Any near death experiences?

MagicMarker

So, this morning I was traveling from Tallaght to Sandyford via the M50, approx 8.30.

There were two cars in close proximity in front of me, all 3 of us were in the outside lane. All of a sudden I noticed a breakdown truck a little further down the road with the lights flashing on top, at first I didn't even see that it was stationary but obviously the lead car slowed down, as did myself (only 2 lanes here for those not familiar with the M50) and eventually we come to a complete stop behind the truck. At this point all I was concerned about was how I was going to get around this thing with cars wizzing past on the inside lane.

So of course, the first thing I do is look in my wing mirror to see if there's a gap, but the main thing I see is a new Seat Ibiza heading straight for me at what looked like lightening speed!!! From there everything seemed to slow down, I was just staring at this car in the mirror and bracing myself for impact, as she got closer I could see her reacting like a women about to die, making those funny faces you do in a moment of terror. I don't know how, but she managed to stop the car with literally inches to go.

Thinking about it now, I should have maybe stuck on the hazards as soon I slowed, but everything that happened was in the space of about 10 seconds, I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made.

So, I'm grateful to be alive, or at the very least in one piece. She looked really shook up after she stopped!

Anyone else have any close calls?

Anan1

Yeah, tailgating combined with poor observation will has been known to bring on a near-death experience.:)

Drummerboy08

That happens to me alot on the M50. I come up from the Ballinteer exit to the Ballymount exit.

Lots of stopping and starting on that stretch of road, and the traffic is liable to stop with little or no warning.

What really annoys me is, when you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front, some c*nt always takes it up.

I had one of those moments when i crashed my car two years ago.

I was dropping a friend home from the local nightclub, and it was a cold night. Came up to a tight right hander, slowed down more than i would usually cos i knew there would be ice down, and i hit a patch of black ice on the road. Car went from under me, i couldnt slow down enough to clear the corner, so i ended up going thru the hedge into a tree. Its just the moment that everything slows and you see the hedge coming towards you. Its like "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Shhhhhhhhhhh***********tttttt!

Car was a write off, apparently the copper who attended the scene said i was lucky to walk away. I dont remember a whole lot after the impact.

PS - never use one of those cheap mobile phone holders that go into the air vent! The phone came out at impact and hit me in the face, and broke the lense in my glasses!

Berty

I have had many close calls because I drive so much. I drive around 1500-2000kms a week.

Only earlier today a truck on a R road came very close to me causing me to scrape past all the bushes. I slapped myself afterwards because I just rented a car this morning and opted not to take anything other than the standard insurance. :mad:

On the Condell road in Limerick I was stopped like you were but in heavy traffic not moving at all. Its like this every day so the car if from the area should have known better. He couldnt stop in time but went along the inside of me(hard shoulder) and his car was sideways scraping along the ditch. He passed another 4-5 cars before he came to a stop at an angle up ditch. I passed him and he was shaking like a ****ting dog texting somebody. He must have gotten such a fright he just didnt want to make eye contact with anybody.

I also saw a truck jacknife in Germany and cars just kept pumelling into the side of it. One car turned sideways and flipped around 4 times in the air. It was frightening.

MagicMarker

Anan1 wrote: »

Yeah, tailgating combined with poor observation will has been known to bring on a near-death experience.:)

She wasn't tailgating me. Far from it.

Yakult

jesus. close one man, I always put on hazzards on the main if I gotta slow down by alot of speed. Some people mightent realised you have even stopped.

I only ever had 3.

first one was, coming up to a L shaped bend at around 40 mph, went tp apply the brakes and the car just started sliding so I had to let off the brakes and hope for the best. So I locked in the direction of the bend and made it barely without going into the ditch. If their was another car in the opposite direction it would have been nasty

Second one: coming around a fairly light bend at 60 and hit what i could tell was alotta dirt from a tractor just gone by. the rear of the car swung out and I was looking at the ditch while the car was sideways. Didint panic and just locked straight away and recovered. once again, luckily no cars.

Third one: ON the way into town, and theirs a bend with a turn off straight after it, you cant see whats around it at all. came around it and a tractor was pulling out. Slammed the brakes and turned the steering wheel in the direction away from the tractor so i would atleast go into the ditch if I was to get that far and the fool kept pulling out. I was about an inch away, but if he had stopped in the first place I could of got pass him without nearly crashing.


thats its really.

Limerick Bandit

MagicMarker wrote: »

She wasn't tailgating me. Far from it.

It sounds like you were doing the tailgating as you couldnt see that the truck was stopped, so your poor observation and failure to use your hazards could have made the situation a lot worse.

mik_da_man

I was travelling along a back road @ about 60 Mph when I was 18 in my dad’s jeep. I didn't know the road too well at the end of a straight there was a dip and a right hand bend, as i approached it a white 407 came up over the dip doing about the same speed as me (far too fast for the road)
I swerved up onto a grass verge and narrowly missed him. As I passed him the jeep jumped a bit and nearly clipped his car, I can remember the look on his face!. When I got past him I tried to go back onto the road but when the right hand wheel hit the tarmac it sent the jeep into a spin I seen road, ditch, the back of the Peugeot, more ditch, road, and ended up with the passenger side of the jeep beside the gable wall of a House.
I was well shaken and wanted to get out, but my passenger couldn't because we were too close to the house for the door to open.
I can remember every second of that and it was nearly 10 years ago, still can hear the mad screech from the tyres and the smell of burning rubber

Oh Yeah - yer man in the 407 just ploughed on..

Gone Drinking

MagicMarker wrote: »

Any near death experiences?

I was diagnosed with a rare breathing problem as a baby.. but i pulled through it.

Thank god!!

mike65

Were you driving that young?

A few rolled a car which had its rear passenger area of the roof caved in, but closest to a wipe out was going to work, rounding a bend to see a reckless fecker pulling back in to his side, a split second later for him or earlier for me and we'd both have been killed (I like to think he'd have been killed more).

smash

that's a close call, hardly a near death experience though.

Hal1

In the outside lane too Magicmarker, shame!:pac:.

Mena

Worst one for me was around 17 years ago, I'd only had my license about a year or so.

I was doing around 70/75Mph up a dual-carriageway type road (70Mph was the posted speed limit) when a vehicle decided not to stop at a stop sign. She was coming in from a minor road to join the main one.

It all happened instantly (as these things do). All I recall is seeing her face, a look of shock, and the faces of her kids in the back of the vehicle as I barrelled towards them. I recall making a concious decision to swerve and hit the front of her car so as not to hit the kids, which is what happened, but in hindsight that's probably a thought process I manufactured after the event, it was just all too quick.

The next thing I recall is sitting outside what was left of my car, covered in blood, telling some person not to tell my dad I had "dinged" the car... which was a total write-off. Shock is a "funny" thing.

In those split seconds before I actually hit the car, I remember thinking, right, that's it, game over. Off course being so young, I had no safety-belt on.

Couple of weeks in the hospital sorted me out (the lady driver and her kids turned out to be fine, some minor whiplash and bruising etc).

After that I did some professional defensive driving classes, wore my seatbelt, and bitched and complained about the road so much that they lowered the speed limit and installed a set of traffic lights at the "junction".

Good end result but scared the crap out of me at the time.

cashmni1

Rolled up to a red light at a T junction at Turners cross in Cork last August Bank holiday Monday. I was carrying on straight. There was traffic about to merge (right) through the intersection. Their set of lights had just turned green. At the moment the car started to move a green '99 megan saloon passed me, from behind, on the wrong side of the road doing about 60 mph !! And straight through the intersection, just missing the aproaching car. Joyriders.
What I did not realise was the traffic that had stopped behind me, one of the cars was clipped by the joyriders as they tried to avoid the traffic que at the lights. I could see the speeding car heading for the next junction. A girl in a Suzuki swift wasn't so lucky. There is a small roundabout painted on the road where traffic from the south link can go to Douglas or back for Turners cross. She was just on the roundabout when they hit her.
I was back at the lights, stunned at what I just saw. People were standing out of cars. All I could see was the megan smashing into something and bits flying everywhere. I thought that there was a fatalaty for sure. I drove up to the scene, the swift was spun around with the girl removed from the car. She was ok. There was a car horn stuck on, and bits of car everywhere. Passers by, helped her out of the car. The megan, with all four doors open and airbags blown was empty. Aparantely, 2 guys and 2 girls. Off their heads, had survived and fled the scene.
A few seconds earlier or later that girl was dead.The megan only caught the rear quater panel of the swift and spun it around. Lucky girl. In shock but OK.

stealthyspeeder

Gone Drinking wrote: »

I was diagnosed with a rare breathing problem as a baby.. but i pulled through it.

Thank god!!

I dont think I've read one of your quotes and not p*ssed myself laughing Gone drinking!

My "near death" experiece was when I was rippin around some country roads near my home when it was dark, I saw the single light of what I presumed to be a motorbike on the far verge coming toward me, but it was another car with his right headlight out who was bombing along too! We missed bumbers, both smashed our right handside wingmirrors of each other and I personally need a new pair of pants!

MagicMarker

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

It sounds like you were doing the tailgating as you couldnt see that the truck was stopped, so your poor observation and failure to use your hazards could have made the situation a lot worse.

Firstly, I wasn't tailgating and my observation wasn't poor. I observed the fact that there was an obstruction ahead, I noticed the cars in front of me slowing and I followed suit with no difficulties what so ever.

While hazards would be ideal, it's not my job to ensure the person behind me doesn't kill me. It's theirs.

cashmni1

mik_da_man wrote: »

I was travelling along a back road @ about 60 Mph when I was 18 in my dad’s jeep. I didn't know the road too well at the end of a straight there was a dip and a right hand bend, as i approached it a white 407 came up over the dip doing about the same speed as me (far too fast for the road)
I swerved up onto a grass verge and narrowly missed him. As I passed him the jeep jumped a bit and nearly clipped his car, I can remember the look on his face!. When I got past him I tried to go back onto the road but when the right hand wheel hit the tarmac it sent the jeep into a spin I seen road, ditch, the back of the Peugeot, more ditch, road, and ended up with the passenger side of the jeep beside the gable wall of a House.
I was well shaken and wanted to get out, but my passenger couldn't because we were too close to the house for the door to open.
I can remember every second of that and it was nearly 10 years ago, still can hear the mad screech from the tyres and the smell of burning rubber

Oh Yeah - yer man in the 407 just ploughed on..

407 was only released in 2005 - do you mean 406?
Anyway, close call !!

Cookie_Monster

Mena wrote: »

After that I did some professional defensive driving classes, wore my seatbelt, and bitched and complained about the road so much that they lowered the speed limit and installed a set of traffic lights at the "junction".

Good end result but scared the crap out of me at the time.

Good to hear some positive coming from it at least

mik_da_man

cashmni1 wrote: »

407 was only released in 2005 - do you mean 406?
Anyway, close call !!

Yep - 406 old shape - my bad.
That was my closest call when I was driving.
Have been in a few crashes which were worse where I was not driving.

Worst prob was in a mates car on back roads again - too fast again!
It was a old Jetta - built like a tank (Thank god)
yer man driving came across a bridge too fast with a sweeping right bend, I was sitting behind the passenger and when we went across the bridge I knew we lost it. We started to slide and I looked out the side window to see what we would hit.
All I could see were a set of headlights!, I braced myself for impact and we got T-Boned. Lucky to walk away from that one with only some cracked ribs and pretty nasty bruising.
That was a proper "it's all over" moment
The fire brigade said that only for the Jetta was such a solid car it would have been much worse

Slig

I dont know about near death but i have had plenty of near crashes (which if happened would have been death)

There is nothing dramatic, I used to drive from Waterford to Sligo and back every monday, between people taking corners on the wrong side of the road, people parking their cars on bends or the wrong side of the road, people tailgating and me not always driving at the correct speed for the roads I would average about 1 per trip.

There was one stretch of road outside Borris-in-Ossery that there is a humpback railway bridge. The road is one of those windy 2 laned country roads that all the bends are cambered and there are no potholes, lovely to drive on (properly drive). I remember coming across the bridge to find that somebody in a cattle lorry had reversed into a roadside gate to release its cargo.

The only problem was he had left the lorry taking up both sides of the road with only a small bit of tarmac between the lorry and a stone wall. There was nobody on the road to warn people, it was dusk and the road was wet. I had an old car and I knew if I braked I would have understeered right into him so I somehow managed to scrape by with one wheel on the road and one halfway up the stonewall, ripped the front tyre off the wheel but that was the only damage done.

roosterman71

I was heading out the Old Cratloe road in Limerick on bright September afternoon in my fathers Combo van. Was tipping along, and then went round a left hander but not at an excessive speed (40/50 mph). Met an oncoming bin lorry. I hit the brakes, and steered into the ditch to avoid him. I would have only there was an old wall covered in grass on the passenger side. The front wheel hit it, and the van bounced out. The safety rail on the truck came in through the driver door and into the seat beside me. Another 2 inches it would have ripped my middles apart.

Made bits of the front of the van, as well as gearbox, clutch and engine flywheel. Also the door and drivers seat were wrecked. Had no insurance either so was hoping the guards wouldn't be called. But they were Told them i'd insurance and they seemed happy enough. It was no ones fault really, so the bin crowd paid for their damage, I paid for the van - nearly 5k. Thats was tough since i was starting 3rd year in college.

zulfikarMD

My worst experience was while travelling to Limerick from Dublin nov-2007. It is fortunate that me, my wife and my baby (one & half months old) came out of horrific accident which took life of my mother and mother-in-law (both of them were on short visit to ireland from India and Pakistan). On Secne garda told me you were very lucky being a driver survived. My wife had two surgeries and baby was found lying below the front passenger seat with minor scratch on her head.

Accident took place near Roscrea on N7 when Polish guy crashed into my car head on. Recently last week he was pleaded guilty in Nenagh Court and awarded 2 years jail and 2 years driving ban..

Still I dont understand why people who drive left hand cars in their native country are given persmission on irish roads to drive straight away.

Still I thank god who saved my life and pray for my mother and mother-in-law.

roosterman71

zulfikarMD wrote: »

My worst experience was while travelling to Limerick from Dublin nov-2007. It is fortunate that me, my wife and my baby (one & half months old) came out of horrific accident which took life of my mother and mother-in-law (both of them were on short visit to ireland from India and Pakistan). On Secne garda told me you were very lucky being a driver survived. My wife had two surgeries and baby was found lying below the front passenger seat with minor scratch on her head.

Accident took place near Roscrea on N7 when Polish guy crashed into my car head on. Recently last week he was pleaded guilty in Nenagh Court and awarded 2 years jail and 2 years driving ban..

Still I dont understand why people who drive left hand cars in their native country are given persmission on irish roads to drive straight away.


Still I thank god who saved my life and pray for my mother and mother-in-law.

Thats near where I live. I heard he got only 2 years, but is expected to be out by Christmas. He should be shot - and sent home to where he came from

Slig

zulfikarMD wrote: »

My worst experience was while travelling to Limerick from Dublin nov-2007. It is fortunate that me, my wife and my baby (one & half months old) came out of horrific accident which took life of my mother and mother-in-law (both of them were on short visit to ireland from India and Pakistan). On Secne garda told me you were very lucky being a driver survived. My wife had two surgeries and baby was found lying below the front passenger seat with minor scratch on her head.

Accident took place near Roscrea on N7 when Polish guy crashed into my car head on. Recently last week he was pleaded guilty in Nenagh Court and awarded 2 years jail and 2 years driving ban..

Still I dont understand why people who drive left hand cars in their native country are given persmission on irish roads to drive straight away.

Still I thank god who saved my life and pray for my mother and mother-in-law.

Think thats the nearest so far:eek:

itarumaa

I was driving a road that starts in Celbridge and eventually ends in Clane,

in that road there is a 90 degree corner, I drove too fast to that corner and rear end of the car left the road and fast too.

I floored it and kept if full throtle all the time, car went around 80-90 degrees sideways but I was late correcting the slide and then the turned to another way.

I continued sideways trough opposite lane and was then able to correct it.

Lucky save and if there would be any cars coming from opposite direction I would definitely crashed there.

SV

Span out on a roundabout at about 60-70ishmph

Don't know if I would have died but there was a few poles around I certainly wouldn't have liked to have collided with.

Stupid mistake and happened within my first month or so of driving..

Limerick Bandit

ClioV6 wrote: »

Span out on a roundabout at about 60-70ishmph

Don't know if I would have died but there was a few poles around I certainly wouldn't have liked to have collided with.

Stupid mistake and happened within my first month or so of driving..

Thats not a Stupid mistake
Thats Stupid Driving
60 to 70 mph on a roundabout :rolleyes:

smash

60-70ish on a roundabout..... practising drifting or something?

Mena

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

Thats not a Stupid mistake
Thats Stupid Driving
60 to 70 mph on a roundabout :rolleyes:

In fairness, there are roundabouts that can be taken at that speed, and there are others that require you to slow down to 10Mph. It all depends.

zulfikarMD

roosterman71 wrote: »

Thats near where I live. I heard he got only 2 years, but is expected to be out by Christmas. He should be shot - and sent home to where he came from

I am going to approach Minister of Justice and all relevant departments to spread my words to public. Not sure though How successful I would be. It's real shame that polish guy has not even apologised to me or my family even a single time for the loss i have suffered. Neither he was breath analyzed by the guards at the time of accident.

*Tripper*

One thats comes to mind for me is when I was rallying down in Connemara with-out a co-driver. Long story short, came to a severe, completely unexpected, right hander. Reefed the hand brake up and put the foot down. The car went completely sideways and drifted for about meters ten. I managed to keep the rear two inches from someone's front door and just about hold it on the corner. Heart never beat so fast!

Slig

seeing a bit of a trend here *cough* speeding *cough*:D

Ferris

Slig wrote: »

seeing a bit of a trend here *cough* speeding *cough*:D

That and crap roads, inexperienced drivers and foreign drivers too.

The RSA would agree with you tho and they're the ones in the know:rolleyes:

sunshinediver

While travelling home from a funeral in Cavan we were just outside Kells. The road had a gradual bend to the left. We were travelling at around 50MPH. A local farmer had left the gate to his field open. A bull wandered out straight in front of us and smash. The bulls head came thru the windscreen and his body flipped and landed on the car roof crushing us all. I was in the back at the time (was only 10) So i lay on my back and kicked out the rear windscreen. Firebrigade cut everyone else out. They were amazed we survived. Bits of the car all over the road. Suggested that only for the car being a VW (fairly solid) we'd all have been killed. Parents always bought VWs since. And this is not a load of bull..

*Tripper*

Thats a load of bull!

Slig

I was a passenger in my GFs punto on the way to collect my first jeep. We were in a long line of traffic on a fairly good road, it was dark and everybody was moving at about 40-50MPH and it was fairly relaxed.

A nissan micra pulled out of a side road in front of a car ahead, which crashed into its rear quarterpanel sending the micra spinning across the road towards the traffic coming the other way.

There was a lane in the middle of the road for traffic (coming towards us) to turn right and just as the micra was spinning across it a VW golf pulled into this lane and smashed into the micra stopping its progress.

The line of cars infront of us all braked (and piled up) but luckily we were able to make up the stopping distance by turning up the side road the micra had come from.

I went back to see if I could help anybody, the micra driver was fairly shook up but looked alright, the people that hit him first were OK aswell (there was a little girl in the car that looked very upset though) but when I got talking to the Golf driver she told me she was just after trading in an old 89 corsa for the golf that week, she reckoned if she was still driving the corsa she'd be dead.

Dartz

I got to see the oil sump of a Scania up close once. Driver didn't see me crossing the road. Bonk. Down. And a front wheel with maybe ten tonnes pushing down on it inches beside my head.

Oh well, what the hell.

There was also the time in Fethard on Sea, when I went into the water off a bicycle after coming barelling downhill from the direction of Carnivan bay and not being able to do anything but hit a stone wall and fly into the water, startling a few swans in the process.

ITDept

Once fell asleep while doing delivery work in the middle of the night for a food company back in Lincolnshire. Wouldn't have been so bad if I had been 'making haste' on a dual carriageway at the time.

Long story short: rolled the Mercedes Sprinter I was in quite a few times and was knocked out somewhere in the middle of all that. I emerged largely unscathed, the van didn't, so if anyone's looking for a good safe van I'd always recommend them.

jimbling

I've so many near death experiences that I couldn't be arsed going through them.
So, here's the most hair raising one.

Travelling down to west cork for a fun filled weekend. Car laden with people and booze. I turn a corner and there's a massive truck heading my way in the middle of the road.
Obviously my appearance startled the driver as he slammed on the breaks too hard and the truck jack-knifed.
I hit the breaks and in slow motion see the gigantic arse of the truck heading straight for us..... it pulled back onto the right side of the road literally inches from us.
We pulled over and sat in silence for about 15minutes. It was really ****ing scary. No question of survival.
Oh, and just remembered.... 10 minutes after re-starting the journey a dog ran out in front of the car and I had to slam on the breaks once more. Thought we'd never make it to crook.


there is another equally hair raising one, but that was on my bike and they're a dime a dozen

RobAMerc

In the early eighties a very large tree fell onto the bonnet and broke in half with the top half of the tree spinning round and slapping the drivers side of the car, spinning us all around 180 degrees before we stopped.

We were doing about 80mph at the time too.

I was a kid so the tree looked huge - but I would say it had a 5 of 6 foot diameter.

Car was a write off but have to say 1/2 second later, it would have landed on the roof - I wouldn't be here if it had !

Cookie_Monster

Dartz wrote: »

There was also the time in Fethard on Sea, when I went into the water off a bicycle after coming barelling downhill from the direction of Carnivan bay and not being able to do anything but hit a stone wall and fly into the water, startling a few swans in the process.

LOL:D

Limerick Bandit

Mena wrote: »

In fairness, there are roundabouts that can be taken at that speed, and there are others that require you to slow down to 10Mph. It all depends.

Name 1 that can be taken at 60mph?
Thats 96Kph, 70 is 112kph :eek:

L1011

Side ripped off car by a Dublin Bus that swerved to avoid rear-ended someone, I was in the drivers side rear passenger seat. My mother who, generally, can't drive to safe her life DID manage to this time and got up on the pavement - otherwise it would have been head on or ripping the side we were in off...

DB are exceptional slow to pay out too; as I remember...

tbaymusicman

coming out from waterford city in terrential rain with 2girls in the car doing about 30mph coz couldn't see 2ft when the girl in the front seat for some reason decided it would be a good idea to pull the handbreak without telling me and sending us in to a ditch an rolling about 12times befors sliding for lord knows how long due to the rain scary **** roof crushed around me and girl in the back got cut up pretty bad but the girl who pulled the handbrake was fine:eek::eek::eek:cost me a ****ing fortune never got a penny off her

tSubh Dearg

On a Sunday morning maybe 6 months ago I was heading towards Ballyfermot through Inchicore.

I had stopped at the traffic lights on the road coming onto the T Junction there. The light went green and I went to turn right towards the N4. Luckily I hestitated for just a moment before moving off, because just as I moved forward a woman came zooming across the junction from the right, despite the lights having long turned red.

She gave me a shocked look as she sped past. If I had moved off more quickly she would've ploughed right into my door and that would have been me gone.

Andrewf20

2 near deaths:

- Woman in Punto going wrong way around roundabout under M50 at Dundrum

- Old woman in Corolla running at red light 30 foot in front of me on Blanch roundabout over M50.

SV

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

Thats not a Stupid mistake
Thats Stupid Driving
60 to 70 mph on a roundabout :rolleyes:

No, it was at that speed I ended up going into the roundabout because my brakes locked up.

Smart chap you.

CJhaughey

tbaymusicman wrote: »

coming out from waterford city in terrential rain with 2girls in the car doing about 30mph rolling about 12times

30mph and you rolled 12 times?
Something wrong there I think.

boomer_ie

CJhaughey wrote: »

30mph and you rolled 12 times?
Something wrong there I think.

He could have rolled down the side of an embankerment on the side of the road for all we know

Plus in the shock of a moment like that you could visualise yourself rolling 50 times

Limerick Bandit

ClioV6 wrote: »

No, it was at that speed I ended up going into the roundabout because my brakes locked up.

Smart chap you.

But the thread is about real life, not what you did on your playstation

Mena

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

Name 1 that can be taken at 60mph?
Thats 96Kph, 70 is 112kph :eek:

I could name a few, but none of them in Ireland. But then, I doubt I've seen them all.