Butt Clenching Moments

[Newts]

After reading Neal's post, it made me think, what is your worst butt clenching moment ?

You know when you really think its all about to end (or maybe it does)

I think mine was when I was pushing the Esprit through a nice set of bends near me and when as I was roughly mid bend, I was confronted with half a muddy field spread across the road courtesy of farmer Giles!

How I came out the other end still pointing in the right direction, I've never really figured out, but it was certainly a "Sh*******t" moment

Edited April 5, 2010 by Newts

[cjtpb13]

Watching Bambi's father throw himself at me doing 65mph on the I540N in the centre lane. Then as he proceeded to go under the car ( in part thanks to a Ford 250 next to me in the undertaking lane ) I felt the car lift up on two wheels... I think all happened to fast to warrant a change in the boxers...

[andydclements]

Mine was nearly 20 years ago, either 23rd or 24th December.

In a Mk2 Escort 1.1, on the a505 near Stopsley, heading out of Luton. Didn't think I was going to make the turn, compensated but didn't get tyre grip, over compensated, tyres gripped, car started rolling like ship in a gale. Went into the central reservation. That put me on the car's driver's side. left the central reservation on the roof. Met the kerb of the other side of the other carriageway , that put me back on the wheels. I landed facing the way I had come from (Luton), parallel to the carriageway, about 2 feet clear of it. The driver's door window opening was about 6 inches tall at the end of it.

I survived for a mix of reasons, partly pure luck that I went through what seemed to be the only break in the stream of traffic heading towards Luton. Partly because I was wearing my seatbelt (Police office noted that he didn't need to ask I had been). Partly because when the car rolled one time it threw me (torso) onto the passenger seat, and I grabbed it, and kept hold of it.

I walked away but not completely without injury. I brushed the bits of broken toughened glass off me as I got out, and a piece cut the back of my right hand.

And the only thought I had (I truly believed I was going to die) was how it would ruin Christmas for my family.

[Günter]

happened on the way forward straight to the *Ameisenkurve* wile I was on the Lotus-Club trackday some years ago. ...instead of turning into the first corner towards the *Querspange*-short track I was still heading straight along with much speed but no brakes working, and a child-daughter of one Lotus-Club member in the passenger seat -the point was that this straight run guided me just into the 'run out' way of an ADAC training day who was on there for the same time. An lreal butt clenching moment, especially if you try stop the car with the engine in downshift & our foldable handbrake lever....

Needles to say that I was 'on a 180° spin' the same day in the *Sachskurve* ...luckily with an adult as passenger, so the insurance claims would be slightly different from terms of responsibility ?!

[USAndretti42]

I had one many years ago in my Elan. I was flying along the Kidderminster ring road up past St. Mary's church and round the bend at the top to find traffic had backed up from the roundabout. At the end of the line of traffic was a Hillman Imp (I told you it was a long time ago). There was a girl sat across the back seat looking out of the back window and I remember her eyes getting wider and wider as I slid towards her with my wheels locked. As it happened I stopped several feet short of the Imp and as I breathed out a great cloud of tyre smoke came past me.

Loved that car. It was always on your side doing what it could to help you.

[Quicker]

many offs on the track - which are all heartstopping... but just the other day.....

I driving my Esprit, a jacked up 4x4 (Texas Style) just simply changed lanes on top of me.....

I was wearing my sandles (like all Austinites) - so one foot quickly on the clutch, one foot hard on the brakes... toe on the clutch caught under the brake... broke in two spots...

my Esprit almost hit their rear tires, their trailer hitch inches from my windscreen.... but other than 10,000 miles off my tires, no damage... to the car.

I have had soooo many mom in SUV talking on their cell phones switch lanes on me - I just the Esprit is just under their mirror angle. I have to watch to not be in their blind spot.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Quikr

[mr.oogieboogie]

just a few listed below

1) had the back wheel fall off on my sunbeam alpine when i was doing around 50mph near warsop much sparks

2) hit a deer doing 60mph car totalled but missed all the trees lineing the road

3) hit a foot from a crane (front wheel destroyed) the other year on the m18 at around 70 - 80mph in the s4

4) had a wheel fall off a suzuki fatboy (which just missed a guy on his pushbike) at around 35mph and embedded itself in a ford granada scorpio, twat at the garage the day before did 5)not tighten the nuts propperly (never seen a guy peddle so fast)

5)wrote my 1st car off (mg midget 1500) with 3 other cars (ran out of traction & skill on a hairpin corner)all cars parked (a bit like pinball)

my friend who dropped his mums car into 4ft ditch after loosing it on country lane other friend in the car not so lucky went through the back windowscreen

being chased by the plod in the 80s.... better not tell this one

lucky or cursed----lucky walked away from all the above without a scratch

[theelanman]

in the 67 elan...

coming down a dual carriage way doing about 80mph......

leave the braking late like you do......

the brake pedal went stright to the floor.....

good job there was no one on the roundabout and the fact that I was driving a lotus and it could take the corner at that speed.......

propper brown trouser moment

[robdaniel]

peter how are you still alive!!!!!!!!!!!

[Al]

1: Backed my mothers Mini and my first car after test (L O N G time ago) through a stone bridge parapet on ice 5 up when out playing as you do. Couldn't open doors as so far through wall, teetering on the edge. Next day in daylight saw the 10m drop to the river........... (Strike 1)

2: Rolled my own first car, a Capri 1300 off a single track road about 3 times down a slope and ended up with roof down to seat tops and sinking in a peat bog/stream lying on driver side of car. Stepped out through windscreen - now door way, somehow. How we stepped out of it basically uninjured I do not know, but know IF we had worn seat belts we would be dead. Maybe being pissed at the time helped prevent injury. (This is not an advert for drink driving or no seat belts as I have never drunk alcohol and driven since as it proved to me I was not a driving god. Just bloody lucky as it all happened at 40mph.Due to the locality the police were not involved. (Strike 2 and a major lesson)

3: Came round a right hand bend near home doing about 70mph and suddenly lost grip for no obvious reason in an Opel Manta. Steered into the oversteer skid and kept power on and then saw council workmen standing at back of lorry working spreading some sort of loose fine tar on road with no warning signs of men working. I remember the look of fear on their faces as I slid sideways towards them. Car at that point came off loose surface, gripped and shot forward, crossed oncoming lane and wrapped itself round a tree after rattling along a wall. The ba**ards jumped into lorry and effed off. 6 months later I won 100% damages in court as a householder had seen it all, and best of all when police (who I called) arrived, they slid past my warning triangle all locked up, and had their own accident on same surface!! (I don't count this as strike 3 as not my fault and am still waiting for Strike 3, 35 years later.)

4: Only other heart stopping moment I had was approaching Dundee from the N you come down a long hill cut through rocks. Dual carriageway. Long lay-by on the left but it has vertical rock face outside it. I was in an Audi Quattro in a convoy of 3 cars coming home on a Friday evening after a week away in Aberdeen. Dusk, all doing about 70mph. Suddenly first car swerved right and hit central concrete reservation sparking wildly. Car ahead of me went left and despite being hard on the brakes I hit hard whatever they were trying to avoid which looked like about an 8 year old child rolling down the road arms and legs everywhere before it went under my car and made hellish noises and threw the car up. I eventually stopped pulled over on left and sat shaking in shock thinking I had killed the child but had been powerless to avoid it. The guy who went left stopped behind me and I got out shaking and he said "Effing Alsatian. What sort of p**ck lets their effing dog dog out for a walk in a place like this"? He wondered why I was so relieved we had 'only' killed a dog. The relief was incredible. So 3 badly damaged cars (My exhaust ripped off and other drive shaft damage and vibrations) and the said p**ck jumps pronto into his car and heads off before we really had time to think about it. I think all 3 of us lacked clear thought for a while.

[Kimbers]

1. lost control of my first car doing 80 on a back lane. went straight on at a corner and hit the hedge...the front dug in and the car flipped end over end 3 times before landing on it's wheels. Sadly I wasn't wearing a seat belt so ended up in hospital after splitting my skull open.

2. Flying back from Antigua the Captain came on the tannoy after we had encountered a particularly nasty Electric storm. He wouldn't explain why, but he said we had to make an emergency landing at a Military base near Bangor, Maine. Just before we landed he came on the tannoy and we heard the co pilot swearing and the captain shouted "Brace brace brace!"....ohhhhhhhh SHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT. Amongst the screaming and crying I held my fiance's hand and we hit the ground with an enormous BANG!....We're down! But the plane, despite being on full back thrust carried on. We learnt afterwards that the brakes and many other systems had failed after the electrical storm. We overshot the end of the runway and the plane collapsed onto it's nose....and it all went very dark. I must admit thinking that was the end, but the plane took all that punishement and stayed together. That is prob more scarey than my other near misses.

3. Bought myself a boy racer mobile, Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. On my way to work via a back lane I hit a patch of ice right outside a primary school, and the back end swapped places with the front....I was doing about 70 at this time (prob a little quick for the conditions). I went through a barbed wire fence into a ditch that launched me...minus 2 wheels and an Axle....out the other side. The back end hit a tree and I spun in mid air landing next to.....a cow! Now I don't know how...or why, but I didn't hit a single cow and the one I landed next to didn't bolt, like it was an everyday occurance!....So I recon it was an accident blackspot and blame the council for not telling anyone. Worst point was staggering out of what was left of my car only to have the school kids clapping at me like it was a stunt show!

[mangel]

I have many and Numerous so will just give you some brief Lo lights:-

1/ First car (canary Yello Metro) came round a bend, Icy conditions guy running up the middle of the road swerved to avoid him, went into a spin, noted the overturned car in the middle of the road, went into ditch. Police arrived and interviewed both me and other guy. My statement Came round corner swereved lost control went in ditch. His statement. came round corner, lost control, flipped car got out ran up road to warn other people and this guy ran me down........oops didn't realise I'd hit him!!

2/ Metro 2, classic island entry up the back end of the old guy in the SD1 infront. Got out smealt alcohol, crossed road to police station, at this point it goes a little blank but it would appear the carb snapped off the manifold in the crash and the petrol the ignited **BOOM** why am I lying in the middle of a dual carriageway!!

3/ Suzuki vitara Fatboy thing. Cam round a tight right hand bend on dual carriageway car entering dual carriageway from the left didn't notice me and clipped one rear wheel of my high speed roller skate. I woke up having hit armco, railing, wall, curb, lamppost, and ended up in a ditch with not a single wheel on my wagon and my passenger gone. It would appear he got out at some point by snapping the back door of the car in half!!!

4/ Sierra Cosworth RS500 Black, very cool. Mates in the car, I'd borrowed it form another mate a few days before and been howling it round everywhere and then decided to buy it that morning. My mate in the back asks 'Why have you bought this anyway?' My response 'Because it does this!' and with that I planted as we exited the island it flick one way, caught it and then back the other way, caught it and then it gripped at the rear and shot straight on at an angle up the curb and into someones front garden. My mate in the back obviously feeling like he had to say something said I'm sure its just a wheel........we couldn't open the doors though so it was a lot more than just a wheel.

Edited April 8, 2010 by mangel

[Guy Munday]

A test drive in the Evora.

Bibs at the wheel.

Nuff said.

[theelanman]

remind me not to get in a car or a plane with kimbers.......

[andydclements]

MJK found that out on the A11.

[MPx]

1. In my Lightspeed Magenta kit car took a right hander too fast on my way to work. Drifted off the road on the left. Heading for a telegraph pole - worked the steering, missed the pole, four wheel drift across the road to the opposite bank - hit the rear wheels of a parked low loader. The bed girder came through the windscreen and stopped an inch from my face. I bent the dished steering wheel inside out, bruised shoulder/ribs with the seatbelt, broke a small bone in my foot on the pedals...but basically got away with it.

2. After I rebuilt the Magenta....did a Bibs on the A46 outside lane near Coventry...front nearside wheel came off (wheels studs stripped their threads). Front left dropped onto the lower wishbone mount and ploughed its way across two lanes of traffic to the hard shoulder - simples.

3 '85 Ford RS Turbo Series 1 - meeting up with some mates in Scotland (from London)...drove up after work, as quick as I could go. Nearly there when in the dark didn't read the right angled left turn onto a narrow bridge over a river. Got it turned in, but in a four wheel drift. Stopped mid bridge one inch from the off side wall - probably my nearest miss ever. Continued to the meet a tad more sedately!

4 When I first got the Esprit it swapped ends on me a couple of times in the wet at very low speed, once when negotiating a normal left turn, once coming off a roundabout...never did understand how/why, but didn't hit anything either time, and its not done that to me for many years now.

5 In the Esprit at Castle Combe in the wet. Slightly hot into the last corner onto the start finish. When I hit "the bump" the car started to slew. Caught that one but then fishtailed and ended up spinning onto the infield - only just missed hitting one of the advert hoardings - Phew!

There's more but given I've driven well over 500k miles - most of them enjoyable - I'm not as bad as I seem - honest!

[Boots]

Just one

Learning to drive, John beside me and 2 passengers in the back of a diesel 205.

Went round a corner too fast and started to fishtail.

Managed (don't ask me how!!) to get control about 100m down the road without crashing, hitting anyone else or rolling the car.

Needless to say I slowed down a bit after that.

[Mike Kimberley]

With the amount of travelling I have done over the years you can imagine I have a few stories of near misses.

1. You all know the Bond Bug incident. I don't think I need to re-iterate it.

2. I was leaving JFK Airport on 747 many years ago it was night and very dark. I had been over for a US Dealer conference. Shortly after taking off there was a massive "lurch" from the plane and immediately the seat belt sign came on. The engines started roaring and the plane banked round. The captain came over the speakers and said "I'm sorry we will be returning to JFK!". There was alot of worried faces, not least mine because sometimes I think I have flown more than I have driven and this wasn't normal.

The plane made a rough landing and as we exited the plane I realised just how lucky we had been. Where the number 4 engine should have been was a mass of pipes and wires and twisted metal but no Engine whatsoever! It had fallen off! It was quite a major incident and grounded all 747's for days while the engine mounts were checked for stress fractures! Luckily, despite it being one of my closest near misses I didn't know anything about it at the time!

I have had many frightening moments in cars (and yes I noticed Andy mentioned the time Tony spun his Esprit)but I may save those for another time

[Bibs]

Lucky they have spare engines and that the tip of the wing didn't leave with it!

You wouldn't want to live under the flight path, I'd imagine this would leave a dent...

[Scotty C]

Thats me coming back onto the track

[Bibs]

That wasn't your only near miss that day, I remember you coming a few feet away from kissing the barrier too!

[Kimbers]

Literally "Back" onto the track!

I think the guy in the Orange 211 prob had to change his underwear!

[ifly]

Well, combination of things over the years.

!st car was an 850cc Mini, managed to do the magic ice pirouettes in that car a number of times with amazingly no damage. The carburetor return spring snapped once right in front of the cops when Chatham high street was still open, shot down the road in 1st at40mph in a 20 zone. Magically missed the bollards at the end of the road thanks to the mini's short body length.

Volkswagon Camper had a lady misjudge a light, T-Bone me with my mate his girlfriend and dog in the car, just remember looking in the rear view and seeing dog piss going everywhere and then a milk bottle just missing my face before bouncing off my side window for the return journey.

As Mike pointed out with his aircraft story having a few Million miles on aircraft can give you your fair share of "am I going to live through this" moments.

JFK in the 80's, BA flight back home we are barreling down the runway and the pilot threw on the anchors as an Air India jet had strayed onto the runway during our take-off roll. We stopped short of him by 20 feet but boy the tyres and brakes were fried so we had to wait for 10 hours until they re-certified the aircraft as safe to fly.

Lufthansa flight LHR to FRA, got struck by lightning and everything went offline, we lost a good 15,000 feet before they got it all restarted with the emergency generator. When we landed the left engine had a burn hole in the engine cover 4 inches across.

Honolulu in the late 90's, just taking off and the vent next to my seat emitted a puff of smoke which was also seen by the FA in front of me, we turned dumped fuel and came in for a very heavy landing with bins opening, bags flying. Found out a new FA had turned on the cooker in the hold before take off for too long, the meals caught fire and because it was an old 747-100 the fire system could not tell them if the fire was out.

Singapore in the late 80's, we landed with reverse thrust only working on the port engines. Ended up sideways at the end of the runway but made it to the terminal under our own steam.

Have landed more times than I know almost sideways looking through the window straight down the runway we are landing on. Always amazes me these planes can fly at 45 degrees and land straight when the wheels touch down.

The amazing thing with all the aircraft problems is there is no screaming, the occasional sob but usually silence as everyone gets consumed by their own thoughts and helplessness.

Only time in the Esprit I nearly creamed it was some still standing water on I70 up in the mountains. Hit it doing 90 and instantly aquaplaned, managed to keep it straight after some wobbles but that sudden loss of steering sensation and the feeling the car is not conncted to the road at the same time certainly freaked me out as well as the missus.

Edited April 9, 2010 by ifly

[red vtec]

Taking a ride in a Taxi in Bulgaria week before last, after dodging field size pot holes, dodging Mafia Mercs, you then take more risks when approaching blind bends just pull out to over take, dont bother changing down just labour that engine as you chug past.

Years ago had a mate whos car would spin on every bend, turned out tyre pressure was wrong on 2 wheels!

[saggitarius]

Some years ago I had bought an Alfetta non runner and went to pick it up with my "civilian" car (Opel Ascona FWD 1.6!) and a twin axle trailer.

With the Alfetta, a spare engine and an extra set of wheels on the trailer at 10 in the evening I entered the main motorway out of Oslo and accelerated slowly. When the speed was up to around 80 km/h (50 mph) the car started to become increasingly vague, swerving slowly. I tried to slow down - but it only became worse: The car went violently from side to side using ALL THREE LANES on the motorway! That's when the butt clenching really started! I noticed in the door mirrors that the wheels of the trailer were off the ground alternately and that the Alfetta was on its way off.

I must have had a clear moment then, maybe sensing that the slowing down was making everything worse, because I reacted by dropping two gears and give full throttle. The 1.6 screamed and car and trailer straightened out like a miracle. Then I looked in the mirrors again and discovered that the traffic behind me was three cars abreast - far behind - waiting out the situation. I dropped the clutch and let the "train" coast gently to a halt at the hard shoulder. Just afterwards one of the cars behind stopped and the driver told me that one of the extra wheels had been thrown out of the open boot of the Alfetta and gone in giant leaps off the road and into someone's garden.

I left the place without looking and went on home - at 50 km/h in third gear. Clenching my butt for a long time. Seeing in front of me a situation with two cars, a trailer and a loose engine crashing, spreading debris and creating mayhem all over the E18 motorway. Luckily this was in the evening and not in the middle of rush traffic.