Near misses

Cianos

Twice in the past week or so I have been nearly hit into by someone in the wrong lane on the roundabout. Today near Cherrywood off the M50 I was taking my exit from the inside lane and thankfully I was checking to my left otherwise the woman in the Punto (are we seeing some kind of pattern here!?) would have slammed straight into me. I had to break fairly fast and the driver behind me started beeping. Dont know if it was at me or the other driver :rolleyes:

gyppo

They're been a few near misses, but 2 stick in my mind.

Going from Tuam to Dunmore theres a series of about 3 90 degree bends 3 miles out from Tuam. About 12 years ago, I remember meeting a guy driving a bread van (it was something like a mercedes van - one of those ones with a very large windscreen), on thw wrong side of the road. He was ASLEEP!!, and coming my way. Stone walls either side of me, I leaned on the horn, the breadvan driver woke up, overcorrected, buried the nose of his van in the wall on his correct side, and came to a halt at a right angle to the road. The back wheel of his van and the front of my car were 3" apart.
I got out of the car, asked the other guy was he ok, and then I puked, probably when I realised just how close it was. The funny thing was, all that had happened appeared to be in slow motion, although 4/5 seconds was probably all it took.

The other close call was near Kiltoom (6 miles from Athlone, towards Roscommon). Was overtaking a cattle lorry going down a hill (broken white lines my side, solid line the other side). Halfway through the manouvre, a lady pulls our of her private entrance, looks to her right only, and proceeds out into the road, straight in front of me. Only for the driver of the cattle lorry was sharp, and pulled over the hard shoulder rapidly, a head-on collision was inevitable. As it was, i got out between the car and lorry with an inch to spare either side.
I spent some time afterwards digging my fingernails from the steering wheel:)
(ala steve martin in that clip from Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles).

LostinBlanch

Years ago I was driving a van full of double galzed units out to Newbridge. I was going up the hill past Rathcoole. This was before the motorway was built and you could still pull out and cross two lanes of traffic to get into Dublin from the Poitin Still.

I´m goin up the hill in the left hand lane at about 45mph (couldnät go any faster with a big load). There is an oil tanker pulling into the Poitin Still about 50 yards in front of me and one of those big Dan Ryan solid body trucks about 20 yards behind me in the overtaking lane. All of a sudden a lite ace pulled out across the road right in front of me, obviously he got impatient waiting for traffic to clear so he could cross the carriageway to get to Dublin. I am standing on the brakes and am going to hit the back of him turning him around to face the Dan Ryan truck. My van involuntarily moves to the left missing him by a couple of inches. It wasthe only time it ever did that when I braked.

I wonder how many (other) accidents the lite ace driver´s had since then, and how many people has he killed.

jozi

Had 2, both same situation, Roundabout in cavan, in the evening. Both times i approached the roundabout as you would, indicating, slowing down etc, no other traffic so i proceed to go around (still indicating) i clear the 1st exit which has a taxi coming towards it, does he slow down - off course not. Both times the taxi driver had skidded to a halt and i had stopped on the roundabout near the taxi.

At the junction in phibsboro, i was a pedestrian watching the lights, light goes amber traffic in 1 lane comes to a halt nothing for a few car lenghts in the other lane. MPV (woman driver) must have not see nthe red or amber light and kept driving one :S lucky for the motor biker that he seen her and he managed to slow down on time to avoid a colision. MPV driver didnt even seem to notice what she had done

manti452

I've had a few, some down to me and some to others :S

Last night was down to two idiots in the space of 30 seconds. Parked just up from the main door to the Rotunda on Parnell Sq, was just turning on lights and starting engine when the nice and the very gracious obligatory taxi driver sits about 3 feet behind my spot waiting for me to reverse out. So as I try and do that he's edging forward. A bus is waiting on the far side so some other muppet tries to squeeze thru the gap left. This means when I nearly clip the taxi trying to get out and the car next to me trying to get my car around the one next to me on opposite lock with the space he left me.. said muppet (if ur still with me :P) rips up the middle and nearly takes my wing and my gf with him .. thinking the way ahead is clear every one else proceeds thru the gap now bigger cos the taxi was into my spot 2 secs after I got out. So as I indicate and pull out.. heading up and to the right towards Barry's Hotel, some bint in a 106 with L plates is back out on the left side.. (plenty of space to pass there) however she swings extra wide so I jam on.. and the boy f*king racer in his black celica with blacked out windows leans on his horn at me for braking suddenly then dips into the gap and tears off weaving across both lanes. I just found a parking spot.. couldn't drive further I was so fit to be tied..

Last one was coming down the m50 after work (nbound) before the ballymun exit and traffic suddendly brakes. I had left good distance and was only doing 60 in the outside lane, but I missed a split second reaction as I thought they were merely slowing a little and not coming to a slow crawl. Was not going to stop in time to avoid the M5 in front of me so with brakes on swearved into the median (crossing one of these rare concrete sections and slid onto the grass.. ended up level with the driver :S

I now believe everyone is stopping regardless

Esel

patrickc2006 wrote:

the other day i was driving up the n7 (3 lanes) I was in the outside lane and went to move into the middle lane, I was half way into it when a dumper truck decided to move from the inside lane to the middle one at the same time, I just had to quickly swerve back into outside lane, that was scary.

This is a classic accident scenario. Always check before moving to centre lane from either side!

_Kaiser_

seamus wrote:

Then all of a sudden it dawns on me that he has stopped - he has no brake lights

The amount of cars and vans (even 40ft trucks) driving around with no brake lights working is scary!

6ix

It's a wet, but bright evening, and I'm driving on a regional road (barely two lanes) in the West, doing about 100kmp/h - there's a half-mile of straight ahead. I come around a slight bend, and unfortunately there's a dog in the middle of the road, about 100 metres away, and he's an old, fat, immobile dog. He's waddling on to my side of the road, trying to reach the house at the side of the road, but he's only about 1 foot from the white line. There's oncoming traffic, and no hard shoulder, so I had nowhere to go.(Fido's going to doggy heaven). Braked a bit harder, and tried to keep tight to the verge.

I felt a skid, and the car going a bit sideways as I squeezed past the dog. I was inches from the walls of the house. An adrenaline rush that I could do without, and all for an old dog.