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Other Hondas & General Topics => Off Topic (Non-Honda) => Topic started by: Jocko on July 24, 2018, 03:38:07 PM

Title: Near miss.
Post by: Jocko on July 24, 2018, 03:38:07 PM
Had a close call this morning. Uploaded my first ever video to YouTube so I could share it with you.

Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: trebor1652 on July 24, 2018, 04:30:18 PM
There by the grace of God.
Has your heart rate settled down yet?

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Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: sparky Paul on July 24, 2018, 09:52:03 PM
What if something had been coming the other way? It doesn't bear thinking about.

I find you can never get to the hooter in time. I need one that sounds when I dig my nails into the steering wheel... perhaps I could patent that?

On a similar vein, just been watching "999 What's your emergency" on Channel 4. There was a very serious RTA between a BMW and a later Jazz - the Honda badge was still visible, despite the Police repeatedly calling it an Hyundai. The BMW driver had been overtaking on double-whites and hit the Jazz head on. The Jazz looked remarkably intact, particularly the passenger cell, but the BMW was ripped in two - literally two pieces 50 yards apart. Scary stuff. Programme will be repeated on Channel 4+1 at 10pm.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: JohnAlways on July 25, 2018, 08:36:19 AM
Hi all, I saw it too and thought "that's a jazz not a Hyundai". As you said the BMW was as a plod said"cut in half as with a knife" and the two halves were a few 100 yards apart. Both drivers survived but it said the jazz driver had life changing injuries. The comments about overtaking also applied to a driver I used to see in a vauxhall Mocca (whatever it's called), I don't see him anymore now, I wonder if his luck ran out. As a copper said "we don't call them Road Traffic Accidents anymore, we call them Road Traffic Collisions) as usually someone is to blame. Reassuring how well the jazz coped with a head on all the same.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: culzean on July 25, 2018, 08:53:12 AM
That stupid white van driver was parked within the zigzag lines on the approach to pedestrian crossing anyway,  and on the 'wrong' side of the road (where he was always going to have to pull out facing approaching traffic) - the only thing missing off the white van was a BMW badge.   If someone had have been coming the other way and I could not avoid collision I would always elect to hit the perpetrator of the incident rather than some innocent driver - and the horn is the last thing I would be thinking about - swerve or brake first ( on a motorbike acceleration can be a help sometimes to get out of a 'situation',  but not usually in an average car).
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: Jocko on July 25, 2018, 09:14:46 AM
I would always elect to hit the perpetrator of the incident rather than some innocent driver
That is my plan too. You regularly see dash cam video where the innocent party swerves and hits a barrier, or another innocent driver, and the perpetrator drives off. I would also sit still in the car afterwards and say I couldn't feel my legs. Then the full emergency services would come out and cut my roof off. That way the police would definitely have to get involved.
At least the van driver was parked on the zig zags. Sometimes I see them right across the crossing! I didn't get a chance to blow the horn. I don't even think I swore. The voice you hear is my good lady. I think the van driver got a bigger fright than I did. As I looked in the mirror he was reversing back in. There again, maybe he just forgot he was to get milk as well.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: sparky Paul on July 25, 2018, 12:59:55 PM
I try to get to the hooter if I can see it coming in time, it sometimes stops them in their tracks. Then again, I guess it depends how loud their radio is.

I'm with you on that one, I would hit the perpetrator first, if it was safe to do so. Obviously, self preservation comes first, followed by innocent parties such as pedestrians and other road users.

I had something similar when I met that Fiat 500 overtaking a lorry over the brow of a hill a while ago, over a solid white line. It was a choice between trees & ditch, or glancing blow off the overtaking car... fortunately the driver steered away from me and into the side of the lorry, as I swerved onto the grass verge that was available, missing me by a whisker.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: Jocko on July 25, 2018, 01:26:34 PM
It is all very well us saying what we would do, but when you have milliseconds to react it all comes down to instinct. My instinct yesterday was to swerve. I had no control over what I did. It just happened. At least I know my Jazz will pass the "Moose Test".
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: sparky Paul on July 25, 2018, 04:00:03 PM
It is all very well us saying what we would do, but when you have milliseconds to react it all comes down to instinct.

I think instinct is the self preservation bit kicking in Jocko.

I hate those heart-in-mouth moments.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: culzean on July 25, 2018, 04:01:51 PM
Yeah you are right instinct does take over (and the funny thing is time seems to slow down),  but i would rather use any time available to hit the brakes  or swerve rather than looking for the hooter, sounding your horn does nothing to lessen the impact.  I would rather brake for something that may not happen than to sound my horn and not brake and it definitely happens.  Complicates things when you have traffic behind you though,  especially the numpties that tailgate even when you are doing speed limit, but those would not be in my mind too much if I had to brake hard for something.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: richardfrost on July 25, 2018, 04:15:31 PM
I would always elect to hit the perpetrator of the incident rather than some innocent driver
That is my plan too. You regularly see dash cam video where the innocent party swerves and hits a barrier, or another innocent driver, and the perpetrator drives off. I would also sit still in the car afterwards and say I couldn't feel my legs. Then the full emergency services would come out and cut my roof off. That way the police would definitely have to get involved.
At least the van driver was parked on the zig zags. Sometimes I see them right across the crossing! I didn't get a chance to blow the horn. I don't even think I swore. The voice you hear is my good lady. I think the van driver got a bigger fright than I did. As I looked in the mirror he was reversing back in. There again, maybe he just forgot he was to get milk as well.

Well if you elected to hit the van in this particular instance you would have two choices as I see it...

1. Turn into him and hit him head on. Safest option if you're going to hit him, but try and explain that one to the police and insurance.
2. Keep going straight and let him hit you in the side. Possible less impactful but more likely to injure your good lady wife and could also push you out into the hypothetical oncoming innocent driver you wanted to avoid in the first place.

Not sure what I would have done but my instinct tells me I would have swerved and hoped the oncoming car would swerve too.

Driving through the Snoowdonia valleys on a wet day last year I had a similar choice. I chose to slam on and trust the ABS to allow me to steer past the idiot coming out of a side road who didn't look my way. At the time I was in my HRV and it did a superb job supporting my emergency manoeuvre. As you all said, no time to reach for the horn and no point.

What I did not do is stop and go back to talk to the idiot. I simply carried on for a little while and then pulled over when safe to allow the adrenaline rush to subside.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: culzean on July 25, 2018, 06:44:43 PM
I would always elect to hit the perpetrator of the incident rather than some innocent driver
That is my plan too. You regularly see dash cam video where the innocent party swerves and hits a barrier, or another innocent driver, and the perpetrator drives off. I would also sit still in the car afterwards and say I couldn't feel my legs. Then the full emergency services would come out and cut my roof off. That way the police would definitely have to get involved.
At least the van driver was parked on the zig zags. Sometimes I see them right across the crossing! I didn't get a chance to blow the horn. I don't even think I swore. The voice you hear is my good lady. I think the van driver got a bigger fright than I did. As I looked in the mirror he was reversing back in. There again, maybe he just forgot he was to get milk as well.


Not sure what I would have done but my instinct tells me I would have swerved and hoped the oncoming car would swerve too.



Impact would be much greater hitting an (innocent) oncoming car also doing 30 mph,  closing speed would be 50 or 60 (and if you double the speed of impact you quadruple the energy),  you can never 'expect' and oncoming vehicle to swerve.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: sparky Paul on July 26, 2018, 05:00:26 PM
i would rather use any time available to hit the brakes  or swerve rather than looking for the hooter, sounding your horn does nothing to lessen the impact.  I would rather brake for something that may not happen than to sound my horn and not brake and it definitely happens.

I didn't actually mean hooting instead of braking or swerving. I was thinking more of situations such as somebody pulling out when they haven't seen you (or haven't looked), to get their attention.

If you are faced with something immediate and unexpected, the only response is the instinct to avoid contact.

Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: culzean on July 27, 2018, 08:18:15 AM
i would rather use any time available to hit the brakes  or swerve rather than looking for the hooter, sounding your horn does nothing to lessen the impact.  I would rather brake for something that may not happen than to sound my horn and not brake and it definitely happens.

I didn't actually mean hooting instead of braking or swerving. I was thinking more of situations such as somebody pulling out when they haven't seen you (or haven't looked), to get their attention.

If you are faced with something immediate and unexpected, the only response is the instinct to avoid contact.

No point hooting at someone who has already hasn't seen you and already pulled out (your horn will not make their vehicle disappear) ,  as they are already in the path of your vehicle, if you can carry on at same speed and not hit them there is a macho victory of sorts to be had by hooting at them.  But the first thing is BRAKE.  In fact in a parody of  'mirror-signal-manoeuvre' there  is 'brake-swerve-horn' .
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: trebor1652 on July 27, 2018, 09:42:30 AM
Or should it be ' brake-swerve-curse-horn'?

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Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: Jocko on July 27, 2018, 10:14:23 AM
Or should it be ' brake-swerve-curse-horn'?
I never got the chance to brake. My wife cursed, but we were well past him by that time, and the horn never got a thought!
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: ColinS on July 27, 2018, 10:25:24 AM
I agree, no point in blowing the horn in those circumstances.  The one thing I was taught was not to look at the hazard but to look where to want to go to avoid it.  It is natural to steer in the direction you are looking.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: richardfrost on July 27, 2018, 11:08:10 AM
Or should it be ' brake-swerve-curse-horn'?

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Or in Bond's DB5 from Goldfinger it could be Ready-Aim-Fire.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: sparky Paul on July 27, 2018, 12:10:41 PM
No point hooting at someone who has already hasn't seen you and already pulled out (your horn will not make their vehicle disappear) ,  as they are already in the path of your vehicle, if you can carry on at same speed and not hit them there is a macho victory of sorts to be had by hooting at them.

If I'm coming towards a junction, and I see someone on a side road start to move, or I see a parked car start to pull out, I'm going to hit the hooter and cover the brake, if it's far enough away. You see, I can actually do these two things at once, but only if I have the time to see it coming - which is exactly what I said earlier...

I try to get to the hooter if I can see it coming in time, it sometimes stops them in their tracks. Then again, I guess it depends how loud their radio is.

Of course, in the instances when a vehicle is suddenly in your path, the hooter is the last thing on your mind, and some sort of avoidance is in order. This is where instinct kicks in and you react. I'm not going to fumble about for the horn whilst ploughing into them, nor did I ever suggest that.

But the first thing is BRAKE.  In fact in a parody of  'mirror-signal-manoeuvre' there  is 'brake-swerve-horn' .

The first thing you have to do is trust your instincts. There are times when you brake, times to steer, and there are even odd times that I have put the foot down to avoid other road users. As Jocko said earlier, you can't really say what you should do in a situation like this, it's just a reaction based on your instincts of self preservation.

I know you mentioned tailgating earlier, I had one yesterday on the A614 Goole to Driffield road. Some complete arse in a black Audi, a few feet off my rear bumper for several miles and couldn't get past. He was obviously not paying a lot of attention to what I was doing as he didn't notice me indicating left, in plenty of time might I add, and started flashing his lights furiously at me when I braked for the turn.

Trouble is, with someone like that behind you, even if you do brake to avoid a collision, they'll hit you before they get their foot to the brake pedal and push you into the obstacle anyway.
Title: Re: Near miss.
Post by: trebor1652 on July 27, 2018, 12:11:33 PM
Nah
Do away with the ready aim, just blow the silly sold out of the way.

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