near misses

sunflower · 30 Dec 2003, 21:02 (Ref:823874)

With ref to my sig, I wanted to share a few of my 'best forgotten' experiences.

1 - Driving behind a transporter on a motorway, a lump of dry mud the size of a mini football (skill style) fell off the wheel of the tractor it was carrying & bounced off my front windscreen. Luckily it didn't mark at all & more thankfully didn't have any stone in it as would more than likely have gone through the glass.

2 - A few wks ago there was torrential rain driving on the M20 & so was doing no more than 50mph. Just in front of a bridge was a pool of water & when I drove into it the noise it made woke up my sleeping back passengers who thought I had crashed into something. Plus the jolt of it made mine & front passenger seltbelts lock causing chest pain for a few hrs.

Anyone else want to air theirs or I am the only one?

Bluebottle · 30 Dec 2003, 22:48 (Ref:823973)

You're not the only one, I have one every time I drive- well, that's how it seems sometimes!!
Aquaplaining on a motorway, finding myself heading towards a couple of bikers who were stranded on the hard shoulder, got traction back just in time, I was only doing around 40mph at the time! All four tyres changed the next day (not worn, just cheap tyres fitted by the previous owner, I'd only had the car a week!!)
Also in torrential rain in my Dutton (small roadster kit-car, about the size of a Caterham) in a 'contraflow' on the M25, the lane crossed the central reservation where a huge puddle had gathered. I went through sideways and was quite lucky to pick it up on the other side!!
I accidently got my Granada very sideways in snow on a decent in Scotland, that was fun!

gttouring · 31 Dec 2003, 00:36 (Ref:824099)

a while back in my old nissan Se-R i was playing Rally hero in the snow, and as i went around the corner a little boy was in the street picking up a ball or something, good quick reaction on my part i counter steered and gassed it enough to run my car up the kerb onto the playing field where no one was and into a big bank- needless to say he ran home and never heard anything from him and i need an alignment, and a tow out of the bank.
i didn't drive the rest of the season after that.
that was about 10 years now- wow i am getting old.

daz90 · 1 Jan 2004, 19:38 (Ref:825263)

some idiot in a great volvo 740 estate pulled out in front of me when i was doing 65ish, he was only about 150 yards in front, so i jammed my brakes on, but i would never have stopped, luckily he must have seen me when it was nearly to late, and he pulled back into the garage. very very close, if he hadent pulled back in we would have crashed. so i stopped and gave the bloke a bit of verbal, he apologised and that was that. **** me up a bit though.

elephino · 5 Jan 2004, 10:50 (Ref:828111)

Near misses...
Left hand bend which was blind as there was a rubbish skip on the left and parked cars on the right. Coming up to it I had a weird feeling and slowed and held left as long as possible. As I was about to move around the skip, a car came through the other way at about 70km/h (60km/h zone). Would have been a big mess.

I've had a few running the ABS to the hilt to not hit someone. Oddly one time was in my mum's car and I was planning on testing the ABS (as I'd never used it before) on some back road after dropping her off at the airport. I ended up using it twice just on the way home as 1 car pulled out in front of me and another decided they really wanted the street as he was passing it.

I've changed lanes in the wet due to aquaplaning.

This one wasn't mine but I saw it and it isn't technically a near miss. Driving along the Great Ocean Road, a Hyundai pulled out to overtake about 3 cars leading into a blind (cliff face was on the inside) right hand corner. A lucky person that no one was coming the other way.

mandretti39 · 26 Jan 2004, 14:03 (Ref:851078)

My near miss includes my artistic rendering of the area to help explain it. The green line is my car, the red line is the offending car. The red dots are supposed to be "Do Not Enter" signs, but you can just ignore them. I was driving and I pulled into the lane that was built to help facilitate the drivers moving over to use the double left turn lanes. The black line I drew is there because I see it as an area where you cannot change lanes and you can tell its true if saw the area. The offending car had originally been behind me. The car passed me staying in the original lane and moved over after the intersection. As you can tell from my pic, the driver wanted the same pice of road I had. Thinking he was far enough ahead of me, he moved over, forcing me into the other lane (not really, I always use that lane, had I not moved, we would have collided). I was able to get ahead of the driver on the highway, but I had another near miss with the SAME driver. He tried to pass me on the right, but there was a slower vehicle in his lane, so once again we almost collide.

mandretti39 · 26 Jan 2004, 14:11 (Ref:851087)

I wouldn't call it a near miss, but it could have been much worse. Driving down a different stretch of road I was approaching an intersection at 60mph in the lef lane with the green light intending to go on thru. Some idiot with a trailer in the right lane decided at the last minute to move into my lane, then tried to move over into the left turn only lane (which was red at the time). You can see the problem already, I got a guy slowing down to a complete stop moving across the road from right to left. He didn't use his turn signal to alert me to his intentions, but I did see him move early enough to slam on my brakes to just lightly tap his trailer. It could have been worse if I didn't brake.

**BertMk2** · 27 Jan 2004, 09:10 (Ref:851966)

On the way up to Donington for the DTM last year a car kicked a stone onto the windscreen - I got covered in glass and the stone holed the screen but fortunately didn't come through (if it had it would have got me square in the face).

Until that happened I was quite happily dozing in the passenger seat - bit of a wake up call that!

avsfan733 · 28 Jan 2004, 07:32 (Ref:853232)

drviing on a back roda like a copmlete

one day trying to be tommi makinene in the snow. usually no one on the road or anyone out i n hte snow period, well i slid around a corner sideways (idioticly intentionaly) to come face to butt with a large tractor, managed to coax the car aronud the inside of the thing and only damaged the paint on the mirror which i clipped on his tire...my driving has since improved and slowed noticably

grumpy1 · 30 Jan 2004, 12:53 (Ref:856334)

Cruzing back from adelaide one night I came round a bend in the road to find a ute(pick up to you in the US)stoped in the middle of the road.I just had time to swerve into the on coming lane.This wouldn't have been so bad but there happened to be a truck coming the other way.Just missed that as well and managed to stop about 100 meters down the road.i went back thinking this bloke had a problem but alas turned out to be a local farmer checking his cows in the paddock.As you can imagine a few choice words were spoken.I left just as the trukie walked up.He didn't look to happy either.

The Grumpy1

Bluebottle · 30 Jan 2004, 21:09 (Ref:856891)

This afternoon, tugging a loaded trailer at a steady 50mph up a steep hill on the A40. Just as I crest the hill a white van pulled out in front of me and didn't accelerate away! I had to brake hard (unbraked trailer- oh joy!) and dive into a lay-by. When I came to a halt I was along side the still accelerating van! Needless to say he didn't stop to apologise.

medler · 31 Jan 2004, 12:13 (Ref:857491)

Driving a truck up the A1 near Doncaster last week in the rush hour and a queue of cars come down the slip road. Most of the cars filter in front of me without a problem, but one car doesn't make it so the car in front of me decides to stop on the A1 to let them out, The Nice of them I thought,

As I jumped on the brakes, how I managed to stop before I hit them I will never know. It was just lucky that it was a new truck and trailer with the latest ABS system, disc brakes all round and I only had 6 tonnes on, It might have been differant on the way back as I picked up 27 tonnes paper reels.

Phoenix1 · 10 Feb 2004, 01:27 (Ref:868988)

The world has gone mad today. Driving through town and we have a two lane one way system. White van pulled across and I had to brake to avoid him. No suprise there and so also unsurpirsingly I used my horn and lights to convey my "thought's". Suprisingly he apologized! What's the world coming to! Got me all confussed that!

Gnuvolari · 11 Feb 2004, 20:47 (Ref:871165)

During the summer, I was inching my way out of the very tight driveway of a property I had just visited. The nose of my car was just on the edge of the 2-lane road I was endeavouring to turn left into, and by the time I got visibility to the right by craning my neck, I could see a car approaching on my side of the road. My car being an automatic, I swiftly selected reverse and eased back into the drive to avoid the oncomer having to swerve. Anyway, the other driver made a big drama out of it, flashing headlights, horn, etc. As he drove past the front of me right to left (doing a good 40+ mph) I saw his hand come out of the driver's window and he tossed the sandwich he was eating over the roof of his car. It's trajectory was perfect and it came into my car through the open sunroof!! (It was BLT and it made a big mess). At the time I was absolutely furious, but very quickly got over it and was soon able to laugh about it. It was a hell of a good shot. The bas...d!

garcon · 12 Feb 2004, 15:39 (Ref:872086)

You should have followed him and given him his sandwich back, saying by reversing out the way you'd saved his bacon...

Bluebottle · 12 Feb 2004, 20:37 (Ref:872361)

Thanks Garcon!!!

pplater · 12 Feb 2004, 22:03 (Ref:872465)

Bathurst Australia:
I was doing a sighting lap at 11pm the night before the race. as I came through the dipper, i lifted off, and the car began to oversteer, back firdt towards the wall. I caught it and touched the brakes just in time for a security guard to come the wrong way around the circuit, on the wrong side of the road at insane speed. We missed by a meter...

**GTRMagic** · 13 Feb 2004, 08:58 (Ref:872842)

Since you cant legally go more than 60km/h round there anyway, its always easier to leave the car in a lower gear than required, so any lift off attitude change of the car is less pronounced. Wont hurt the car, and you can power thru the Cutting as if you were travelling 100km/h faster

pplater · 14 Feb 2004, 05:57 (Ref:873857)

I was doing 60 through the dipper (too quick IMHO). the cutting is too crazy for me to accellerate through. I was surprised though, at how fast a commodore vt wagon (with new 225mm goodyear eagles on) found and surpassed it's grip threshold.
Or was it my skill that was beaten

Perhaps both...

**GTRMagic** · 14 Feb 2004, 09:09 (Ref:873959)

All depends how well you know your car, and how it feels... FWD is substantially easier to control with the standard suspension not likely to want to kill you with snap oversteer... and a set of grippy Continentals all round making sure the road is stuck to the car

pplater · 14 Feb 2004, 11:19 (Ref:874047)

i didn't know you were a tyre salesman

seriously though, was my dad's car. I drive a ford laser (stop laughing) with basic intake mods, alloys wider tyres and sound sys. a 1987 car with 140k km isn't too bad though... serously, enough of justifying my commuter, well done GTR, you analysed me perfectly.

I'm used to just thinking about my heel-toe technique or turn in point. First time dealing with snap oversteer, and it was on a world (in)famous racetrack coming within milimeters of a concrete wall. A close call indeed...

**GTRMagic** · 15 Feb 2004, 01:53 (Ref:874483)

I used to be a Michelin fan till I realised they had a magnetic ability to absorb nails without permission at a scary rate

The whole point of driving in the end is understanding the weight transfer of your car as you change direction, as you slow down, as you accelerate... the transfer loads or unloads the tyres, and the feedback you get from the car, and the experience from a lot of km of driving, will make it better understood.

Building in the whole smoothness thing, making the car flow, not upsetting the balance, means it is within your control all the time if you are paying attention to how it feels.

TimD · 27 Feb 2004, 12:24 (Ref:887264)

Not added to this thread before, but last night's near miss was a duesey.

Hands up who knows the A14 at Cambridge? Well, for those that don't, there's one big, unorthodox but straightforward roundabout which links the A14 to the A141. As you travel eastwards, both lanes are indicated for the A14 Cambridge and Felixstowe. The road however is the right-hand (2nd) exit. It is quite legitimate to be in the left hand lane to stay on this main road.

Traffic going to the town of March on the A141 has by necessity to stay in the left hand lane to take the first exit.

It sounds more complicated than it actually is, but...

Last night, there was I moving fast on this roundabout, left hand lane, indicating right to give any traffic round me the wink that I am intending to stay on the A14. Just as I followed the road round, I'm not sure what made me glance over my shoulder, but I was confronted with a gold-coloured Rover 25, all locked up, sliding towards my driver's door.

It was all I could do to snatch the wheel to the left, aborting the curve to the right that the car was committed to and half spun down the first exit, closely followed by the Rover 25. It became apparent that the girl who was driving it had decided she could overtake me and then cut across me to take that first exit, except that she totally misjudged it. To be honest, if it wasn't for the fact she would have hit my door, I'm almost sorry we didn't connect, if only for the opportunity to have the book thrown at her.

As it was, she was left in absolutely no illusions about what I thought of her driving.

**BertMk2** · 27 Feb 2004, 14:22 (Ref:887372)

Quote:

Originally posted by GTRMagic
FWD is substantially easier to control with the standard suspension not likely to want to kill you with snap oversteer...

Try telling that to my car - I learnt all about lift off oversteer in one short butt clenching moment, understeer to oversteer in the blink of an eye.

Totally my own fault of course (too fast into the corner - it's not as if I didn't know the road either) but I'm convinced the only reason I got it back under control is my addiction to Colin McRae games on the playstation - it was just second nature to steer into it and bury the throttle.

KC · 27 Feb 2004, 15:54 (Ref:887435)

I was cruising merrily along in the Focus saw the access ramp from Garnett Street to Interstate 44 (in south east Tulsa) coming up and being the wannabe F1 driver I decided to take the corner at the same speed I was travelling at, about 50 mph. Not too hard of a corner, kind of a sweeper but defintely not a normal speed. I downshift to third gear and accelerate through the apex beautifully. At the same time a pedestrian decides he is going to cross the access ramp. Luckily he decided to cross about 30 yards up the ramp and not at the corner. As it was I had to lift and brake suddenly in the middle of my high gee corner to keep from running him down. The resulting lift oversteer turned the Focus sideways, I opposite locked and caught it and the pedestrian literally leaped acrass the road like a frightened deer. I missed him by about 5 feet. Scared the hell out of both of us. As it was I downshifted to second and blasted on up the ramp and off I went. He probably thought I was out to run him down, but serves him right for jaywalking.

Other than that one, numerous near misses with deer, possums, and a few armadillos and squirrels that didn't make the dash.

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