Did that really happen? Have you had "Near Misses"

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
A couple of months ago I was driving home along a busy road, there was a lady on a bicycle riding a little ahead of me on the footpath.
The footpath was blocked by a Telecom Protective fence so the lady attempted to go around it by riding up the slight incline closer to the road.
She lost her balance and toppled onto the road in front of me. Brakes applied very hard, screech of tyres, smell of burnt rubber.
I stopped 2 meters away from her. She was lying on the road, unhurt.
 

Yes, shortly after I learned to drive and was still quite nervous, my son and I were headed somewhere. We took the city streets not the highway. Some young men were playing frisbee or something and one (a big bruiser) jumped right in front of my car. I honestly thought I'd hit him but I stopped on a dime as the saying goes. He was walking back and forth in front of the car looking amazed saying "Lady...Wow!" and used a string of complimentary words (really...compliments!). He didn't realize he almost gave me a heart attack that day!
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
Yes, shortly after I learned to drive and was still quite nervous, my son and I were headed somewhere. We took the city streets not the highway. Some young men were playing frisbee or something and one (a big bruiser) jumped right in front of my car. I honestly thought I'd hit him but I stopped on a dime as the saying goes. He was like "Lady...Wow!" and used a string of complimentary words (really...compliments!). He doesn't realize he almost gave me a heart attack that day!
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Driving can be scary. We may do everything right and still have things go wrong.
 

In all the years riding motorcycles, I've only been down twice. Once deliberately (bear in the Pocono's), and the other was when I was cruising down a state highway and coming down a hill, a 1 ton van ran a stop sign and as I went down under the front of it, I saw his wheels heading for me. Kept the throttle open and between him hitting his brakes, and the wide open throttle, the bike shot out from underneath and pitched me and it into and over a guard rail and down an embankment. Broke a wrist, ankle, and hyper extended a knee, but, that was better the a dirt nap.
Me in yellow, van in green.

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squatting dog said:
In all the years riding motorcycles, I've only been down twice. Once deliberately (bear in the Pocono's), and the other was when I was cruising down a state highway and coming down a hill, a 1 ton van ran a stop sign and as I went down under the front of it, I saw his wheels heading for me. Kept the throttle open and between him hitting his brakes, and the wide open throttle, the bike shot out from underneath and pitched me and it into and over a guard rail and down an embankment. Broke a wrist, ankle, and hyper extended a knee, but, that was better the a dirt nap.
Me in yellow, van in green.

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Such a lucky escape. How long did recuperation take?
 
Bretrick said:
Such a lucky escape. How long did recuperation take?
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I don't remember for sure, 6 to 8 weeks I think. All I remember is the driver of the van had a heart attack thinking he'd killed me. I refused the ambulance because I didn't seem to be hurt. (at the time). Since I was about a quarter mile from home, my buddy came with his pickup and took the bike to my house. Next morning, my ankle and wrist were black, painful, and swollen, so I went to the hospital. X-rays showed the breaks. While putting on the cast, the dr. asked when this happened. Told him yesterday and he said how come you didn't come to the hospital then? Told him it didn't hurt yesterday. :)
The story gets weirder. A guy who was coming up the hill stopped and he was who called the law and the ambulance. Then he asked me if there was anything he could do. Well, I was on my way to my dad's house to fix his mower, so I told him to go up the hill and have my wife call my dad and tell him about the accident and tell him I wouldn't make it. Well, don't you know, he goes to my house and tells the wife I had a wreck and I'm not going to make it. :eek:
I tell you, I may be responsible for a bunch of her gray hair.
 
squatting dog said:
I don't remember for sure, 6 to 8 weeks I think. All I remember is the driver of the van had a heart attack thinking he'd killed me. I refused the ambulance because I didn't seem to be hurt. (at the time). Since I was about a quarter mile from home, my buddy came with his pickup and took the bike to my house. Next morning, my ankle and wrist were black, painful, and swollen, so I went to the hospital. X-rays showed the breaks. While putting on the cast, the dr. asked when this happened. Told him yesterday and he said how come you didn't come to the hospital then? Told him it didn't hurt yesterday. :)
The story gets weirder. A guy who was coming up the hill stopped and he was who called the law and the ambulance. Then he asked me if there was anything he could do. Well, I was on my way to my dad's house to fix his mower, so I told him to go up the hill and have my wife call my dad and tell him about the accident and tell him I wouldn't make it. Well, don't you know, he goes to my house and tells the wife I had a wreck and I'm not going to make it. :eek:
I tell you, I may be responsible for a bunch of her gray hair.
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Wow, your wife would have been so scared, then so relieved when she got to the hospital
 
Yes driving is scary. Had two young guys cross in front of me on the cross walk just as the light turned green for me. I had just started to go and hit the breaks. In this town with the homeless population we have, you really have to watch the ones on bicycles. They cross against traffic, in the middle of the street. They don't seem to care.
 
In my late teens, I was walking a few blocks to a night job at the post office. I stepped off a curb and was hit by a taxi that didn't stop at the stop sign. I rolled off the hood of the car, scraped my knees and that's about all I felt. The driver called an ambulance, though I felt okay. Got checked out at the hospital, and Dad picked me up to take me home. It could have gone differently if I had been a step earlier off the curb, or the driver was going faster. Oddly enough, I got a job at the taxi driver's insurance company .. I didn't sue.
 
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Most of close calls and WTF? moments driving i've had in some half century of driving were pretty routine, usually cause someone else was speeding, tailgating etc.

The craziest thing that ever happened to me was when i worked at UW in Laramie. The campus sits right in the middle of the town. Bike paths along the road, lots of pedestrian crossing lines, not all at lights or stop signs and since the students tend to ignore those anyway (whether in car, on bike or on foot) and sure don't look to see if there's traffic close before jaywalking i was always extra attentive to what was going on. i'm moving west on a street and i see a pedestrian step off the curb, where there's no crosswalk tho it's a logical spot to cross leaving campus. i stop. and i get rear ended. The screeching of the brakes makes the guy panic and hop back on curb.

Look in rear view it is a city police car that tapped me. Not hard enough to damage anything on my vehicle but clearly he was tailgating and not paying attention tho it was a time of day that had a lot of foot traffic. He comes to my window and says accusatorily: "There's no crosswalk, what did you stop for!!!" i point to the people on the curb and say: See the big guy in (whatever color, i've forgotten now) Jacket--he stepped of the curb. Would you rather i risk hitting him?" He calls his supervisor, who calls county Sheriff's office, they come out, one goes and talks to the guy i mentioned. Comes back and after getting my info tell me i can go. To the credit of the city cop, he did not go and ask the guy if he stepped into street, which might have made the guy feel intimidated into lying. But he made a general plea for 'witnesses' to stay put till county got there and they did.

Couple of weeks later some of us in break room are talking about traffic issues around campus and i tell that story. One woman laughs and says 'That was you?'. She'd heard the story from another officer she knew, didn't go into a lot of detail but apparently that officer had a rep being kind of doofus--nothing that resulted in serious injury to anyone but just a foul-up.
 
I had two experiences. As a senior in high school, my car lost control on a frost covered bridge. I passed between two head on vehicles. The second vehicle was a guy I knew - he said I was on two wheels! My car went off the road, made about a 50 ft jump based on missing tire tracks and was stopped by small trees. In the second case, about 2001 or 2002, my car gently slid on black ice into the path of a vehicle traveling at highway speed - there was no collision and I have no explanation other than God or angels.
 
I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at about 65+ mph. I was coming up on an RV that had stopped. In this particular section, there were guardrails on both sides of the road, and no pull off area. The RV was half on the berm, and half in the first lane. I got in the passing lane. Just as I was about go by the RV, a little 3, or 4 year old boy walked out into the passing lane. I didn't know what to do. If I went to the left, the guardrail would have just guided me right to him, and I did want to ram the RV. For a second, I thought to speed up, so he wouldn't know what hit him, because there was no way I was not going to strike him. Then, he walked a few steps toward the RV. I missed him by inches. Down the road, i had to pull over, I was shaking.
 
I doubt anyone drives for over 50 years without close ones; and ones that were worse than close. One I won't forget:
When I was around 25, I'm driving to my GF's for a date. A speeding car (doing around 70) is coming toward me in the opposite lane. He bounces off another car & is about to hit me head on. I swerved & he sideswiped me. A few seconds later, I heard a big crash & the scene is horrible. Police & paramedics arrive & police arrest him for DUI. I later found out what happened to the people in the other car. Two in the front seat were killed & a young woman in the back seat lost her leg. As far as I am concerned, there is NO punishment severe enough for drunk drivers; they are scum.

My other close ones involved stupid pedestrians - mostly young people texting while walking across the street.
 
A few weeks ago on a lovely afternoon, I had a close call. DH stepped off the sidewalk when the walk light came on; there’s a couple of second delay after the other direction light turns red so she definitely ran it at a high speed. I was slightly behind him. The driver was shocked when I let out a yell about 6 inches from her. Her rush was to reach a fast food restaurant.
 

Pinky said:
In my late teens, I was walking a few blocks to a night job at the post office. I stepped off a curb and was hit by a taxi that didn't stop at the stop sign. I rolled off the hood of the car, scraped my knees and that's about all I felt. The driver called an ambulance, though I felt okay. Got checked out at the hospital, and Dad picked me up to take me home. It could have gone differently if I had been a step earlier off the curb, or the driver was going faster. Oddly enough, I got a job at the taxi driver's insurance company .. I didn't sue.
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Wow, You got off lightly. Must be such a shock being hit by a car.
I would be super wary next time I stepped onto the road
 
I was in the right lane, about to turn right on red. Just in the nick of time, I saw a bicyclist come up beside me. He wasn't in a lane. I came so close to hitting him. In a contest between a Navigator and a bicyclist, guess who "wins" The guy was just plain stupid -- I had my blinker on and I was already beginning the turn. I am so glad I didn't kill him.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at about 65+ mph. I was coming up on an RV that had stopped. In this particular section, there were guardrails on both sides of the road, and no pull off area. The RV was half on the berm, and half in the first lane. I got in the passing lane. Just as I was about go by the RV, a little 3, or 4 year old boy walked out into the passing lane. I didn't know what to do. If I went to the left, the guardrail would have just guided me right to him, and I did want to ram the RV. For a second, I thought to speed up, so he wouldn't know what hit him, because there was no way I was not going to strike him. Then, he walked a few steps toward the RV. I missed him by inches. Down the road, i had to pull over, I was shaking.
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Very scary indeed. So close to a catastrophic outcome
 
Unlike most of you, I don't drive but being a pedestrian crossing streets can be very 'scary'
I had a 'near miss' yesterday,the light was red so I started walking across the street. The woman driver was turning left,she never looked to her right. If I had not stopped,no doubt in my mine she would of hit me I was so upset,shaking,screamed at her as she took off
I wonder how these ******drivers ever pass their road tests,get their licenses
 
moviequeen1 said:
Unlike most of you, I don't drive but being a pedestrian crossing streets can be very 'scary'
I had a 'near miss' yesterday,the light was red so I started walking across the street. The woman driver was turning left,she never looked to her right. If I had not stopped,no doubt in my mine she would of hit me I was so upset,shaking,screamed at her as she took off
I wonder how these ******drivers ever pass their road tests,get their licenses
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It is as if drivers forget the road rules. Or are distracted. Or are arrogant, thinking the road is theirs and too bad for anyone who wants to get in the way.
 
This thread has got me thinking. I've been awful lucky when it comes to near misses. (well, a guess they were hit's, just not fatal). I've been cut a bit by a viet cong in close combat, wrecked a perfectly good 57 (3 fools walked away), Blew myself up in a gas station grease pit, and last year, while I was dropping a tree, the top broke off and came whistling down and just missed my head (I had just turned away as it started to fall). (put the hurt to my leg). Destroyed the nerves I guess as I don't have feeling from my calf to my 2 toes.


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squatting dog said:
This thread has got me thinking. I've been awful lucky when it comes to near misses. (well, a guess they were hit's, just not fatal). I've been cut a bit by a viet cong in close combat, wrecked a perfectly good 57 (3 fools walked away), Blew myself up in a gas station grease pit, and last year, while I was dropping a tree, the top broke off and came whistling down and just missed my head (I had just turned away as it started to fall). (put the hurt to my leg). Destroyed the nerves I guess as I don't have feeling from my calf to my 2 toes.


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Wow, and here you are still with us. Amazing luck not to have been taken out by any one of those incidents.
 
squatting dog said:
This thread has got me thinking. I've been awful lucky when it comes to near misses. (well, a guess they were hit's, just not fatal). I've been cut a bit by a viet cong in close combat, wrecked a perfectly good 57 (3 fools walked away), Blew myself up in a gas station grease pit, and last year, while I was dropping a tree, the top broke off and came whistling down and just missed my head (I had just turned away as it started to fall). (put the hurt to my leg). Destroyed the nerves I guess as I don't have feeling from my calf to my 2 toes.


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Oh you poor man, you've been through so much! :cry:
 
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