Your worst incident on the road

OneLeggedPig

benjus wrote: »

While cycling:

I was heading westbound on Commercial Road in London, in the bus lane, with stop/start traffic in the right lane. Someone travelling eastbound decided to turn right, and the car in the right westbound lane flashed him to turn. So he turned across both lanes of westbound traffic without checking the bus lane, and I slammed into the side of him and ended up the other side. Fortunately I got away with nothing more than bruises, and a wrecked front wheel. He gave me a lift home and some cash and we called it quits.

Bit unwise- what if you had actually sustained more serious injuries, the extent of which were only discovered later? Better to go through the correct procedure, and claim from his insurance. It should also have been reported to the police.

Jamiesmum

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Not me but my dad following a lorry that had a piece of plastic hard sheet fly off the back whilst driving on the motorway. It flew off and basically sliced off the wing mirror, if it had flown off horizontally instead it could have gone straight through the windscreen and decapitated him.....

That is really scary. Literally horror movie material. I hate driving behind anything with materials/cargo whatever you call it on. I hold right back or overtake.

GwylimT wrote: »

I had a head on crash at 40mph when a car on the other side of the road just seemed to swerve into me, amazingly my car was still driveable!

I have had a lot on my bicycle, mainly people not checking their blind spot, although one had a passenger lean out of the window of a van who pushed me off my bike!

My wife had quite a bad accident, she was driving on an A road and someone literally drove straight out from a link road (didn't even attempt to turn right or left) which left her severely injured and eventually paralysed. He was using his phone, but even then I'm not sure how he managed it. It was just very lucky no one was in the passenger seat as I doubt they would have survived.

Wow. I'm sorry your wife had to go through that. Truly truly awful. I just don't get why people use them. No phone call or text is more important than a life.

NBLondon

Jamiesmum wrote: »

That is really scary. Literally horror movie material. I hate driving behind anything with materials/cargo whatever you call it on. I hold right back or overtake.

Some years back, my wife had a scaffolding pole slide loose from a passing lorry, bounce off the bonnet and wing but thankfully not through the windscreen. Witnessed by a following cyclist - who had to dodge it as well. In my car!


I've had a few scary moments with black ice in the Peak District but not while there was anyone else around to be a near miss.


I came close to being rear-ended by a tipper truck a few years back. The lights changed to amber, I stopped; he either assumed I was going to run them (or was struggling to unwrap a Yorkie) and had to slam all on and swing into the next lane (thankfully empty).

dogshome

Maybe just an Old Wives tale or Legend -
It's a legal requirement that open topped trucks loaded with demolition materials or scrap, must have a cover net or tarp to contain the load.

I was told years ago that the law was brought about because a Rolls Royce following a motor scrap lorry, was pole vaulted off the road into a field by a prop shaft that dropped off the back of the truck - Could be true 'cos in those days RR owners often had influence in high places

EdGasket

I've seen canvas-covered lorries on the M3 in winter with huge sheets of ice falling off the roof and crashing down onto the road behind and to the side. Woe betide anyone following too closely or overtaking at the wrong moment.

Richard53

Two incidents where I felt my life was in danger.


Boxing Day 1981, I was driving with my (then) wife on Leeds Ring Road. It was snow and slush, and I was doing no more than 30-40 mph, thank goodness. A car coming in the opposite direction pulled into the central reservation to turn right across my path. He paused, than decided he could make it and pulled out, then decided he couldn't make it and stopped. We hit head on. His car was written off, mine had a new floor pan and front end and was back on the road in 10 days. I was uninjured; my wife got a bit of whiplash which still bothers her now (we are still in touch), but not too bad for a head-on in a tin snail 2CV. Just a bad misjudgement on the other guy's part, but even now if I am on a dual carriageway and a car is waiting to turn across my bows, I ease off and cover the brake.


More recently, I was on the A449 near Monmouth. I pulled up at some traffic lights and checked my mirror, and there was a red Fiesta bearing down on me at a stupid speed. I saw the (female) driver's face - she was panicking totally - and then the car spun out of my vision, up the bank at the side of the road, down again, and ended up facing the right way at the front of the queue - effectively in lane 0. She was going way too fast and obviously hadn't seen the stationary traffic at the lights. Luckily no-one hurt, although I imagine she needed a change of underwear pretty sharpish.


I don't get many 'moments' when driving. I think this is a good thing.

AliceBanned

Shaken but not stirred..just tried to turn left into a side road on my way home, to see a huge truck - the longest you can get probably, trying to reverse into me. I tried to pull around him as I couldn't work out what was going on and couldn't reverse back into the main road but he was forcing me that way. I pulled around and my window was down, and a guy opposite gestured me to go another way but didn't explain the road ahead was blocked. Then a girl in the car behind going hysterical, calling me awful names, shouting at me that two buses had crashed and blocked the road ahead. Of course I wasn't to know that. Everyone had had to turn around but there were no police, the lorry driver was simply trying to reverse into a main road, the height of stupidity.


I wish I had taken the lorry driver and girl driver's number plates, as all I did was try to work out a way out and she gave me no chance, just screamed at me calling me a stupid !!!!!, saying 'move' which I was in the process of doing. Talking to me like I'm an imbecile when I'm a courteous, respectful driver and not remotely stupid. I simply couldn't see ahead due to the lorry.


Honestly, it is upsetting and worrying that such hysterical, crazy people are behind the wheel of a car. I had only just arrived on the scene, to be faced with a truck reversing into my car - clearly I couldn't see anything from there and was working out what to do (only took a few seconds but she shouted at me as though I had caused the accident ahead and as though I had taken more than a few seconds to start turning round). Ridiculous, hurtful and shocking. I stayed calm and asked her to calm down but she was so mouthy and aggressive I couldn't do anything more. She was completely out of control and it was a totally unwarranted attack on me. Wish I had taken her reg number and called the police.


The lorry driver should have had police help to reverse out the road. He was the main one in the wrong and all she was doing was waving him to reverse from her car, not even getting out to show traffic what was happening and screaming abuse at me because I happened to appear to go down the side road at that time. It could have been anyone but calling me a '!!!!!' is so extreme and belligerent. Sometimes the verbal abuse is worse than anything and I couldn't get a word in and anyway wouldn't get angry about a bus crash ahead, it's simply crazy.


What is happening to this country?!

mcpitman

Nipped to the chippy one night with a friend.

Driving back home, a car drove on the wrong side of the road and hit me head on, completely crumpling the front bonnet and driver seating zone.

Brought my car to a standstill from 40mph, his car went over the top of my bonnet, slid up the A post and landed on it's roof.

Driver got out of the car and ran off, my car went up in flames and I couldn't open the drivers door. Passenger was knocked unconcious from the impact.

Managed to climb out of rear passenger door and get the passenger out (who had started to come round).

The driver had left something very important in his car. His wife.

Driver was caught about 30 minutes later 4x the drink/drive limit.

15 years later I still remember the shock of a car coming towards me, the bang, the smell of burning plastic and the sound of my car alarm and horn going crazy every time I drive down that road to see my parents.

Driver had his day in court, lost his licence, his job (sales rep) and eventually his house.

What goes around, comes around.

MEM62

I once drove a Morris Marina - it was by far the worst experience I ever had on the road.

z1a

Yep I too once had a Marina and it was bad, but not as bad as my Vauxhall Viceroy, 2.5ltr straight 6, but must have been the most inefficient engine ever, - did about 15mpg, top speed about 90, and you needed a calendar to time the 0 - 60.