a close shave....phew...

dino

dino

Well-known member
1000+ Posts
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Nov 11, 2002
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melbourne
i was very lucky yesterday...almost had an accident....it was about 4 pm at the intersection of bluff rd. and beach rd...a roundabout...i was going away from the city chatting happily with my half when aproaching the big roundabout i realised
the late series (7) volvo was going to go through (from my left)..WE BOTH braked heavily (my wife was really impressed by my reflexes)and the two cars stopped less than 1/2 metre from one other (my left corner versus his right)...the other driver acknowledged fault and we both drove (nervously)away...(with my wife in a light state of hysteria...the little one was in the back secured safely)....i hate to think what would have happened if we had been T boned by the big volvo...the little 205 would have ended up on the beach (an exegeration)...neither of us was speeding and possibly well under limit as the road was still wet...
the above story always brings back some CLOSE SHAVE memories....any of you guys had one recently
???

cheers
dino
(and please no commentary on the fact the other car was a volvo...pure coincidence...i think that intersection can be pretty dangerous for any driver having to check right ONLY 2 see a burning sun glaring at you...)....ps. i did have my lights on...i wonder if it had helped...???
 
dino:
(and please no commentary on the fact the other car was a volvo...pure coincidence..
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Now would I say anything about that, dino? Me? After all, I've had some "pure coincidences" with Volvos too! wink

Glad they didn't hit you!

Cheers

Rod
 
My worst brown pants moment I've had was travelling along the Ipswich Motorway inbound coming up to the Oxley flats. It's a 100km/h zone and for some stupid reason, morning traffic comes to halt around there. Anyways, sometimes it gets back to this overpass and it's a bit of a blind corner. So I was going a 100 in the right lane when I came to stationary traffic. The guy behind me moved to the left lane and, in the rear view mirror I see a cement truck coming at me... fast. I keep watching the truck and see him lock up and start sliding sideways. At this point, I start fiddling for the door handle getting ready to bail. I don't know how, but the truck driver made it to the left lane and zoomed past with his rears still smoking. I was expecting to see this guy lose it and hit the embankment. He managed to get out of his slide and pull up in the left lane, over 50 metres past me.

It's surprising if you actually count how many reports of multi-car accidents occur on that motorway. eek!

Rich
 
People reversing out of their driveways on main roads.

Allmost cleaned up someone just up the street from me.

I was doing 60 down the road then about 20-30m down the road someone starts to reverse out. Stopped just in time.

Not fun.

James
 
isn t it interesting how these incidents always take place in slow motion...long skids and so on...zen,...u r one lucky dude...getting hit by a volvo at less than 40kmh is one thing,,,,...having a huge semi coming at you from a 100kmh...redifines the close shave experience...
you had your eyes open and thats always a good thing....

cheers
dino
 
My near dath experience was on the Calder Freeway near Diggers Rest. There is a long down hill run with (used to be, a crossover is there now) a t intercsection crossing at the bottom.
Was coming down the hill in my Rover 2000TC, doing ~ 115 kph, when a car pulls out on to the freeway about 300 meters in front of me. Oh shit, thinks me, I'm going to die. Then the Volvo with a trailer pulls out behind it eek! eek! .
There was a long line of smoke from my nice new Pirellis (stuffed 'em, completly flat spotted... :( ), and by complete reflex I had the sense to let the brakes off at the last second and swerve around him in the emergency lane, missing his trailer by millimeters and still doing at least 70 kph.
I really appreciated the Rover after that, bloody amazing brakes. The ass end lifted right up under the extreme braking, and I could feel the rear getting a little nervous. But those wonderful inboard rear discs stayed right on the point of making the rear tyre chirrup a bit, but she stayed straight and very controllable.

What is it about Volvos? You dont HAVE to be a shit driver to own one, do you?
 
Several factors resulted in a major lock up, 1. I was 18 and a good but not terribly experienced driver 2. the Rover brakes are bloody strong, 3. and they were only locked for a couple of seconds while I was looking for the escape route - no way in hell any car (except maybe an F1 car) would have shed that much speed in the distance required. It was 3oo metres when the first car pulled out, but a lot less when the volvo came on the scene!! They were pretty soft Pirellis, so it didnt take much to flat spot them. I put them on the back after that were I couldnt notice the flat spot.
The main thing is the car handled it well and I survived!

<small>[ 01 September 2003, 02:57 PM: Message edited by: Haakon ]</small>
 
I have had a couple.

Once was my fault, and once wasn't my fault.

The first one was I was turning onto the waringa freeway giong along the onramp, doing about 70-80km/h when suddenly comming right at me was an Idiot travelling in the wrong direction! I don't know how he didn't see the "do not enter" "wrong way go back" sign, but I only just missed him, because as he slammed his brakes on the car got sideways, he overcorected and did a full 180. I missed him by keeping left. Atleast after his spin he was facing the right way. But was VERY nearly a crash

The second time I lost control of my dad's Porsche at 180km/h and did two 360's before nearly hitting a concrete wall. I was of course not on the open road, but instead at eastern creek raceway entering turn one (the sweeping left hander). The car before me had had a shunt with a much much slower car who was braking hard in the racing line, the faster car shunted up the back off him and as a result left a lovely trail of coolant in the racing line. All this happened a long way infront of me, so I did not see it, Just as I entered the braking zone, I saw the coolant, but it was too late, I became a passanger for a couple of violent spins, trying to recover the car, but then went out onto the grass, there was a large amount of thick mud and gravel, which slowed me right down as I went through it, before sliding back onto harder turf... I was able to drive back onto the circuit. I was lucky, because I missed the concrete wall by just cm's and glad to say apart from tyres and a puncture in the rear oil tank, the car was fine.
was very lucky
:rolleyes:
 
I had a close shave down near Mornington. Was driving home (late afternoon, low bright sun) and going through one of those huge roundabouts on the freeway. It looked clear but obviously the Landcruiser entering from my right didn't see me due to the sun. If I hadn't floored it (was in 2nd at the time, hitting 7000rpm before remembering to change gears) I would have been t-boned. All I really remember is seeing the landcruiser (oldish one) with smoking tyres just to my right. That is one time when I really could have done with a more powerful engine.

The only other 'close shave' was in the wet around camberwell. I was trying to overtake a tram when someone reverse out of their driveway. It was wet and my brakes locked up sending the poor 505 sliding on a diagonal (had a stuffed rear compensator + one half stuck caliper). Didn't come that close to hitting anything but sure gave the people on the tram something to look at! shy
 
Haakon:
Was coming down the hill in my Rover 2000TC, doing ~ 115 kph, when a car pulls out on to the freeway about 300 meters in front of me. Oh shit, thinks me, I'm going to die. Then the Volvo with a trailer pulls out behind it eek! eek!
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Haakon, that's the Rover that was designed so that the engine goes under the passenger compartment in a head-on, isn't it? Dunno what you were worried about... eek!
 
Quick question?

In other states do u have to give way to people merging onto a freeway?

Apparently its the law here?

James
 
Shobbz:
Quick question?

In other states do u have to give way to people merging onto a freeway?

Apparently its the law here?

James
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It depends on the nature of lane markings where the feeder lane merges, James.

In Victoria (and, I think, everywhere else now because of the national standardisation process) , if there is no line dividing the merging traffic, then the vehicle in front (regardless of which "lane" they are in) has right of way. (By "in front" they mean if any part of the vehicle is in front) see <a href="http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf/randl/part_11.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf/randl/part_11.pdf</a> rule number 149

If, however there is a line which "cuts off" one of the lanes (the "feeder" lane in your particular case) then the situation is the same as when changing lanes and the vehicle which is crossing the line has to give way to traffic in the continuing lane. - see <a href="http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf/randl/part_11.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf/randl/part_11.pdf</a> rule 148

Mind you, failing to keep an adequate gap between yourself and the car in front to allow proper merging, or speeding up to prevent someone merging, or even failing to slow down a little to let someone in when they are trying to enter a freeway is usually pretty poor driving in my book.

If it results in the entering vehicle having to slow down dramatically or even stop altogether it creates the dangerous situation of traffic travelling at very different speeds. Freeway feeder lanes generally work best (and most safely) when the traffic entering the freeway can safely travel at close to the same speed as the traffic already on it before they merge.

Cheers

Rod
 
Basically, what Rod said...

Generally freeway entries have long sections of those block-style dotted lines.

These require that you give way unless your car is fully ahead of the car in the lane into which you are merging.

It therefore becomes your responsibility to achieve the same speed as the traffic so you can do this safely.

Unfortunately, this is a concept that's not been grasped by 98% of Queensland drivers. Hence great traffic jams occur and roads are widened to cope with traffic levels that get on fine elsewhere. A good job Queensland gets a good share of the roadfunding revenue from Canberra.

As Rod also says, it's also something that the drivers in the freeway lane you're going into to make it all possible. The ones who don't are usually Victorians who have migrated north and still think they have to assert themselves as they always did to get about in Melbourne peak hours...
 
Ray Bell:

As Rod also says, it's also something that the drivers in the freeway lane you're going into to make it all possible. The ones who don't are usually Victorians who have migrated north and still think they have to assert themselves as they always did to get about in Melbourne peak hours...
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Ah! what an opportunity to try out a couple of Justin's emoticons!

<img src="http://www.full-auto.com/ubb/graemlins/flame.gif" alt=" - " />

Down here its the Queenslanders who seem to think there is a "stop" sign where the feeder lane enters the freeway who cause all the pain!

<img src="http://www.steelheader.net/photopost/data/510/893stuck-thumb.gif" alt=" - " />

Seriously though, I reckon its an issue everywhere. The uncertainty of other people's actions in these situations is the core of the problem. At least in the cities one improvement with current licence testing might involve ensuring that people actually have to go through the process of entering and leaving a freeway as part of the test.

Cheers

Rod
 
Rod Hagen
At least in the cities one improvement with current licence testing might involve ensuring that people actually have to go through the process of entering and leaving a freeway as part of the test.

Cheers

Rod[/QB]
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Ah Rod, you really should be a stand up comedian dance Your idea would require driver education and we all know how popular that would be with the pollies deal

But seriously folks, I agree with all the statements above. Every day I have to use a freeway t&f work and it constantly annoys me that people do not realise the sign at the start of the on ramp indicates the same speed as the freeway being entered thereby giving indication you should get your car to somewhere near that speed so you can slip into the traffic. Oh no! They'd rather crawl down to the end of the line and play standing starts with the semi's that have just come down a 6km drop into Wollongong and have really hot (sometimes smoking) brakes.

Then when they all want to get off the freeway, they like to slow down to the exit ramp speed while still ON the freeway mallet mallet

There are some corteous drivers out there though. Some people will move right if they can when they see you entering the f/way. I try to always do the same. approve
 
UFO:
There are some corteous drivers out there though. Some people will move right if they can when they see you entering the f/way. I try to always do the same. approve
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Yes, same here, UFO. Its pretty easy to do safely too if you know the road and plan ahead a bit. Mind you a mate of mine who was once an interstate trucky (and is a very safe Peugeot 504 driver) steadfastly refuses to do so, on the basis that unnecessary lane changing is a dangerous thing in itself.

Personally I think he's wrong, but I guess there is a bit of an argument on the other side.

Cheers

Rod
 
Stuey:
Haakon:
Was coming down the hill in my Rover 2000TC, doing ~ 115 kph, when a car pulls out on to the freeway about 300 meters in front of me. Oh shit, thinks me, I'm going to die. Then the Volvo with a trailer pulls out behind it eek! eek!
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Haakon, that's the Rover that was designed so that the engine goes under the passenger compartment in a head-on, isn't it? Dunno what you were worried about... eek!
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Thats true, but I didnt feel like a crash dummy that day..... :D

Test drivers for Rover hit a hump back bridge in Wales in a prototype at 75 MPH. They launched it about 80 meters, hit nose first, went end over end twice, then slid sideways taking out two concrete posts with the rear quarter, hit a tree and then barrel rolled it 4 times. Walked away from it.
 
Rod Hagen:
.....Down here its the Queenslanders who seem to think there is a "stop" sign where the feeder lane enters the freeway who cause all the pain!
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Read it again... that's what I said!

Queenslanders cannot merge... it's a real drama. They make it so bad that, as I mentioned, the Gov't builds extra lanes on the freeways that wouldn't be there in other states.

Witness the Bruce Highway from the Pine River to Petrie right now... eight kilometres undergoing widening that wouldn't be necessary if the drivers could merge.
 
Do any other states have the traffic lights on the on ramps like we're getting installed in Vic? Now in peak hour you get stopped on halfway down the onramp and it lets through one car per 5 seconds or something like that. I understand it is to stop congestion once merging, but the problem is there is not enough of a run up for people in slow cars like a 505. If I have any hope of being at freeway speeds by the time I approach the merging point I need to belt the crap out of the poor thing.
 
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