A savoury parping moment
Discussion
Had a very, very close call on Friday afternoon. It was just after 4pm, not raining, but roads still wet ... heavily overcast, so the light was poor but visibility was still OK; my headlights were on. I was driving East from the cross roads shown at the left edge of the map below. As you can see the road is dead straight for 2km and damn nearly flat, so you get good visibility. In front of me was a small two door hatchback steadily following a Landrover Defender, both doing about 40mph, four or five car lengths apart. From about 150m behind, I pulled out to take a look past them. The road appeared clear, but there is a slight dip roughly at its mid point so I stayed out until I was certain there was nothing in the dip. I then indicated, accelerated and moved out fully to overtake. I passed the hatchback probably about level with Common Farm at a relative speed of about 15 or 20mph. The road ahead was still clear to Hanley Swan so, as I had intended, I stayed out to overtake the Landrover. As I was level with the Landrover the front wing of an Audi TT appeared at the exit of the group of buildings south of the road near the centre of the map. (Green arrow roughly shows Audi's intended path). The TT's bonnet was sticking out from behind the hedge that runs parallel and a couple of metres back from the side of the road. The driver was obscured by the hedge. It wasn't indicating, but from its angle I could see it was preparing to pull out and turn left (i.e. headfirst into me). The TT then lurched forward maybe 2 metres and stopped with its wing now just into the road itself. At this point I was about 50 metres from the TT and the driver showed no sign at all of seeing me and appeared to be driving pretty eratically. I stamped on the brakes and started flashing my headlights to try to get the driver's attention. The Chim went into a straight skid. I could hear the Landrover's horn blaring so he'd obviously seen what was about to happen. The TT then continued to pull out directly in front of me. More through instinct than judgement, at the last moment, still carrying about 40mph, I got off the brakes and swerved to go around the front of the Audi that was still coming into the road. Fortunately the car had enough grip to swerve and correct without going sideways, and the Landrover was just far enough behind me and hard against the verge so I didn't clip him. We all got away with it, but only by a few fractions of a second and with a big dollop of pure luck. The TT driver simply never looked to the left. Driving back home today, I pulled into that exit to check the visibility on to the road. It is excellent. If you move forwards clear of the hedge to the junction itself, you can see several hundred metres in either direction perfectly easily without having to enter the road. The TT driver simply can't have looked left at all.
Clearly whenever you overtake on a single carriageway road, you are taking a certain amount of additional risk. You're doing something out of the ordinary that may catch out other drivers. In the circumstances I've described above, had I contented myself to follow the hatchback and Landrover at 40mph down a dead straight road for a mile, there wouldn't have been an incident. Should you drive that defensively all the time?
Clearly whenever you overtake on a single carriageway road, you are taking a certain amount of additional risk. You're doing something out of the ordinary that may catch out other drivers. In the circumstances I've described above, had I contented myself to follow the hatchback and Landrover at 40mph down a dead straight road for a mile, there wouldn't have been an incident. Should you drive that defensively all the time?
Yes. I don't overtake if there is a junction in the section of road that I would need to the manouvre. You just don't know what's going to happen. People really do just pull-out without looking. Bizarre but true.
Very glad to hear that it was just a brown-trousers moment rather than a prang.
Very glad to hear that it was just a brown-trousers moment rather than a prang.
ATG said:
Should you drive that defensively all the time?
Sounds like an incredibly near miss and I am relieved you are all safe...but IMO..yes - as you plan the road ahead (so that you can match your driving speed/gear actions etcto it) anything that presents itself as a 'zone of invisibility' (such as your dip) or other hazard (such as the buildings you talk about) should be taken into account...always plan for/anticipate what the other less observant/experienced/idiotic drivers might do (not what you would do) and under the circumstances I would not have overtaken.
I would also add this, for what it is worth:
You also say: "I then indicated, accelerated and moved out fully to overtake." This may just be the way you have worded it...but, in my driving past I was always taught to move out for the overtaking look...but NOT to accelerate until you are already out and can see that it is safe to commit to the overtake...otherwise, you are accelerating away from your position of safety and may not be able to move back into it if the overtake is not safe...because any following car is likely to move up to take your place (and therefore close it off to you to return to).
Hope all of this makes sense...I have done a lot of the more 'aggresive' driving during my Close Protection days...but to get safely from A to B it was always defensive defensive defensive...
Please please don't think I am having a go (a lot of your forward planning i.e. the dip was spot on) ... just trying to share some of my experience...
I was aware of a similar instance once with a couple of motor bikers doing exactly the same as yourself when a tractor and artic trailer pulled out in front of them but going the same way. Tractor driver didnt notice anything wrong as it was at night - until he pulled up in yard with a motor bike on his trailer - no need to say any more.
Having a mother who is a nurse in theatre a father who was a fireman (mainly worked on M6 in staffs) and a farther in law who is a traffic cop you get to hear these stories.
Glad you were OK - when driving our PJ around we need to be so aware it is unbelievable. Like pulling out onto traffic islands - how many people miss judge our speed.
Not preeching - I am still learning myself - and I do 35k a year for my job.
Having a mother who is a nurse in theatre a father who was a fireman (mainly worked on M6 in staffs) and a farther in law who is a traffic cop you get to hear these stories.
Glad you were OK - when driving our PJ around we need to be so aware it is unbelievable. Like pulling out onto traffic islands - how many people miss judge our speed.
Not preeching - I am still learning myself - and I do 35k a year for my job.
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