Car crashes- have you ever been in an accident/ had a near miss?

mdwexford

Written off a Polo and then a Focus.

First one a van didnt stop at an intersection and came flying into the side of me.
Van driver split his head open due to not wearing a seatbelt.
Went to court and I won because the incident had been caught on cctv.

Second I lost control coming from Carrick towards the roundabout in Waterford.
Car went into a spin and went across all 4 lanes onto the other side of the road, luckily it was 2am and no other cars were on the road.
Car hit the railings stopping me from going into the water, windscreen smashed in and car bounced back out onto the road.

I somehow got out of both without a scratch, lucky lucky human.

pablo128

I probably have a near miss once a week on average. You would wonder just what is going through peoples minds as they're driving, because it's not concentrating on the road, that's for sure.
Last night I was coming up to a roundabout in the left lane, indicating left and intending to turn left. There was a people carrier slightly ahead in the right hand lane, indicating right. Just as I drew alongside, the idiot came swerving into my lane for no apparent reason causing me to stand on the brakes. The gas thing is he/she still turned right at the roundabout!

tayto lover

Was in a fatal accident as a passenger years ago. Was lucky enough to survive. My two friends died at the scene. We hit a parked lorry.
Slow down people.

JamBur

I was driving a rental car in Romania a few years back, and had a spin. It was mid summer so extremely hot and dry, but there had been a little rain which left the road greasy. Going up hill in an overtaking lane, past a truck. The road was twisty, I span 180 degrees in front of the truck, I could see him coming towards me! I ended up hitting the barrier, and he trundled on past.

mitosis

McChubbin wrote: »

Once, when I was around 14, I was travelling with my father, brother and stepmother down to some place in the country. We were speeding along a quiet and narrow country dirt road when, out of nowhere, a camper van came ploughing down the road coming in the opposite direction. It was a near head-on collision but luckily my father slammed on the breaks in time. The jolt threw me forward despite wearing a seat belt and I ended up with a severe case of whiplash that still gives me problems to this day.
Moral of the story: Always check which way the traffic is going when going down old country dirt roads... still shudder thinking about it.
My life flashed before my eyes that time.

And maybe travel at an appropriate speed.

cazzer22

pablo128 wrote: »

I probably have a near miss once a week on average. You would wonder just what is going through peoples minds as they're driving, because it's not concentrating on the road, that's for sure.
Last night I was coming up to a roundabout in the left lane, indicating left and intending to turn left. There was a people carrier slightly ahead in the right hand lane, indicating right. Just as I drew alongside, the idiot came swerving into my lane for no apparent reason causing me to stand on the brakes. The gas thing is he/she still turned right at the roundabout!

This is very similar to what happened to me. I was in the left hand lane and realised I needed to go the whole way around (one of the bigger roundabouts- not well signposted) and there was a car in the right hand lane (not indicating) so, therefore assumed he was going the whole way around. I slowed down and indicated to tuck in behind him when all of a sudden he swerved into my lane right across me. So terrifying!

bee06

I was in an accident about 7 years ago when going through a junction the car coming the other way turned to go right as I was approaching the junction. I almost stopped in time but was going down hill so she caught my front bumper. Then tried to claim on my insurance after and held up my claim on her insurance when that didn't work. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Had a near miss coming out of an intersection and turning right ... A car coming from the right along the main road had it's indicator on to turn into my intersection so I made my turn. He wasn't turning though, just never turned off the indictor from a previous turn. I'll never forget seeing the car coming straight for me but luckily they stopped in time. Since then I never trust that another driver will do what they are supposed to do or what they are indicating to do.

akura

I crashed on the 4th of July last year. Lift-off oversteer going around a bend on a road I wasn't familiar with in the pouring rain. I tried to correct it but ended up crashing into a wall and spinning about 20 feet up the road. The car was fairly crumpled but I was fine.

Rasheed

Yep I was a passenger in a crash. Broke 8 ribs, my breast bone, my collar bone, 7 vertebrae , two punctured lungs and about 30 stitches all over the show. Horrific isn't the word for the fall out from it. It has impacted every single second of my life since, mentally and physically, and will continue to do so until I'm facing the rising sun.

Mind each other as best you can.

BetterThanThou

A few years ago I was in the car with my mother on the M50. The car in front of us slammed on for seemingly no reason, my mother reacted quick enough and had enough distance to stop, but upon stopping, the car that was behind us hit into the back of us. Luckily, no one was injured, despite it being fairly high speed. My mother's car wasn't too badly damaged and was fixed for around 1k, I believe. But the other guy's car was severely damaged, I'm not sure if he could even drive it away afterwards.

Santa Cruz

SouthTippBass wrote: »

Was the reason still unknown after? Why did she stop?

You are trying to find a reason why a woman would do anything!

Temptamperu

I got hit by an old lady who cut a red light... i was cyclist scum at the time so it wont count here

poundapunnet

Temptamperu wrote: »

I got hit by an old lady who cut a red light... i was cyclist scum at the time so it wont count here

Oh my god you probably traumatised that poor old lady you cycling bastard!

Samsgirl

FatherLen wrote: »

I was once in a car on the n7 and the woman in front of us slammed on the breaks for some unknown reason. we stopped just in time behind her but the car behind us didn't and smashed into the back of us. car was fairly squished but luckily we all walked away without a scratch. 'twas fairly frightening.

Almost exact same thing happened to me. Was on N7 driving into Dub one Friday evening. The car two cars in front of me stopped to look at a crash on the opposite side of the dual carriageway. I stopped without hiting into the back of the car in front of me. I remember looking over the bonnet thinking phew, that was lucky. Seconds later a car slammed into the back of my car, shunted my car forward into the back of the car in front.
I hurt my back pretty bad & 12 years later I'm still sore from it.

herisson

when i was 15, a learner driver pulled out in front of us on a busy stretch of road. We hit them at my side, the side completely crushed up. Thankfully, i escaed lightly.

Smashed knee cap, a large cut from the seat belt, from my neck down my chest and my entire torso was bruised as a result.

Could have been a lot worse.

Pedro K

Not in the car. I ride a motor cycle as well though, and have idiots pull out in front of me at junctions, or change lanes without checking on a daily basis.

Haven't been knocked off my bike yet though. You learn to spot when an idiot is driving and adjust your own position.

alrightso

I was driving a narrow country road around a bend at night time and came across 3 horses spread out over the road.. by the time I spotted them it was too late to stop and it was either veer off the road and into a wall or keep going.. hadnt much time to think or do anything so I hit 1 of them, one of the horses legs came through the windscreen smashing all the glass in on top of me and he rolled over the top of the car bringing the roof down on top of me... scariest moment of my life to date, I sat in the car not moving out of shock for a good half an hour until a car passed and stopped. They were travellers horses and couldn't be traced the gardai later told me.

Waking-Dreams

Back in January 2013, at about 4.30am, as I was coming from Dublin, making my way Northbound into Gormanstown (between the two Applegreen petrol stations), this lorry driver heading in the opposite direction flashed his lights at me.

“Strange”, I thought, as it was far too late for a Garda checkpoint so I just reduced my speed (I was already adhering to the 80km limit) and kept going around the corner, approaching the second of the two Applegreen stations.

I was trying to figure out what the driver had warned me about. I couldn’t see any accident up ahead or obstruction and then suddenly, these two human shapes just appeared in front of me in the middle of the road – two idiots had decided to walk up the middle of the left side of the road (as if deliberately walking straight towards my vehicle), staggering, pissed drunk probably and dressed in black. This is not a stretch of road you normally require your high beams either.

Luckily, I had reduced my speed and had enough time to swerve onto the other side of the road and avoid them. Had I been doing the speed limit, there’s no doubt I would not have had the time to avoid a head-on collision and an absolute disaster of a motor accident.

I am so grateful to the lorry driver. They obviously spotted them on the road in passing and then saw me headed towards them. It’s mad how such a small effort such as flashing your headlights can alter the course of events.

Mars Bar

A bus I was on that was bringing students to college was ran into by a fella in a van. The van driver and our lovely bus driver died at the scene. My face took a hefty slap off the seat in front of me. I had a massive bump on my face and my upper body was in bits.

That was nothing compared to the mental anguish though. It took the best part of 8 months to get out of the funk and my final year in college suffered hugely as a result.

I'm driving now though and I've been fortunate so far. *touches wood*

LynnGrace

None as a driver, <touch wood>
In one as a passenger, I took the worst of the impact, but thankfully, all was well in the end. No long term injury.

hairyprincess

Haven't been involved in any accidents thank God, but I was first on the scene at two minor accidents and when I was in secondary school a guy was killed in front of the school. We came walking along from the town after lunchbreak just after a sheet had been placed over the body. That was horrific.

Sir Arthur Daley

I rolled a car as a young lad and had alot of near misses in my 16 years of driving, i hate though people saying the word "accident" implying no one is at fault.

pablo128

WikiHow wrote: »

I rolled a car as a young lad and had alot of near misses in my 16 years of driving, i hate though people saying the word "accident" implying no one is at fault.

True, but no-one sets out in the morning in their car thinking "I'm going to belt into someone today for the crack".

WikiHow

WikiHow wrote: »

I rolled a car as a young lad and had alot of near misses in my 16 years of driving, i hate though people saying the word "accident" implying no one is at fault.

True, accidents are few and far between, most collisions are caused by bad driving or inattention by others.

An accident would be something like a tree falling down right in front of you or similar, causing you to crash.

truedoom

when i was a new driver, i was driving in town. Car in front of me stopped suddenly. swerved and hit the brakes. Was raining and car slid.

Hit his back bumper. Gave it a tiny crack.

Crumpled the driver side wing on my car (98 almera, essentially made of tinfoil).

Yer man was sound, said not to worry about it. Shook his hand and went our separate ways.

shuffles88

Samsgirl wrote: »

Almost exact same thing happened to me. Was on N7 driving into Dub one Friday evening. The car two cars in front of me stopped to look at a crash on the opposite side of the dual carriageway. I stopped without hiting into the back of the car in front of me. I remember looking over the bonnet thinking phew, that was lucky. Seconds later a car slammed into the back of my car, shunted my car forward into the back of the car in front.
I hurt my back pretty bad & 12 years later I'm still sore from it.

Reading this thread makes me think that the N7 must be the place to jam on the brakes for no good reason, as this also happened to me but thankfully the driver behind me, though he was speeding and probably not paying full attention, reacted quickly and went into the hard shoulder rather than into the back of my car. I'll never forget seeing him coming and thinking "this is going to hurt".

Reiketsu

I was in the car with my Ma once. We had just came off the Foyle Bridge in Derry and were watching at the roundabout at the bottom until it was safe to pull out.

Some plonker behind drove into the back of us and hit us with such force that we were pushed into two lanes on the roundabout. We were so bloody lucky that it had JUST cleared, could have been a bad one. For whatever reason, he thought we were driving on and just plowed on ahead. Cops came, took is details....his details turned out to be false and the car was neither taxed or insured. Both my Mum and I ended up with whiplash. That was 12 years ago and I'm still sore from time to time and have headaches so bad that I feel sick.

When on the bus home from school once, a car came flying out of a side road, flipped 3 times and landed on its roof. The driver climbed out without a scratch, albeit as white as a sheet.

TeddyTedson

Car crash, no. However I was knocked down by a motorcycle as a child and remember the pain it caused me. I was out of school for over a month because of it. I was dragged along the ground and most of the skin was taken off my back. The most painful thing to ever happen to me. I hit my head quite hard too but it was nothing compared to the pain of my skin being peeled of against the road.

131spanner

My most memorable close miss was back when I hadn't much experience driving around the town and I remember tearing about in the sisters Micra. One day I was approaching a red light with an Avensis stopped before me. Maybe 20 yards back I gave the brakes a touch and with a combination of wet road / bad tyres / light car, it started to skid. It was the scariest five seconds of my life before I came to a stop about six inches off his back bumper. Nerve racking stuff for a 17 year old :rolleyes:

take everything

Couple of years ago now, a gang of german tourists in a rental Transit van driving on the wrong side of the road hit me head on. Braked sufficiently to avoid serious impact (not a nice feeling at all- things do actually go in slow motion and it's a real unpleasant feeling of "ah fcuk this" helplessness). Anyway, fortunately nobody was hurt but my car was written off. I was completely blameless of course but it was still so much hassle dealing with insurance/assessors etc.

The german lads i'd say just fcuked off home to leave the rental company deal with it. Doubt their insurance premiums were even affected.
I wondered afterwards if tourists driving on the wrong side of the road is an issue or were this crowd just clowns.