1st Crash

[mattt]

What was your first(if you can remember it) crash


myn was poss bout 1 minute of driving and went across a small street really slow and cracked a bit of wood

[Rockmunky]

Jesus Christ! Were you okay?

OMG

[Dr Jimi Ibett]

My first crash...was on my bike...into a tree... .

Not old enough to own a car yet...when i buy one, watch out .

Cheers

Peter

[Mr.Jingles]

I remember my first accident very well

I had a G reg 1.2 Nova (don't laugh!) and had only passed my test 6 weeks ago. Work needed someone to travel up to York (from Reading) with a whole bunch of computer kit to do a technical sales pitch alongside a partner firm. It was only a small firm and I was the senior-most developer, so I got the job.

Now, I used to work in VR and that kit wasn't light or compact, so the Nova was packed to the rafters and sitting low down on the suspension. Looking back now I was an idiot, but at the time I didn't realise how bad an omen it was.

I set out at 4:30 (I think) and made good time on the way with only one stop for coffee. I was only 5 mins from where I needed to be when the accident happened....

I came off of the motorway and onto the sliproad over a brow, only to find traffic queueing at the bottom of the sliproad (at least 200 yards away). Not a problem I thought, as I applied the brakes... which did precisely F All. The car was way overloaded and the brakes just couldn't cope!

With only a second or two left to decide what to do, I started to think of my crashing options (I was a banger racer, after all!). Option 1, a long drop down the embankment, didn't look inviting. Option 2 was an original Mini with a 'child on board' sticker in the back - no way I was going to hit that.

So I picked option 3... the Jaguar Soverign, sitting stationary. Ouch.

Those things are built like a tank! With a speed difference of almost 30mph (by the time the brakes had kicked in) it wasn't pretty on my end, the engine was punched off the mounts and into the bulkhead, the front end lost a few feet and the front pillars kinked enough to jamb the front doors. I also got hit in the back of the head by unrestrained computer gear.

The Jag? It got away with fairly superficial visible damage, and after inspection a kink in the boot floor. The chassis remained true and straight!

As I only had third-party insurance at the time (mistake number 2) and work renegaded on their agreement to cover any potential losses (as agreed after I explained I had onyl third-party and was a tad concerned) I ended up getting the shaft.

The final fun part - the guy only lived around the corner from me! what are the odds eh?

Car was sold for scrap, but the guy put it back on the road!? last time I saw it was down in High Wycombe.... scary.

I am now (thankfully) older and wiser.

[Chatters]

Haven't had one... Yet.

[Mr.Jingles]

Originally Posted by Chatters

Haven't had one... Yet.

Well, that's tempting fate isn't it?

[Bodysnatcher]

like it was yesterday
on the day after I passed my test
it was here
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl...=15&iwloc=addr

See that road coming in from the top right - nice and straight and level, comes to a gentle sweep to the left, up a slight rise.....
and then plumments down to a vicous Z bend.
Got through the first right in my ulra fast lightweight Italian supercar (Fiat 128), but lost it, brakes locked up, on the loose gravel on the second part. Now heading towards the field on the left.

Drivers side wheels get hooked in ditch and my passenger gets a nice closeup of half a dozen or so fence posts ripped out the ground and tossed over the top of the car. (He thought he was going to get one in the chest Dracula style!)
The big stob at the end of the line stopped me.

What worries me is my son has done one pretty much the same.

[BertMk2]

First car, a lovely (or not) 1 litre Nova ( mine was worse than yours!). Driving to work as normal, someone pulled out straight in front of me, I swerved and for a second thought I'd got away with it. Then there was the crunching and scraping noise and I got punted squarely across the road and onto the pavement the other side. Everything from just behind the headlight to just in front of the rear light was punched inwards, passenger door was off its hinges but firmly wedged in the hole still, seats on the passenger side were pushed upwards and the wheels were left at amusing angles.

I was fine apart from the whole "wtf!" element of it, the car was declared dead at the scene. The other driver was ok but their Fiesta also died in the incident. I got £10 scrap for the car after I'd scavenged parts off it (got another Nova to replace it).

Since then I've been hit 3 times whilst not actually moving - XR3i that hit my Pug at speed on the front drivers side, lorry that slid on ice into the same front corner of the Pug (which was repaired again!) and finally some halfwit in a Merc that "got the wrong pedal" and went into the back of the car (didn't do any visible damage though).

[Super Hans]

Had my first crash last February, following 8 years of unblemished motoring.

I was pulling onto a heavily congested dual carriageway from a slip road, and made the classic mistake of assuming the car in front had pulled out into the previous gap. As I put my foot down, I slammed right into the back of some poor chap in a Micra, following which the Merc behind slammed right into me.

Thankfully all parties were civil and uninjured, and my car was back on the road within 2 weeks.

It did serve to humble me a bit, and remind me that I'm not a driving God.

[mattt]

Originally Posted by mattt

What was your first(if you can remember it) crash


myn was poss bout 1 minute of driving and went across a small street really slow and cracked a bit of wood

The wood is only cracked it is properly snapped and the front bit is sitting behind the back bit

My mums car is absolutely fine

It was really funny after it had happened i just sat there laughing for about 5 minutes

the person whos little fence it was, is/was a dinner lady at my primary school and im pretty sure it werent delibrate

lol

and every one that ive told has laughed and called me an idiot lol

But it has taught me a couple of things tho

[bella]

my first actual damage crash was when i managed to go into the back of a daft bird in a peugeot who decided it'd be a great idea to stop dead on a clear dual carriageway because there was a police car without its lights or sirens on waiting to pull out on the other side of the road. granted, i drove into the back of her, but it made my day when the policeman came over to see what was going on and *******ed her

funnily enough she never did claim on my insurance

[Cougar]

1st push/peddle bike crash (well major one i can remember) was at age 5/6 came off bike coming down a hill and broke me collar bone. I think a dog was involved also!?

1st bike crash at age 17ish with front wheel disappearing out from under me on an oil patch. Dented fuel tank and bruised knee.. (opposite sides of bike though??)

1st car crash was me being an idiot and trying to get something from underneath my seat on a circular offramp off motorway... No real damage done cept to me pride

[touringlegend]

Mine was 2 months after my test, sliding on ice and heading through a hedge, car was balanced over the edge of the road as there was a slight drop to the ditch below.

[shambles]

Originally Posted by mattt

The wood is only cracked it is properly snapped and the front bit is sitting behind the back bit

My mums car is absolutely fine

It was really funny after it had happened i just sat there laughing for about 5 minutes

the person whos little fence it was, is/was a dinner lady at my primary school and im pretty sure it werent delibrate

lol

and every one that ive told has laughed and called me an idiot lol

But it has taught me a couple of things tho

Were you taught to spell by Dizzee Rascal?

[mattt]

Originally Posted by shambles

Were you taught to spell by Dizzee Rascal?

Nah

i was just doing revision and typing at the same time

[shambles]

safe

[Mr.Jingles]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Since then I've been hit 3 times whilst not actually moving - XR3i that hit my Pug at speed on the front drivers side, lorry that slid on ice into the same front corner of the Pug (which was repaired again!) and finally some halfwit in a Merc that "got the wrong pedal" and went into the back of the car (didn't do any visible damage though).

Yeah, I've had this too!

Lorry (in traffic), car (at lights) and another car (at a roundabout) have all used my car to brake!

stupidest accident? when I rolled into the back of a MK 2 Escort in Savacentre carpark at about 2mph on a Christmas Eve because the pads had been changed and even though I thought I'd bled them properly, I obviously hadn't!

No damage to them (bar a little scratch to the bumper) but it caught my badge, which in turn caught the bonnet release.... cue one creased bonnet and two dented wings!

They tried to claim for whiplash (!?!?!) and the claim still hasn't been paid out after almost 9 years.

[Bluebottle]

Originally Posted by mattt

and every one that ive told has laughed and called me an idiot lol

Idiot!

[shambles]

I don't yet drive as I'm far, far too lazy, but I do cycle a lot and I've had some mega crashes on that. I've always been a bit mental on it. Nowadays, with the wisdoms of age on my side I'm a bit more careful but the 'motorcycle' Grand Prix's around my streets during my childhood year would often cause tumultuous sheaths of skin and rubber to intertwine in collage on the pavements about my house.

One memorable occasion was my trip into a pond. It's a brilliant setting for a nine year old motor-racing fanatic with a vivid imagination; there is a banking that edges this large pond and I used to pretend I was racing at a classic circuit in the Monza mould. The whole circuit (and there were about 10 different tracks in the area) was brilliant. It had slow hairpins, long radius curves, an S-bend and yes, this banked corner.

I used to race my brother, who must've been about six or something and too our collective mates. It was more a case of me bullying them into it all, I used to enjoy it when they got knackered. I got my comeuppance though when I lost it on the banking and ended up bum over breast in the pond. Drenched in algae, they abandoned what was left of the 150 lap race (that's an exaggeration..) and stood at the lip of the banking in gargantuan fits of childish laughter. Now we're all older, and some of the lads we still know and keep in touch with, I'm often reminded of this usually to the amusment of those who haven't heard the story before.

Those were the days.

In addition to that I've got a four inch scar on my right foot from where I decided to ride an old claptrap bike without any shoes or socks on; I've got scars on my elbows and knees from a literal high-side incident under braking and I'm pretty sure my brain is bruised.

One thing is for sure; when I have children, I'm buying them a crash helmet. No doubt.

[minieddie88]

I haven't had a crash as such, but I had not long passed my test, and was lucky enough to drive to school one day, parking the car in the school car park, and just did not look back when I reversed and hit another car, well scratched, nothing a bit of t-cut would not cure. I just parked the car in the car park, and went to lesson. I and my passenger swore to never say a word, got away with it as they thought it was the council collecting the rubbish had caught both our cars.
Now during racing I have only had two bad ones, (trips to hospital) I rolled it at Croft and at Lydden into the Tyre Wall. Had lot's of paint changing experiences, and a couple of shunts, but that's racing

[Hepatic]

OOoooOO, i had a corker. Hopefully it'll be the only one i ever have.

Here's some google cunningness to set the scene...

OK. I'm home for my nan's funeral. Parents have made their own way and i'm taking myself and my sister the 10 mile journey to the church in my 106. We're travelling in an easterly direction on the Holt Road (left to right for you navigationally inferior ). Its a very busy junction, as its the main road in to Sheringham, but we are going past following the Holt Road when a car makes no effort to stop at the T junction and i hit it square in the drivers door.

It was one of those surreal moments, as i remember every little detail in slow motion. My car stopped almost immediately (about 30 feet after the impact) and the other one spun 180 degrees and parked in the corn field on the other side of the road. My sister was screaming. Lots. The CD player was still playing Alice in Chains. My glasses had deposited themselves on the dashboard. I then came back to real time, and a woman opened my door screaming get out, as the car was spewing petrol. I got out, turned the ignition off (marshalling instincts kicked in ) and took a look at the car - it was coolant flowing out, not petrol, as the whole front of the car had been demolished. By this point i'm surrounded by fire engines, police, ambo's and lots of joe public trying to help out. It must have been a good 5 or 10 mins, but it seems like they were there instantly.

Anyways, my sister ended up with a broken sturnam due to the force of the seat belt restraints. She was in hospital for a few days, and all i got was sore knees when they hit the dash. The other car didn't stop because the old woman driving fainted at the wheel and her husband couldn't stop it in time. What me off was she'd told her husband she felt unwell before setting off, but they went anyway. She was taken away in air ambulance, her hubby in one ambo and me and my sister travelling in the other, leaving the cops to deal with the blocked road.

The hardest part of all that experience was standing at the roadside, looking at the wrecked car, my sister being treated while still in the car and trying to summon the courage to ring my dad at the church and explain what had happened, that we were off to hospital but to stay calm, deal with your day first then worry about us.

I think the final assistance count was;
1 air ambulance
2 fire engines
3 ambulances
2 paramedic fast responders
and countless members of the public, all of which deserve my deepest thanks.

For remembrance, the damage of my beloved Pug is recorded in this gallery. I still have the wrecked badge from the front grill - my dad thought i was mad for asking to have it back!

[LYNX]

Can't top that for helpfulness but how about this for unhelfulness!

My first accident was whilst driving as a ferry driver for an international car rental company, aged 18 (moonlighting). On the way back from Sevenoaks to Portsmouth at half past midnight, leading five ferry cars in atrocious weather conditions I went to overtake a car on the Chichester by-pass. The occupants, I believe were busy talking and didn't see me till the last moment, the driver braked and aquaplaned into me. My car (3 week old Avenger) was sent through the central reservation barrier (wooden fence) into the fast lane of the opposite carriageway - luckily no-one hit me. There were ripple marks across the roof where the car had experienced opposite forces and not a panel escaped undamaged (written off). I emerged somewhat dazed and was carted off to Chichester police station (other car was CID) where I was abused verbally and threatened by an assortment of policeman. Eventually the case went to the public prosecuter who put the incident down to bad weather conditions. I couldn't earn any extra money for six weeks until the decision had been made and I still have a deep mistrust of the police. Probably healthy for a JP as I never took the word of a policeman as gospel without impartial collobaration.

[stradlin21]

Mine was when I was 18 and I got smashed into at a junction by some (well i can't say it here) who badly cut the junction and hit head on

my car (well, my mothers) was written off and I had a badly broken leg

then when I was 20 I got badly side swiped and another car got wrecked but I was fine after that one

really knocks you for six though, did with me both times

wouldn't wish it on anyone

[Tim Falce]

Mine was when I was 6 or 7. My dad jokingly asked me to get his MK2 Jag (which was at the other end of his yard in Blackheath) and bring it to him. I took him at his word, jumped in it and turned the key but he had left it in gear, it shot forward around 20 feet straight into a pile of coal. He didn't ask me again for a few years.

[Sheila M]

Mine was in a driving school car!

Came up to a very narrow T-junction in an old part of town with cobbled streets. There was a car parked directly opposite the road I was on. My instructor had given me instructions to turn right at this T-junction and I remember thinking that if I wasn't careful I would hit the parked car.

I got to the junction, braked, looked both ways, then my foot slipped off the brake onto the accelerator My instructor immediately hit the brake on the dual controls. As it had been raining for the first time in 6 weeks, the roads were very greasy and I slid gently into the parked car. I still maintain that if my instructor had kept his feet off his controls I'd have got away with it.

Anyway, the story didn't end there. My instructor went looking for the owner of the car I'd hit. No-one in the street knew who it belonged to, so he was left with no option but to report it to the police.

I was out with a friend one night when there was a knock on mother's front door (about 10.30 pm). She opened it to find a policeman standing there saying it was about my accident. She panicked, thinking I'd been involved in something serious. But no, he just wanted to speak to me about crashing into a parked car and would I please call at the local police station for a word.

I went and had said word (or several). The first thing the police did was give me a notice of intended prosecution for driving without due care and attention. The second thing they did was thank me for finding the car which had been stolen and used on false number plates for some time.