Car crash at 75mph: was I lucky?

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 3:50pm #1

Approx 1 week ago I was driving on a motorway.
I was travelling at 75mph on the inside/slow lane. I had been working very hard and was quite tired. Also I was taking antihitamines for really bad hayfever.
Long story short...i think i closed my eyes without realising it. I opened them & i had drifted across the hard shoulder...I opened then and i was just about to enter the grass verge. I swung the steering wheel to the right and applied the brakes...the car skidded across the two lanes and smashed into the concrete meridian..the 2 air bags exploded and the car bounced back across the road and stopped just on the hard shoulder.
I would consider myself a good driver and jhave never had an accident before.
Subsequently, i pushed the door open, got out and called the police etc..the car engine caught fire and all my stuff in the car & the car was destroyed.
I have a slight pain in the chest from the seatbelt and a couple of scrapes on my arm; i have been checked out and no injuries to me at al thank God...

I realise now that I was more tired than i realise. I feel really bad for potentially putting other road users at risk...
Luckily there were no other cars beside me, just behind me or in front of me...
I will never drive in a sleepy state again...

So given the details: was I lucky to escape uninjured?
I am just trying to come to terms with what happened..

Thank you..

PLUG71 · 22-06-2014 3:55pm

Wow, glad you are ok.

Its a scary thing to happen at that speed and hitting the armco barrier I would say you were very lucky not to get any injury.

Tiredness is scary because it creeps up on you especially motorway driving!

dutopia · 22-06-2014 3:56pm

Yes you were very lucky. The fact that you opened your eyes before hitting the verge and applied the brakes coupled with steering probably slowed the car down enough to lessen the impact. Also, you were wearing your seatbelt and the airbags went off. If any of these factors were different it could have been a much worse outcome.

dmc17 · 22-06-2014 3:57pm

All things considered I would say yes. Considering the circumstances of the crash I can think of many worse outcomes but not too many better outcomes than not hitting anyone else and escaping uninjured.

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 4:00pm

Thanks for the reply...
Just to riiterate, i feel bad for allowing myself to get that sleepy..
There is no issue with the guards at all, as luckily the only person and car damaged was mine..
if there was a car in the fast lane beside me or a big truck behind, the outcome could have been a lot worse...

PLUG71 · 22-06-2014 4:02pm

Arequipa wrote: »

Thanks for the reply...
Just to riiterate, i feel bad for allowing myself to get that sleepy..
There is no issue with the guards at all, as luckily the only person and car damaged was mine..
if there was a car in the fast lane beside me or a big truck behind, the outcome could have been a lot worse...

Dont beat yourself up over it!

Your fine and your wheels can be replaced.

CiniO · 22-06-2014 4:02pm

In general having accident at 120km/h and having no injuries is very lucky anyway.

You shouldn't have driven so tired in a first place but putting this aside, if you had advanced driver training to be able to recover from skids, in the moment you opened your eyes, and sharply turned your wheel and braked, you could probably easily recovered from it if you knew how.

That's why I think it's important to have training and constant practice of recovering from skids, as otherwise skid = accident, which doesn't need to be the case.

projectgtr · 22-06-2014 4:02pm

Yes your very lucky! This wasn't on the m50 after the toll plaza by any chance?

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 4:03pm

I wont reveal too many details...but there was some valuable stuff of mine in the car and i sorta think i could have gone back and taken them out...it took the fire 20 -25 minutes to really engulf the car...but as my brother said; these things are all replacable;you are not....

When i got an xray; the woman said, 'ah yea...the car is gone,...could have been you...'

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 4:05pm

No mate, I wont say where it happened, but it was a few weeks ago...

Gmol · 22-06-2014 4:07pm

You were very lucky to walk away from that, as said the car etc are replaceable

coffeepls · 22-06-2014 4:11pm

Glad to hear you're ok - I think I'm going to be way more wary about driving if a little tired thanks to your story. It's just too easy to think "ah I'll be grand, I'll be home in no time" sometimes when you're tired.

goz83 · 22-06-2014 4:12pm

Very lucky!!! But you may have injuries you are unaware of. I was reaer ended at maybe half that speed a couple of months ago and my lower back injury wasn't obvious, due to neck injury/pain getting the most attention. It was a month before the lower back pain really kicked in and I now need surgery for a herniated disc. I haven't been able to drive for 2 weeks now, because my condition has deteriorated. Glad you were able to walk away though OP.

eviltwin · 22-06-2014 4:14pm

Very lucky, I'm sorry you lost your car and belongings but it could have been so much worse. It takes times to get past these things, don't be afraid to seek help if you need to talk it through.

NIMAN · 22-06-2014 4:23pm

Very very lucky, glad to hear you survived without any great damage.

Are you able to tell us what type of car you were in?

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 4:30pm

I wont say what the car was, just as insurance situ isnt sorted yet... But it was a few years old..
Also, she looked after me well; the 2 airbags blew and the seatbelt restrained me..

Nothing prepares you for the impact and those airbags exploding: it was like the biggest punch in the chest i could imagine..

At one point as i hit the barrier, my thought was fcuk... The car it gona roll over: this would have possibly caused more injuries...
Thankfully it careered back across and onto the hardshoulder..

BrianD3 · 22-06-2014 4:34pm

Shows the value of a median barrier - had that happened a few years ago on an Irish motorway you'd likely have been across the median into traffic on the other carriageway. Some of the most dangerous situations on a motorway are:

-Vehicles on the wrong carriageway driving against the traffic
-vehicles crossing the median
-people sitting in vehicles stopped in the hard shoulder

Losing control due to falling asleep or some other reason and striking the median barrier while driving a modern car with your seatbelt on - you were lucky enough but still, I'd expect to survive that with minor injuries.

Renegade Mechanic · 22-06-2014 4:36pm

Glad to hear you made it out, op. I wouldn't call it "lucky". The very term gives people an often fatal sense of security. A large number of factors came together for you. Waking up, braking slide slowing you down, being belted up, being in a good solid car and, mainly, being alone. Whose to say some warehouse worker called in sick and was off the road, out of your line at that moment, as a result? The amount of variables in any situation are far too many to think of.
The mistake people make is imagining the same variables will happen next time. They may not. You just happened to make it out. The best thing you can do is move on quickly with little thought of it and better prepare for the future. Being that tired at the wheel suggests you lead a very busy lifestyle that doesnt allow for much rest but no job is worth your life. Dont dwell on it because only the negatives will stick, get another vehicle and stay going. But get more rest.

pa990 · 22-06-2014 5:07pm

next time dont brake and swerve

Do one or the other.

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 5:09pm

Thanks mate! Yea, you dont often realise the speed you are doing on the motorway & because of their nature; they do lull you into a false sense of security..
In many ways, you felt more alert on the old bational roads, because of their twists and turns, slowing for villages etc...

fits · 22-06-2014 5:13pm

I took antihistamines once and it was like being drugged. Very wary of them now.

Ardennes1944 · 22-06-2014 5:16pm

I was in a crash last December at 120kph where I almost t-boned another car OP (their fault), I hopped out with a mild graze on my arm. That was a 12 year old BMW, cars are fantastically strong

DubVelo · 22-06-2014 5:32pm

You crashed at 75mph? Yeah, of course you were pretty damn lucky.
If you'd drifted into a grass verge the car could have pulled sideways, wheels dug side-on into the soft ground and ended up rolling and at that speed you'd have rolled several times.

As for your 'valuables', fingers and toes and eyes, they're your valuables, no sense going back to a burning car. Stuff is just... you know... stuff.

One thing though; does the little leaflet with your antihistamines say 'Don't operate heavy machinery' by any chance?
Drugs and driving do not mix well.

smemon · 22-06-2014 5:46pm

i know the feeling of being super tired and facing a long, boring drive home...

apart from stopping somewhere for a few minutes to get a drink / food / stretch legs / have a short nap (which is obviously the recommended course of action), roll down the window and get some cold air hitting your face... or take a different route home on a road you're not that familiar with...

turn on the cabin lights for a while too or keep some baby wipes around to rub your face with or listen to the radio rather than an iPod / CD... basically you wanna **** up your senses and routine as that will put you on high alert / keep you awake.

if you find yourself tired regularly, buy one of those driver sleep alarm things that goes over your ear for extra peace of mind..

Arequipa · 22-06-2014 5:53pm

The anti histamines i take are the one a day.. Generic version of Zirtec: think they are called ceti relief: they are meant to be the least drowsy inducing...
Without them, my hayfever symptoms get really bad...
The pollen count seems to be at its highest from late May to about mid-July & then it eases off again...

I inagine a lot of people on the roads at the moment take some form of hayfever tablets...

Marcusm · 22-06-2014 6:08pm

Cetirizine only induces drowsiness in a very small number of users; if you are prone to it then you are either going to have to stop driving, stop taking cetirizine or start taking a stimulant alongside the cetirizine. To do otherwise, risks a repeat of your unfortunate experience.

DubVelo · 22-06-2014 6:19pm

http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?medicine=Cetirizine%20tablets

This medicine may affect your ability to drive or operate machinery. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medicine affects you.

Sorry, but this is why your car is in pieces all over the road.

visual · 22-06-2014 6:19pm

You should be prosecuted for dangerous driving as a minimum. So yes your very lucky

Jesus. · 22-06-2014 7:06pm

For feck's sake, why do the HHB always swoop down on threads like this?

The bloke was taking a tablet for Hayfever FFS. If everyone who took tablets for minor ailments were to stop driving, the whole Country would grind to a halt in the morning.

He was tired and made a mistake. Get over it.

bear1 · 22-06-2014 7:09pm

visual wrote: »

You should be prosecuted for dangerous driving as a minimum. So yes your very lucky

He has lost his car, his valuable belongings, has pains in his body, will definitely have a higher insurance premium and more than likely still in shock.
Yet he should also be prosecuted

He made a mistake and has paid for it in my mind, no need to add salt to the injury with a stupid post.

porsche boy · 22-06-2014 7:18pm

ignore visual's post suggesting you be done for dangerous driving, he's an ass.

I work in Tallaght, on my feet all day every day in a cold garage. I then have to get in my comfy warm car and do my nest to stay awake for the drive home.

I'm not ashamed to say I have pulled in to various garages to have a snooze, sometimes it's hit me so hard I've had to pull into the hard shoulder for a rest.

my wife gives me a hard time over it as on occasion I have been over an hour late home but at the end of it all I'm staying safe and protecting other drivers on the road too.

The other thing about it is I regularly see the same dozen or so cars doing the same as me so I never ffelr too bad!!!

Car crash at 75mph: was I lucky?

Comments