Nearly met my end... Worst case of driving ever...

daveg

I was driving home, with my 5 year old son in the back of the car, the other day. I was driving from Galway towards Tuam on the N17. For those who know the road I went to turn off to the Roscommon road after ClareGalway (turn right lane in the middle of the main road). I pulled into the right hand turn lane when some f*cking tosser pulled without looking from the Roscommon road onto the Tuam road (from where I was about to turn into). The person failed to realise an articulated lorry was about to pass the turn. I could not believe what happened next... He swerved to miss the car which meant he was heading straight towards me. I had to swerve back into the main lane to my left (I'm amazed there wasn't a car passing on my right hand side). The lorry just missed me by inches (if I wasn't paying 100% attention he would have hit me head on). I was completly in shock and continued to take my turn off the N17. I looked in my rear view mirror to see the lorry driver had stopped in the middle of the road to have a "quiet chat" with the driver. I wished I had stopped. My worst experience ever on the road.

Mr E

Wow.... glad to hear no-one was hurt.

Although you didn't hang around to see what the lorry driver did to the tosser!

leeroybrown

I presume you're talking about the Lackagh turnoff?

We're talking about a clear unobstructed junction with a hard shoulder (you can get a full unobstructed view left and right without impeeding traffic) that has enough warning reflectors opposite it to do most dual carriageways, yet seems to be the source of some of the most stupid accidents in Galway. Some drivers I will never understand.

Dingatron

Luck escape! Is it my imagination or is people's driving getting worse. I drove to the petrol station (1/2 a mile) a few days ago and had 2 near misses on the way. What the hells going on out there?

daveg

leeroybrown wrote:

I presume you're talkinga bout the Lackagh turnoff?

Yep thats the one.

Victor

I understand the concept, but do you have all your left -v- right and car -v- trucks right in you description?

daveg

Victor wrote:

I understand the concept, but do you have all your left -v- right and car -v- trucks right in you description?

Maybe the attachment will tell a better story. Excuse my limited drawing capabilities.

seamus

LOL. I think Victor was referring to this:

daveg wrote:

(I'm amazed there wasn't a car passing on my right hand side)

Naturally, I assumed you meant left hand side....

daveg

seamus wrote:

LOL. I think Victor was referring to this:
Naturally, I assumed you meant left hand side....

Woops.... that should have read left hand side. Sorry.

D!ve^Bomb!

glad to now that no one was jurt.. i have to ask tho.. did your son in the back have a seat belt on? sorry but i gotta know

daveg

newband wrote:

glad to now that no one was jurt.. i have to ask tho.. did your son in the back have a seat belt on? sorry but i gotta know

Yes. Always. Would not leave the drive without him having it on. Rule number 1. But, to be honest, if that lorry had hit us head on at 55 mph I don't think a seatbelt would have saved either of us.

Dingatron

Yes. Always. Would not leave the drive without him having it on. Rule number 1.

Always make sure my kids have the seatbelts on. Have been hit once with them in the car already. Thank god it wasn't bad. The guy got some shock when he saw the kids, hopefully he takes more care now.

Interceptor

That junction is particularly dangerous as there is a 'merge' section when you turn left after coming from Lackagh - lots of spanners don't even slow down before swinging onto it. Glad you weren't hurt. The N17 is used by so many incompetant drivers - it is common to see drivers doing 50mph on the hard shoulder and swerving out into traffic when someone pulls out of their driveway.

I've stopped using the N17 and use the Headford Road instead - no use for going to Roscommon though.

'c

daveg

interceptor wrote:

That junction is particularly dangerous as there is a 'merge' section when you turn left after coming from Lackagh - lots of spanners don't even slow down before swinging onto it.

This tosser didn't even turn onto the hard shoulder though. He pulled straight onto the road which made it worse again.

Interceptor

Like I said - it is very common to see drongo's on that road pull straight on - the junction at Corrandulla National School is the same - people pull on to it at 30mph into traffic moving at 60mph, I had to pull onto the rhs of the road to avoid a Transit last week doing the same thing - I really thought he was going to stop at the white line.

'c

P.S And don't get me started on the flute in the Maxx'ed Focus which nearly put me in the weeds on the Headford road this morning - I've got your number missus. I moved to Galway to get away from traffic - looks like its caught up with me again....

K2

I had to drive from Mayo to Dublin and back yesterday, and the number of people pulling out at junctions without using the hard shoulder to build up speed is amazing. It means you have to brake hard or go around them but they don't appear to realise how dangerous their actions are.

Anyhow, saw it all this morning. A woman driving in castlebar and playing the tin whistle at the same time! When I glanced in the rear view mirror I thought it was just a big straw from a drink but then at a roundabout she put both hands on the wheel and there is was! Wow, seen it all now, that beats the artic driver I saw last month , reading a newspaper spread out on the steering wheel while driving thro Partry.

Victor

Do I have this correct?

I was driving home, with my 5 year old son in the back of the car, the other day. I was driving from Galway towards Tuam on the N17. For those who know the road I went to turn off to the Roscommon road after ClareGalway (turn right lane in the middle of the main road). I pulled into the right hand turn lane when [strike]some f*cking tosser[/strike] another car pulled ... from the Roscommon road ([strike]from where[/strike] to which I was about to turn into) ... onto the Tuam road without looking. The [strike]person[/strike] other car failed to realise an articulated lorry coming from Tuam was about to pass the turn. I could not believe what happened next... [strike]He[/strike] The truck swerved to miss the other car which meant he was heading straight towards me. I had to swerve back into the main lane to my left (I'm amazed there wasn't a car passing on my [strike]right[/strike] left hand side). The lorry just missed me by inches (if I wasn't paying 100% attention he would have hit me head on). I was completly in shock and continued to take my turn off the N17. I looked in my rear view mirror to see the lorry driver had stopped in the middle of the road to have a "quiet chat" with the driver. I wished I had stopped. My worst experience ever on the road.

daveg

Victor wrote:

Do I have this correct?

Perfect.

Anyhow, saw it all this morning. A woman driving in castlebar and playing the tin whistle at the same time! When I glanced in the rear view mirror I thought it was just a big straw from a drink but then at a roundabout she put both hands on the wheel and there is was! Wow, seen it all now, that beats the artic driver I saw last month , reading a newspaper spread out on the steering wheel while driving thro Partry.

that beats my second experience of the worst driving ever. A woman, on the menlo park hotel roundabout, on the phone whilst drinking a bottle of water (ie no hands on the steering wheel). I wondered why she veered across the roundabout towards me :rolleyes:

seamus

Victor wrote:

Do I have this correct?

Almost [strike]pedant[/strike]Victor, except

[strike]from where[/strike]to which I was about to turn into

Could change the meaning of the sentence. It's written in the first-person sense, moreso than the narrative sense, so this changes the context of sections in brackets. The "from" is very important as it helps to paint a clearer picture of how the situation stands. If one wasn't familiar with the area, "to which" removes the familiarity from the sentence, and blurs the picture of the situation in one's mind.

So to write it as "from the road into which I was about to turn" (you don't put "to" at the start and "into" at the end) is probably the best middle ground, as it solidifies the grammar while retaining the context and meaning. Although "from where", while rough around the edges, still maintains the message that daveg was originally trying to convey.


I sincerely hope the sarcasm isn't lost, and you take this post in mirth

MrPudding

I expect the driver was from the north. After all, apparently the only bad driving in thi scountry is carried out by those dispicable northies.

MrP

Dingatron

I've actually come to the conclusion that when the northies come down here and see our driving they have to adapt to our ways. Think they're equally as bad, but not any worse.