Ultimate "Close Calls" thread

BeauBlues · BeauBlues's Garage

Well, I'm driving home on the the freeway in mild traffic, doing an already fast speed, when I see an opening in the far right lane. So I gun it going really fast when I notice that there is a van in a merging lane and a semi truck in the lane next to it. Im already going way too fast to stop and im coming right down the middle between the two vehicles. So I just floor it barely missing the two cars that were about to crush me. I probably missed them by like one foot, mabye inches.

Anyone else have any exciting close calls? Be detailed.

North Coast Cab · North Coast Cab's Garage

Last week my wife cam home early from work. I was running behind myself and it looked like she would beat me home. Luckily I was just ahead of her and was able to divert her attention when she pulled in the drive. A quick "hi honey blah blah blah" and I got her inside. I was able to sprint to the front porch and grab the UPS package before she saw it.

John

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Parked on the the lower deck of a main artery bridge from Marblehead into Boston, old steel thing all gray steel, 3 lanes of stopped traffic in front, a maxivan speeding up from behind, sees the stopped traffic(me in my pristine '72 RS replica) stopped. He slams on his brakes goes into a giant fishtail, ending up inches from my backend through the steel, dangling half out over the river.

Fortunately traffic jam disolved seconds later, never did find out if he got wet.

MotoSook · 10-26-2004, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by North Coast Cab
Last week my wife cam home early from work. I was running behind myself and it looked like she would beat me home. Luckily I was just ahead of her and was able to divert her attention when she pulled in the drive. A quick "hi honey blah blah blah" and I got her inside. I was able to sprint to the front porch and grab the UPS package before she saw it.

John

Nice John...LOL. Just the first sentence got me. Never state that when the topic is "clos call."

Lots of close calls, like being spit back into traffic after a 720 spin from an off ramp back onto the 4 lane HWY in winter road conditions. S-10 pickup was coming up my rear, I lucked out and got pointed the right way, clutch-gas- and off I went! Talk about white knuckles. That love hate relationship of our rear bias!

The most memorable one was on my motorcycle. I was waiting for on coming traffic to clear and make a left turn onto a side street. Waiting, waiting, then the noise of locked wheels trying to bring a car to a halt. I let the clutch out and gas it all the gas I could and go out of there. (Always cover your clutch! On two wheels or four...or more).

Jgordon · 10-26-2004, 02:39 PM

I was on my ducati a couple of years back, cruising down columbus avenue. Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of yellow - turns out a cab is swerving across FOUR lanes of traffic, on the brakes with no turn signals. Came right at me. If I hadn't seen him I would have used his fender/hood as a springboard onto the street. Hit the brakes and swerved. Then when he came to a stop he got a nice boot-shaped dent in his door. Or so I heard.

MotoSook · 10-26-2004, 02:52 PM

Yep, I like to wear my steel toe boots when I ride..you never know when a large stone will jump up and try to mash your little pigs! And the steel will protect them in case a driver decides to throw his teeth at my feet.

...OK back on topic...

I was cruising home from work one night. I was at a place where two high speed highways merge toward a toll plaza. I merged onto the three laner. The far left lane was stopped for about 1/3 mile from the plaza. The middle and far right were still moving at a good clip. I was in the middle. Just as I was coming up to the first stopped car in the left lane, I here tires screaming. Someone came off the other highway and never slowed down. He/she wasn't expecting the backup and was likely watching the other two lanes...

He slamed right into the first car (probably with less than 50 feet of braking from 60+ MPH) as I was a the taillight, the next two cars got it too. I could see pieces of turnsignal lense flying across my windshield. Had I gotten in that left lane, it would have been me to get it first. I just kept driving...It would have been unsafe to stop. I hoped everyone was going to be OK as I drove on.

rdane · rdane's Garage

Not mine but worth a mention for good driving skills and being lucky.

Four lane road, no barrier for the oncoming traffic. Three of us coming into a tight 90 degree corner going downhill at over 100mph. I think this is going to be a bit much for me so I brake pretty hard. The 911 behind me figures it out (a little late) and passes while braking hard as well. A 951 is about to drive over me as we come into the corner, changes lanes to pass then he realises what is happening, way, way late.

In my rear view mirror I see the 951 brake hard, the ass end raises and the rear tires come loose and he does the first 180. Then the second 180 as he puts both in and powers out going in a straight line with the flow of traffic.

No harm, no foul except for the soiled underware of the driver, the cars now close behind him and the oncoming traffic.

Best part was he never left his two lanes of traffic thank goodness

Danskman · 10-26-2004, 03:17 PM

Most memorable was last summer. Heading westbound on highway 50 in Sacramento, left lane at about 50-55 MPH. Freeway is 5 or 6 lanes wide in this section. Heavy traffic, but moving. Brake lights start popping up ahead of me. I begin to brake and look in the rearview mirror. Guy behind me is way too close and not paying attention. Traffic ahead is braking hard now. I move into the emergency lane next to the center divider and come to a stop. Guy behind me creams the car ahead of him (formerly the car in FRONT of me). I get out and see if he's ok, and he says, "Wow man. Thanks for getting out of the way". I would have been one car length closer to him, so I'm sure the 911 would have been done for.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Jeez,

Just two days ago on the 4 laner by my house I'm sitting in the left lane waiting to turn left onto my street. Traffic is coming up behind me. I notice in my rearview a large delivery truck (2 axles with duals on the back, you know the kind) gassing it so he can get in the right lane front of the guy next to him and not have to stop for me.

Well The guy in the Mercedes next to him is having none of that so he speeds up to. I see the truck moving over onto the Mercedes but there's not room for 2 cars and a truck in two lanes so he's going about 45MPH right into me.

I _MASHED_ the gas and the truck just missed clipping off the rear 1/3 of my truck, inches at most... THen goes along his merry way. So I pulled up next to him in traffic, honked, and gave him the "You're NUMBER ONE" sign. He looks at me like I'm from Mars...

So I followed him for 3 blocks while calling the "Hows my driving number" on his truck and gave them a snootful, then asked for the transportation manager and let him have it as well.

The guy was an absolute menace and if I wasn't watching my rearview he would have shoved me right into oncoming traffic....

rcm · 10-26-2004, 03:23 PM

Almost loosing my daughter...

MotoSook · 03:34 PM

Coming up on an overpass heading south on I-65 in Indiana in my sister's borrowed Toyota MR2. I just got her to let me use it for a semester at school and I'm heading back to school.

Cars were stopped on the highway for miles, right up to the overpass. Hard to see until you crest the overpass' hump. I slam on the brakes and manage to bring it to a halt but on the left shoulder of the two laner, side by side with the last car that was parked on the overpass. I'm a foot from the car, and BAM! The car behind me slams into the back of that car. I hop out and ask the poor rear ender if he's OK. He gives me a dazed but unhurt look around the airbag and nods "I'm OK."

I hopped back in the MR2 and join the now slow moving traffic. Nothing I could have done. The MR2 would have been totaled if I didn't move over to the shoulder.

Another story, but with my MR2 this time. At (can't remember the road, but it was the one leading to the state capital building in Tallahassee, FL..poor road construction) school I'm on the left lane and come up to one of those stupid cross overs between the different sides of traffic. A Camero is waiting to make a left to cross the two lanes going the opposite way. I see him and make a quick lane change to the right lane, the driver behind me wasn't paying attention, and SLAM! POW! BAM! I could see the in my rearview mirror the arse end of the Camero getting ripped off.

Jgordon · 10-26-2004, 03:46 PM

Rick.....Wow. Damn. What was that/what happened?

Give her a hug from US tonight when you see her.

rcm · 10-26-2004, 04:06 PM

Hey thanks, she's home at her own place now. I've gone over every night she left the hospitol and give her a hug. She's fine now, this was the result of racing on the street. She was tapped from behind we have found out, by the car she was racing. It turned her around, the rest is history. The original thread was daughters, cars, accidents, i think.

rdane · rdane's Garage

Rick, glad she is ok. Things like that makes a guy think real hard about your driving habits.

Doesn't take much for things to go bad very quickly in these cars.

ZCAT3 · 10-26-2004, 06:20 PM

I was driving on the track heading hot into a turn when the corner worker starts waving the yellow flag. I can see a thick cloud of dust in front of me so I slow down as quick as I can without having the person behind me rear end me. We head into the cloud and visibility is not more than 15 feet or so. I am maybe down to 35 MPH but cannot slow anymore for risk of the cars behind me hitting me. I stay on line and see the car that spun just as we pass it. It was about 10 feet away sitting dead in the middle of the track.

ted · ted's Garage

Alfa on Alfa turn 1 at Big Willow.

150mph Vette claims brake failure punts 135mph 911, turn 1 at Big Willow.

Close but just the start of the race.

KNS · 10-26-2004, 07:34 PM

Last week on I-17 north of Phoenix. There is a full size van in front of me that suddenly starts to head for the right side of the road towards the margin. He had just past an off-ramp and I'm thinking there is no way he is going to make that exit. He smashes head on right through a road sign and keeps going as pieces of the sign go flying straight up and strike an overhead lamp. Now, pieces of the sign and the lamp come raining down on to the road right in front of me! I have to swerve around the debri to keep from getting hit by it. The van is now going through the brush a$$ over end (I don't think I ever saw any brake lights) and comes to rest upside down. Several people pull over to check out the van. I run up to the van with two others and the driver is walking away from the van with his head covered in blood. He said he was the only occupant. We told the guy to sit down and take it easy, he seemed a little dazed(!). A lady with her cell phone called 911. By now there were several people on scene with the guy and waiting for EMS.
Single vehicle roll-overs are actually pretty common. I could only guess that he either fell asleep or had a blow-out.

Tricky D · 10-26-2004, 08:22 PM

VIR 2003, PCA DE.

Passed a Mustang SVT Cobra on the front straight. In the braking zone for Turn 1. When I look to the inside just prior to starting my turn in, I notice the Cobra passing on the inside! I delay the turn, then proceed. He holds onto it somehow, and I whip by him on the inside.

I talked to him later. It turns out he was surprised by how well my car braked (stock system) and went inside to stay on the track and avoid making me a hood ornament on his Cobra. While I appreciated his intentions, I would have been much happier if he had gone to the OUTSIDE, off the track.

No harm done, but now I'm building a dedicated race car. If I hadn't done that final look...

Jim Smolka · 10-27-2004, 01:32 AM

While driving eastbound home from work back in the late eighties, I was about to top a hill on a two lane road in my '73 911. Some idiot driving westbound in a 69 Chevelle was passing a westbound LTD on a double yellow line. Being stupid, decided to play chicken and stayed in my lane. The Chevy braked, the LTD braked. Then, they braked harder. The Chevy lost traction in the rear and began to spin. I moved over onto the grassy shoulder enough to avoid contact. In the rear view mirror, I watched the the Chevy clean out the ditch and almost flip over and finally come back down on a four tires.