it in places. As it was -3 this morning this was now ice.
Obviously i was being careful and leaving extra space to the clio in front, this meant that as it turned the corner in front of me a i would loose sight of it. As i rounded a bend, at no more then 25mph i was faced with a stationary Clio and a dustbin lorry!
The second i hit the brakes i new i wouldn't stop. Toyo T1R's + Ice meant the car was barley slowing down. I made a split second decision to stuff the car up the bank on my left and after a moment thinking the car would tip onto its side everything was okay. Despite a funny look form the chaps in the lorry id got away with it!
heheheh , know the feeling only to well , and chuckling whilst compiling this reply and tale of woe ,
Several years ago on a mid november , dark wet windy night ,whilst returning back to Buckinghamshire from the Southcoast, i was driving up the A24 just north of ( boxhill) towards the M25 , there is and was a fixed speed camera , as a regular commute i knew it was there and duly reduced my speed for the period , knowing full well that plod quite often parked in the central reservation 500 yards past the camera to catch any unfortunate culprit that happened to floor it once past the camera i waited timely untill i was sure that no plod was there that dark windy night,
Was well used to driving my italian V8 and know her extremely well, im doing 50 ish in 4th on a gentle left and then right hand bend (people will know where i mean) i then floor it , didn't drop any gears , as normal i felt her pick up sprightly but slowly heading towards the 70 mark , then all of a sudden it was like someone picked up the rear end and swung it towards the grass central reservation , took my foot off immediately but the car continued to piroette 3 times all i remember is seeing sign post after sign post whizz past me , car eventually came to a slow stop , the correct way along the dual carriage way , flicking the paddle back into 2nd i crept gingerly on my journey ducking as the cars behind overtook me at 50 , they obviously had viewed the whole thing , needless to say the rest of my journey was slow and full of thought as to why it happened ...........4 years on , i still have the car , its never happened since in similar situations uts my guess there was oil or diesel on the road
Several years ago on a mid november , dark wet windy night ,whilst returning back to Buckinghamshire from the Southcoast, i was driving up the A24 just north of ( boxhill) towards the M25 , there is and was a fixed speed camera , as a regular commute i knew it was there and duly reduced my speed for the period , knowing full well that plod quite often parked in the central reservation 500 yards past the camera to catch any unfortunate culprit that happened to floor it once past the camera i waited timely untill i was sure that no plod was there that dark windy night,
Was well used to driving my italian V8 and know her extremely well, im doing 50 ish in 4th on a gentle left and then right hand bend (people will know where i mean) i then floor it , didn't drop any gears , as normal i felt her pick up sprightly but slowly heading towards the 70 mark , then all of a sudden it was like someone picked up the rear end and swung it towards the grass central reservation , took my foot off immediately but the car continued to piroette 3 times all i remember is seeing sign post after sign post whizz past me , car eventually came to a slow stop , the correct way along the dual carriage way , flicking the paddle back into 2nd i crept gingerly on my journey ducking as the cars behind overtook me at 50 , they obviously had viewed the whole thing , needless to say the rest of my journey was slow and full of thought as to why it happened ...........4 years on , i still have the car , its never happened since in similar situations uts my guess there was oil or diesel on the road
I'd had my M3 Sport Evo about 2 months when on a quiet night around midnight I was presented with an opportunity to try out a local benchmark performance test. The road in a dual carraigway off a roundabout which is slightly curving left, but you can see the full length if you are in the right lane, then climbs up a steep hill to the right, so steep infact that you need 150hp minimum to acheive 1.00 leptons. The surface is coarse initially, but turns new-smooth about 1/3 the way up the hil. It was flat in my Corrado VR6 and the EP3 type R that followed, even in the damp. The challenge being the HP test up the hill.
It was damp on the night, but I thouht OK, let's give it a go. I came off the roundabout in third, into 4th flat around the right curve and redline and into 5th just before the road turns right and begins to climb, by this point I was already 0.05 lepton up on my Type R. I turned in and the back end started to come around. 1.25 leptons with 1/4 turn of oppo. I think instinct told me not to fuly back out, so I eased the gas, kept the front wheels pointing where I wanted to go and it came back beautifully. Accross the surface change and the car is much more stable, so back on the gas to end up bettering the previous PB by 0.05 leptons, regaining what I lost in the corrective measures by the top.
FWIW the M3 is 0.10 leptons faster than the Type R on a dry day.
It was damp on the night, but I thouht OK, let's give it a go. I came off the roundabout in third, into 4th flat around the right curve and redline and into 5th just before the road turns right and begins to climb, by this point I was already 0.05 lepton up on my Type R. I turned in and the back end started to come around. 1.25 leptons with 1/4 turn of oppo. I think instinct told me not to fuly back out, so I eased the gas, kept the front wheels pointing where I wanted to go and it came back beautifully. Accross the surface change and the car is much more stable, so back on the gas to end up bettering the previous PB by 0.05 leptons, regaining what I lost in the corrective measures by the top.
FWIW the M3 is 0.10 leptons faster than the Type R on a dry day.
40mph road comes to notoriously greasy roundabout so I slowed to around 15/20mph, I'm going straight over as well so not loads of lock required.
Of course, 195/45/15s don't have a lot of 'give' in the sidewalls and the back end decided it wanted to have a go at being in front and I remembered the words my Dad has been telling me for many many years "If you ever lose it in a FWD car, just put your foot down." So I did and... it worked! Only after obtaining a rather ludicrous angle and causing my friend to change 50 different shades of grey (har har!). After about 5 minutes of silence I got a "You held that well mate." and it was never spoken of again.
Of course, 195/45/15s don't have a lot of 'give' in the sidewalls and the back end decided it wanted to have a go at being in front and I remembered the words my Dad has been telling me for many many years "If you ever lose it in a FWD car, just put your foot down." So I did and... it worked! Only after obtaining a rather ludicrous angle and causing my friend to change 50 different shades of grey (har har!). After about 5 minutes of silence I got a "You held that well mate." and it was never spoken of again.
Good idea for a thread.
My most dramatic close call was 4 years ago, heading out of a little town called Weathampstead in the direction of Welwyn Garden City.
Was quite early in the morning with little traffic around. I was still within the residential area but heading towards where the road becomes a NSL.
Pottering along at just below the posted limit in 2nd gear I felt the boost start to come in and stupidly allowed my inner child to get the better of me. Within seconds the car was on full boost going around a left hand bend.
As I came flying round the corner of this clear road I was suddenly greeted with two things I wasn't ready for; 3 parked cars on the left hand side of the road and a bin lorry stopped in the middle of the road coming towards me.
I should add at this point I had only recently bought the car, it was still running tired old suspension, 4 rubbish tyres and standard brakes. Although I had taken the time to turn the boost up via a basic re map.
Braking hard I found myself sliding sideways at a rate of knots staring the driver of the lorry in the face. It was a proper slow motion episode.
At the last second I came off the brakes and aimed for the gap between the lorry and the parked cars. I'm sure my car breathed in as we squeezed through the gap with no space to spare.
Very silly, totally my own fault and lesson learnt. Still, I felt like a driving God for 'getting away with it'..
My most dramatic close call was 4 years ago, heading out of a little town called Weathampstead in the direction of Welwyn Garden City.
Was quite early in the morning with little traffic around. I was still within the residential area but heading towards where the road becomes a NSL.
Pottering along at just below the posted limit in 2nd gear I felt the boost start to come in and stupidly allowed my inner child to get the better of me. Within seconds the car was on full boost going around a left hand bend.
As I came flying round the corner of this clear road I was suddenly greeted with two things I wasn't ready for; 3 parked cars on the left hand side of the road and a bin lorry stopped in the middle of the road coming towards me.
I should add at this point I had only recently bought the car, it was still running tired old suspension, 4 rubbish tyres and standard brakes. Although I had taken the time to turn the boost up via a basic re map.
Braking hard I found myself sliding sideways at a rate of knots staring the driver of the lorry in the face. It was a proper slow motion episode.
At the last second I came off the brakes and aimed for the gap between the lorry and the parked cars. I'm sure my car breathed in as we squeezed through the gap with no space to spare.
Very silly, totally my own fault and lesson learnt. Still, I felt like a driving God for 'getting away with it'..
Edited by MrMoonyMan on Thursday 17th January 10:39
recently put a mondeo st backwards off a road at 60mph and ended up parallel to a massive wall about 5 inches away from it. Drove away from it feeling very lucky. I've had the back end out on that car many times and always caught it easily, however this time the first I knew about it was when we were going backwards. I had the mrs in the car. Veeeeery scary.
A few weeks after I did my first drift track day I decided to hero my way around a roundabout. It was going splendidly, but then suddenly it wasn't and the next few seconds are a blur. I ended up with the E30 perfectly parked between some metal posts with only a hand rail between the driver's door and a 20 foot drop on to a busy dual carriageway.
From this I learned:
1 - What happens on tracks should stay on tracks.
2 - Just because there is no traffic on the road you are on doesn't mean there isn't any other traffic.
3 - Don't be a dick.
4 - Big balloon tyres will hop up a kerb sideways without damage.
5 - Don't be a dick.
6 - Road camber has a huge effect on drift angle.
From this I learned:
1 - What happens on tracks should stay on tracks.
2 - Just because there is no traffic on the road you are on doesn't mean there isn't any other traffic.
3 - Don't be a dick.
4 - Big balloon tyres will hop up a kerb sideways without damage.
5 - Don't be a dick.
6 - Road camber has a huge effect on drift angle.
Mate let me drive his 911, I lifted off coming off a roundabout, thankfully, the traction control eventually did its job. Could have been an expensive drive out, but in the end its always nice to go a bit sideways, but more enjoyable if its intended
Edited by djglover on Thursday 17th January 10:55
Both many moons ago:
Pug 306, going round a corner, stationary traffic on the bend, discovered the lift-off oversteer that the magazines lauded it for is not *always* a good thing but somehow collected it before anything nasty happened. Would like to claim it was my stig-like reflexes, but that would be a lie, 'twas mostly luck
850 T5 went round a corner to be honest probably slightly more quickly than I should have done, stationary traffic ahead on the next straight, I stopped just in time, ABS clenching and releasing the brakes, arse clenching and releasing the seats. Enormous sigh of relief, until I looked in the rearview mirror where there was a Seat Ibiza with smoke pouring off the front tyres closing in rapidly. The look on the drivers face when he realised he wasn't going to stop in time was, in retrospect, brilliant. Thankfully only a small impact, could have been worse.
Pug 306, going round a corner, stationary traffic on the bend, discovered the lift-off oversteer that the magazines lauded it for is not *always* a good thing but somehow collected it before anything nasty happened. Would like to claim it was my stig-like reflexes, but that would be a lie, 'twas mostly luck
850 T5 went round a corner to be honest probably slightly more quickly than I should have done, stationary traffic ahead on the next straight, I stopped just in time, ABS clenching and releasing the brakes, arse clenching and releasing the seats. Enormous sigh of relief, until I looked in the rearview mirror where there was a Seat Ibiza with smoke pouring off the front tyres closing in rapidly. The look on the drivers face when he realised he wasn't going to stop in time was, in retrospect, brilliant. Thankfully only a small impact, could have been worse.
When I first passed my test, and still imbued by that slightly giddy, jerky new driver technique, I was driving my mothers Pug 205 derv.
Approaching a crossroads on a steep uphill section of a country road I knew ( or thought I knew) reasonably well, I hit a dip in the road just before the crossroad. Cue the little 205 launching skywards.
Now I dont know if it applies to the road cars ( never mind the diesel road cars) but I had heard that the 205 T16s did not fly well, tipping their tail in the air and going into a nosedive stance whilst airborne. This apparently was due to the engine rotating in the same direction as the road wheels. Regardless, my Pug did exactly this.
It hit the ground hard on the nearside front wheel before fishtailing up the road. I never even had time to back off, probably a good thing.
I completely st myself. Suffice to say the rest of the drive that night ( with 2 mates in the back) was a very leisurely affair...
Approaching a crossroads on a steep uphill section of a country road I knew ( or thought I knew) reasonably well, I hit a dip in the road just before the crossroad. Cue the little 205 launching skywards.
Now I dont know if it applies to the road cars ( never mind the diesel road cars) but I had heard that the 205 T16s did not fly well, tipping their tail in the air and going into a nosedive stance whilst airborne. This apparently was due to the engine rotating in the same direction as the road wheels. Regardless, my Pug did exactly this.
It hit the ground hard on the nearside front wheel before fishtailing up the road. I never even had time to back off, probably a good thing.
I completely s
t myself. Suffice to say the rest of the drive that night ( with 2 mates in the back) was a very leisurely affair...Some of the most memorable for me.....
In my misspent youth... I had a very loud and obnoxious Beach Buggy and was roaring over to my girlfriends house for lunch. I was pressing on making as much noise as possible through the peaceful countryside in the manner befitting a yobbo. As I thundered down a local A-road I came upon a pootling MX-5 in the distance and fixed to show him how a proper sports car should be driven. Without lifting off I set the tiller for overtake and was fully committed when the blaggard began to drift over the centre line and pushed me onto the dirt of the verge..... it was at this moment that I saw the horse and rider the MX-5 had slowed down to overtake....
Unfortunately the combination of a very short wheelbase, a rear wheel on the dirt, a heavy engine slung over the back and some scrabbling avoidance manoeuvres put the buggy into an un-catchable spin and I am still haunted by the rapidly approaching image of the horses legs looming into the windscreen as I piroueted with all the wheels locked down the road in a cloud of smoke. Thankfully I avoided the horse by a comfortable margin and merely ended up coming to rest in a ditch having tipped up sideways for a buttock-clenching moment - fully stuck. The MX-5 driver glowered at me in amazement and incredulity as they pottered past... the subsequently passing horse rider was thankfully reasonable and I was suitably apologetic. I (rightly) felt like a total arse.....
A few years later in something more potent. Returning to my car to find it would only just start as the battery had discharged - the alternator had failed but I reckoned it had just enough residual charge to get me home. It was late afternoon, rainy and grey.. a foul day. I didn't dare risk using headlights to avoid running down the battery, so switched to just side lights as a compromise. I set off and proceeded with enthusiasm along a fast, wide A road, overtaking where safe... cleared the last of a procession of cars and wound up my steed. Pressing on in the rain I noted a small van in a driveway further up on my right.... then clocked in horror as it slowly pootled out into the road to join my carriageway. They clearly hadn't seen me and I had a split second to react - it was far too late to hit the brakes as it would have been impossible to stop - I remember thinking about which way to go around them and considered we were probably close enough for me to hug the curb and flash past their nose... and also consider that there was a good chance of contact.... in the slowed-down world that followed, I chose the other way and flicked to my right, slicing past their rear o/s quarter without contact.
Whilst it was a miraculous avoidance move, it unsettled my car horrifically and I really held my breath as I careered onwards down the opposite carriageway teetering right on the edge of control. Thankfully it was a car I knew well in which I had also experienced quite a lot of beyond-the-limit fun and this familiarity allowed me to feather the ensuing oversteer and gingerly bring it back under control.... just.... When the adrenaline stopped coursing through my veins and I reflected on what had just happened I realised I had avoided a massive life altering accident by a true whisker; one fingertips input different and the car would have skittered off into the trees; one of the subsequent oncoming cars in the space I used to avoid the van and regain control, a massive high speed head-on; if the van had reacted differently it would have been an unavoidable T-bone..... I was just lucky and it served as a useful lesson.
The other memorable one was in a mid-engined V8 steed which broke traction cresting a rise - I knew the road well, knew I was pressing on and that wheel spin was likely. What I didn't expect was that as the wheels broke traction, the revs rose so quickly that when the car settled onto the ground again the tyres couldn't regain traction and I was suddenly in a lurid unsettled power-slide. It all went pear-shaped very quickly and was very hard to catch! I brushed through the hedge on one side with the tail lights and endured a fair old tank-slapper, but ultimately got it back under control. Once again, lucky there was no-one coming the other way. I treat this car with a lot more respect now!
With the wisdom of a few years driving behind me I now realise I was probably quite lucky to survive my early driving years and have moderated my progress significantly. I did actually learn alot from these events and proceed with a great deal more caution nowadays.
In my misspent youth... I had a very loud and obnoxious Beach Buggy and was roaring over to my girlfriends house for lunch. I was pressing on making as much noise as possible through the peaceful countryside in the manner befitting a yobbo. As I thundered down a local A-road I came upon a pootling MX-5 in the distance and fixed to show him how a proper sports car should be driven. Without lifting off I set the tiller for overtake and was fully committed when the blaggard began to drift over the centre line and pushed me onto the dirt of the verge..... it was at this moment that I saw the horse and rider the MX-5 had slowed down to overtake....
Unfortunately the combination of a very short wheelbase, a rear wheel on the dirt, a heavy engine slung over the back and some scrabbling avoidance manoeuvres put the buggy into an un-catchable spin and I am still haunted by the rapidly approaching image of the horses legs looming into the windscreen as I piroueted with all the wheels locked down the road in a cloud of smoke. Thankfully I avoided the horse by a comfortable margin and merely ended up coming to rest in a ditch having tipped up sideways for a buttock-clenching moment - fully stuck. The MX-5 driver glowered at me in amazement and incredulity as they pottered past... the subsequently passing horse rider was thankfully reasonable and I was suitably apologetic. I (rightly) felt like a total arse.....
A few years later in something more potent. Returning to my car to find it would only just start as the battery had discharged - the alternator had failed but I reckoned it had just enough residual charge to get me home. It was late afternoon, rainy and grey.. a foul day. I didn't dare risk using headlights to avoid running down the battery, so switched to just side lights as a compromise. I set off and proceeded with enthusiasm along a fast, wide A road, overtaking where safe... cleared the last of a procession of cars and wound up my steed. Pressing on in the rain I noted a small van in a driveway further up on my right.... then clocked in horror as it slowly pootled out into the road to join my carriageway. They clearly hadn't seen me and I had a split second to react - it was far too late to hit the brakes as it would have been impossible to stop - I remember thinking about which way to go around them and considered we were probably close enough for me to hug the curb and flash past their nose... and also consider that there was a good chance of contact.... in the slowed-down world that followed, I chose the other way and flicked to my right, slicing past their rear o/s quarter without contact.
Whilst it was a miraculous avoidance move, it unsettled my car horrifically and I really held my breath as I careered onwards down the opposite carriageway teetering right on the edge of control. Thankfully it was a car I knew well in which I had also experienced quite a lot of beyond-the-limit fun and this familiarity allowed me to feather the ensuing oversteer and gingerly bring it back under control.... just.... When the adrenaline stopped coursing through my veins and I reflected on what had just happened I realised I had avoided a massive life altering accident by a true whisker; one fingertips input different and the car would have skittered off into the trees; one of the subsequent oncoming cars in the space I used to avoid the van and regain control, a massive high speed head-on; if the van had reacted differently it would have been an unavoidable T-bone..... I was just lucky and it served as a useful lesson.
The other memorable one was in a mid-engined V8 steed which broke traction cresting a rise - I knew the road well, knew I was pressing on and that wheel spin was likely. What I didn't expect was that as the wheels broke traction, the revs rose so quickly that when the car settled onto the ground again the tyres couldn't regain traction and I was suddenly in a lurid unsettled power-slide. It all went pear-shaped very quickly and was very hard to catch! I brushed through the hedge on one side with the tail lights and endured a fair old tank-slapper, but ultimately got it back under control. Once again, lucky there was no-one coming the other way. I treat this car with a lot more respect now!
With the wisdom of a few years driving behind me I now realise I was probably quite lucky to survive my early driving years and have moderated my progress significantly. I did actually learn alot from these events and proceed with a great deal more caution nowadays.
I have the precise incident for this thread title.
Late one night while leaving an underground car park, I saw a very large (bigger than the car) rectangular plastic bin, on wheels. It looked quite soft. I was pointed straight at it.
Curiosity got the better of me so I drove into it, and as expected it was soft and bouncy and the car softly bounced off, and ended up next to the bin, not in the bin.
That's the closest I've ever come to binning a car. True story.
Late one night while leaving an underground car park, I saw a very large (bigger than the car) rectangular plastic bin, on wheels. It looked quite soft. I was pointed straight at it.
Curiosity got the better of me so I drove into it, and as expected it was soft and bouncy and the car softly bounced off, and ended up next to the bin, not in the bin.
That's the closest I've ever come to binning a car. True story.
In third gear (VTEC-ing i admit)in my EP3, realised i needed to take the next exit which was far too close for the speed i was travelling at, slammed brakes on... turned however the brake fluid had boiled due to a recent blast down the backroads...
Brakes not working properly as a result and i was already cornering at high speed, slipped into second and the back end stepped out, kept my foot welded right down and ended up just missing the kerb.
Looking back i must have taken that left hand 90 degree corner at approximately 55 as i hit the limiter in second coming out of that corner, afterwards i was shaking slightly and realised the errors of my ways.
Was only 19 when i had that EP3 is what i put that incident down toalso it was a cold Feb month if i recall. If i had binned it i would have probably ended up with a 182 trophy. Thank god i didn't bin it.
Never had a near miss since then.
Brakes not working properly as a result and i was already cornering at high speed, slipped into second and the back end stepped out, kept my foot welded right down and ended up just missing the kerb.
Looking back i must have taken that left hand 90 degree corner at approximately 55 as i hit the limiter in second coming out of that corner, afterwards i was shaking slightly and realised the errors of my ways.
Was only 19 when i had that EP3 is what i put that incident down toalso it was a cold Feb month if i recall. If i had binned it i would have probably ended up with a 182 trophy. Thank god i didn't bin it.
Never had a near miss since then.
Alfanatic said:
I have the precise incident for this thread title.
Late one night while leaving an underground car park, I saw a very large (bigger than the car) rectangular plastic bin, on wheels. It looked quite soft. I was pointed straight at it.
Curiosity got the better of me so I drove into it, and as expected it was soft and bouncy and the car softly bounced off, and ended up next to the bin, not in the bin.
That's the closest I've ever come to binning a car. True story.
Late one night while leaving an underground car park, I saw a very large (bigger than the car) rectangular plastic bin, on wheels. It looked quite soft. I was pointed straight at it.
Curiosity got the better of me so I drove into it, and as expected it was soft and bouncy and the car softly bounced off, and ended up next to the bin, not in the bin.
That's the closest I've ever come to binning a car. True story.
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