I was very close to an accident tonight, close enough for my car to be showered in bits of glass and plastic from the impact.

I was joining the M62 from the M60. Where the lanes merged traffic was clear but not far ahead the traffic had stopped.

The car in front of me was obviously concentrating on merging and hadn't looked ahead and seen the truck stopped so he did a sudden, unsighted dive into lane 3 (from Lane 2, due to the way the junction works) and stood on the brakes when he realised that lane had stopped too, but a bit further up.

A Prius alongside and slightly ahead of me in lane 3 did an emergency stop and managed to stop in time but the car behind him didn't and slammed into the back of the Prius. Both drivers got out so no serious injuries, thankfully.

The guy that swerved into lane 3 in the first place just drove off and presumably got away scott free. I suppose technically not his fault as such, but he definitely caused it through impatience and lack of observation skills.

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Irritating that the person who really caused it got away with it.

I was following a cyclist on the way into Birmingham this morning; he was going about 20mph downhill and the queue of cars wasn't going any faster so I gave him plenty of space. Which was fortunate because he fell straight off on a patch of sheet ice in front of me. Fortunately unharmed (I stopped to check) but if I'd been closer I could easily have run him over

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[OO=[|]=OO]

I've been out on my bike this morning. Seven degrees on the car outside temp gauge and then I almost fell on my arse as I lifted the bike off the roof bars

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"I've never driven a BMW that I've really loved, except for perhaps the first M Coupe. That was a proper hooligan's hot rod"

David Yu

Reminds me... driving along the M25, outside lane. See a Polo spin round in the opposite carriageway, bounce off the central armco and shower us in glass as we went past. Noone else in my car noticed.

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This is the problem with cyclists, they have no sense of self preservation but "fully know their rights"

It might be perfectly legal for them to cycle at 20mph down the road but is it really safe to do so when there is ice there and cars all around them.

I was listening to radio 4 the otherday when they were talking about air traffic safety. A statistician that they had on was quoting miles/1 in a million chance of dying.

I forget how good air was, but car was something like 500 and motorbike was just 7, push bike 6.

Made me think, as i do 50K a year.

Updated February 15, 2013 at 8:58 PM

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My Glass is always half full

Good that you're alright!

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DeskJockey
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Now fueled by heavy oil...

DeskJockey said...

Good that you're alright!

Thanks, it definitely made me think. I like to think I'm a decent driver always leaving proper gaps and keeping an eye on what's happening up ahead etc. but it just takes a moment...

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Close call indeed

I had a mirror-clash with a car years ago - narrow road and he came over the brow of a hill about 8" over the centreline of the road - I managed to squeeze right up to the road edge but there wasn't really anywhere for me to go. Closing speed must have been 80+.

Looking later at how close cars have to pass to bang side mirrors gave me the heebies.

NotoriousREV said...

DeskJockey said...

Good that you're alright!

Thanks, it definitely made me think. I like to think I'm a decent driver always leaving proper gaps and keeping an eye on what's happening up ahead etc. but it just takes a moment...

It's a nightmare on busy roads like the M62/M60 because when you do drive leaving a sensible gap to the car in front some fucknut always dives into it at some point.

Well you were never in danger there, were you, drama queen?

Reminds me of the time I was driving back from the British GP in the F430 on the A43 that suddenly came to a halt. I slowed in plenty of time, but saw the Rover behind me with all four wheels locked up spewing tyre smoke and heading straight for me.
Luckily the BMW X5 driver next to me saw it and stopped early to let me into his lane just as the Rover skidded to a halt alongside me, well past the point where the back of my car was...

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David_Yu said...

Well you were never in danger there, were you, drama queen?

Probably not, but it's definitely an eye opener when it happens 3ft from you.

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Worst thing I witnessed on a motorway wasn't even an accident, it was a deliberate.

On the M25, a van driver pulled out too close to a Ford Scorpio whose driver took exception and flashed him etc, then proceeded to undertake then pull out REALLY close to the van driver who got really angry and started doing increasingly dangerous manoeuvres to do the same.

This continued for a few minutes putting everyone around them at risk with all three lanes being used for undertaking and cutting up. Eventually the van driver PIT-ed the Scorpio which span off down a ditch into trees.

I called it into the police who took my details but never got back to me, so I bet he got away with it. I didn't have the van's reg number but remembered the name of the business on the side.
How stupid are you to do that in a work vehicle?

Talking of which a van which brake tested me recently for having the temerity to want to go faster than the 70mph his vehicle was clearly marked as being speed limited to, was a British Gas works vehicle. Way to go for public relations...

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Orange Cola said...

This is the problem with cyclists, they have no sense of self preservation but "fully know their rights"

It might be perfectly legal for them to cycle at 20mph down the road but is it really safe to do so when there is ice there and cars all around them.

There hadn't been any ice up to that point; it was a wet patch outside somebody's house. The cyclist wasn't doing anything wrong at all. Just went down while riding in a straight line.

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I had my brown trouser moment a few weeks back when a deer ran out into the A55 and got collected by the car in front. No one was hurt, well most of the deer was flying mince but a Citroen Picasso at 70+ will do that to Bambi. Certainly wasn't pleasant for the Picasso driver and friend, plus it wasn't nice cleaning bits of Deer off the front of the car.

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MI5 have confirmed he had committed suicide using the traditional Russian method: He shot himself 3 times in the head then hid the gun.

David_Yu said...

Reminds me of the time I was driving back from the British GP in the F430 on the A43 that suddenly came to a halt. I slowed in plenty of time, but saw the Rover behind me with all four wheels locked up spewing tyre smoke and heading straight for me.
Luckily the BMW X5 driver next to me saw it and stopped early to let me into his lane just as the Rover skidded to a halt alongside me, well past the point where the back of my car was...

Similar thing happened to me on teh M8 a few years back. I had slowed to walking pace and had enough time to think "4uck this" and took to the central verge. Following car screeched to a halt with the nose almost level with the back of the passenger side front door.

My brown trouser was 2yrs ago in southern Spain. Was on a decent local road just coming out of a village, round a left hand bend into the increased speed limit. I spotted a Golf coming towards us, and knew he was going far too fast to stay on line, and that we were in the projected line of collision.

I pulled right over to the right onto the dirt and kept my foot in round the bend, and sure enough, he started sliding wide. I was convinced I was going to take the brunt, but could do nothing other than hope I'd kept my foot in enough. I had. He missed the rear corner of the car by an inch - so close I couldn't see the gap in the door mirror and was sure he must've hit us anyway.

He slid so wide he only avoided the armco around the bend on our side by an inch or two before tank slappering down the road.

I did stop for a few moments to gather myself! Based on the speed I was doing he must've been doing over a tonne.

Updated February 16, 2013 at 11:55 PM

I had one today I nearly scraped a wheel in the homebase carpark

Cheers

Steve

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252.3KW

_Steveo_ said...

I had one today I nearly scraped a wheel in the homebase carpark

Cheers

Steve

BMW, I hope?

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You Sir, are rude, arrogant and selfish. And so is your son.

Of course I'm not likely to give a shit if I accidentally scrape those Boxster wheels Marv in fact I positively go out of my way to smash them into kerbs whenever the opportunity arises.

Cheers

Steve

Updated February 17, 2013 at 5:47 PM

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252.3KW