Is is bad driving or an accident?

Hammyman

MrsE wrote: »

Was it down to my inexperience (moved to sticks from London:o) or was it an accident?

If I believed more it was my fault, I think I would be less scared now, knowing 1. I've learnt to be very cautious on ungritted winter roads & 2. I now have big meaty tyres on my little monster truck:p

Lack of experience. My sis in law is from that end of the world and has moved up to East Yorks. Took her an age to get used to driving on roads with no streetlighting or the reflected orange glow from a nearby large city.

You've learned the lesson which is the important thing. Its those that don't who I worry about.

Flying-High_2

Hammyman wrote: »

Lack of experience. My sis in law is from that end of the world and has moved up to East Yorks. Took her an age to get used to driving on roads with no streetlighting or the reflected orange glow from a nearby large city.

You've learned the lesson which is the important thing. Its those that don't who I worry about.

My ex-wife was like that when we moved back to N.Wales from London. The B roads around here she considered to be lanes:rotfl:and the lanes were tracks that led to farms:rotfl:It's what your used to I guess.

getmore4less

MrsE wrote: »

I would rather it was bad driving - or rather inexperience of the local back roads.

Then I would feel more in control of stopping it happening again.

Your car, you driving, road.

You fell of the road, so bad driving, you failed to contol the car.

Now have you learnt enough in the last three years to stop it happening again?

DO you practice contol of the vehicle?

Going slower will not always help, practice on slippery surfaces where there are no ditches, supermarket carparks(when empty) can be quite good for testing the limits of grip and car control when grip is lost. Slide around a bit to get the feel of a sliding car so you don't panic if it happens on a real road.

Can you predict the road ahead where there may be black ice?

Do you have winter tyres?

MrsE_2

getmore4less wrote: »

Your car, you driving, road.

You fell of the road, so bad driving, you failed to contol the car.

Now have you learnt enough in the last three years to stop it happening again?

DO you practice contol of the vehicle?

Going slower will not always help, practice on slippery surfaces where there are no ditches, supermarket carparks(when empty) can be quite good for testing the limits of grip and car control when grip is lost. Slide around a bit to get the feel of a sliding car so you don't panic if it happens on a real road.

Can you predict the road ahead where there may be black ice?

Do you have winter tyres?

You know how you get the 4x4 driving days, I would like a hazardous conditions driving experience day.

I try not to use back roads where possible when conditions are bad. I have to do 2 miles on a minor road to reach main roads though.

I don't have winter tyres, I was looking at mine the other day to see if they are summer or all season, but I can't find suns &/or mountains:o
Can't find them on DHs or DDs car either (the symbols).

jayme1

yeah you can do skid pan courses, also you can also pay to do advanced driving (what the police get taught), if you think it can help you then it will be well worth the money.

alwaysonthego_2

It's not your fault, these things happen.

I live in the sticks and when I was on my way to uni last thursday, I noticed an handful of cars in ditches. Country roads are an hazard, even if it is not snow it is muck from the tractors.

victor2

Do you practice walking on ice to prepare you for the day that might come when you find yourself unexpectedly walking on some?

Experience makes use better at something, and if we're lucky, we survive the experience along with those around us.
Where would we be if nobody took the slightest risk? Probably all live to 110 until we died of boredom.

leosayer

MrsE the bad news is that the crash was your fault, you were driving too fast for the conditions. The accident clearly still plays on your mind after so long, especially with road conditions as they are at the moment.

The good news is that you have a great attitude by trying to understand what happened and how to avoid it in future. Whilst driving skills (like skid control) can help, the key is to avoid getting into such a such a situation in the first place by observation.

You can't see black ice but you can try to predict where it might occur and adjust your speed accordinly. The usual places to look for are area that don't get any sun (eg. under trees), next to fields where they drain onto the road, or in dips and hollows.

cyclonebri1

The fact is Mrs E you get your wish, it is bad driving. No one else caused it and it could have been avoided????

Expect the unexpected (Read the post I started earlier today when I was caught out).:o

Everyone has to feel the effects of severe winter weather before they become a better driver, it's not something that gets learnt other than in practice.

Having said that please don't think I'm having a dig, I can't imagine there's a single person that reads this thread who hasn't experienced similar issues, consider yourself unlucky, most get away with a fright or a wheel in the ditch

Lirin

It happens. You weren't used to the conditions, and may have been a little fast for them. Chalk it up to experience, and move on. You're all right- and so's Garfield. It could have been worse, thankfully wasn't.