Have you ever had a 'I can't believe I did that, I could've killed myself/someone' ?

[Mingewithafringe]

I just remembered something after reading the thread about bright headlights where a poster mentioned driving on country lanes.

In my early 20s, I was driving back from Reading to the Midlands, travelling alone, at about 11pm. Sat Nav was deciding to take me on a rural route, I naively carried on thinking some main road/motorway signs would pop up eventually. I had only 50 miles left on my tank (was going to stop off at an M1 service station for a break and get some then) and low phone battery.

After about 15 miles of driving down dark country lanes with no end or life in sight, I started crapping it that I was going to get lost in the middle of nowhere with no petrol and no phone, it was pitch black, high trees everywhere, scary, poor visibility and raining. I should have stayed calm and carried on, but I decided I wanted to go back to Reading, get petrol and start again.

So I slowed down, and STOPPED in the middle of a bendy country road and did a 5 point turn. My heart was in my mouth the whole time, hoping a car wouldn't come straight into me at high speed. I was so relieved to have not caused an accident , especially as literally 20 seconds later, a car came right up behind me and they had to brake because of how fast they were going.

I've never pulled a stunt like that again! (thank god also for smart phones and Google maps)

Any other stories people want to share?

I was chatting to DH whilst he was chopping some wood on the table saw. I absentmindedly put my hand on the table and he had to pull the kill switch to turn it off before my fingers got amputated 😬 Gave me the shivers for weeks over what could have been.

Was touring Tasmania in a camper van with some friends. The person driving went around a blind bend on the wrong side of the road.

I basically stopped being friends with her after that. So stupid.

I once drove at 60mph down the overtake lane on a dual carriageway because all the cars in the normal lane seemed to going slower than me.

Only when I saw the cars coming straight at me did I realise it was NOT a dual carriageway. Had to try and squeeze back onto the right side of the road pretty darn pronto!

Every time I’m on night shifts driving home in the morning.
Windows down, radio on, coffee before setting off if I can.
It’s dangerous how utterly utterly exhausted I am.
(Luckily only a 15-20 minute drive with no motorways and few other drivers on the road if it’s at a weekend)

Yes very jet lagged and so tired driving

Pretty much fell asleep as the road bumps jolted me

Really bad. Feel awful remembering it. Annoyed I drove and didn’t say I’m too tired

I was a bit worse for wear after a concert at Kenwood House.I stepped into the road without looking (England’s Lane) and would have been flattened by speeding car had DH not pulled me back to safety.

Changed a socket without turning the electricity off. Being electrocuted didn't feel all bad, it was nicely fizzy at one point before I hit the deck.

I thought the bus lane went one way. I nearly stepped in the road but for some reason double checked just as a double decker whooshed past at 40mph.

Ds when he was 4 decided to wrench his hand out of mine and jump from rock to rock on the edge of cliff at Barafundle Bay. I was the awful shrieky shouty mum that moment as I was so terrified of what could have been

When I was 17, a learner driver, I borrowed my mother's car when she was on holiday to go to the cinema with friends.

I attempted to drive the wrong way up a motorway exit slip road to join the motorway.

Realised at the last minute. Stopped the car. I managed to turn around somehow without any oncoming traffic.
The most dangerous, irresponsible act I've done, and I've done some really stupid things.

@Cheeseandlobster

I thought the bus lane went one way. I nearly stepped in the road but for some reason double checked just as a double decker whooshed past at 40mph.

Ds when he was 4 decided to wrench his hand out of mine and jump from rock to rock on the edge of cliff at Barafundle Bay. I was the awful shrieky shouty mum that moment as I was so terrified of what could have been

We’ve all been there- DD ran away from me in a car park once and I could see a car ahead reversing. When I caught her I absolutely shrieked “DO NOT RUN AWAY IN CAR PARKS” and burst into tears. I must have looked mental because she wasn’t actually all that close to the reversing car when I caught her but I could just see her getting run over in my minds eye.

Had passed my driving test and started doing my 2 hr commute on the M25. Overtook a truck and then pulled immediately back into the slow lane, not having clocked the slip lane joining. Understandably got some hand gestures from other drivers. So stupid!

On the autobahn doing almost 100 miles an hour -legally!- on a very cold winter day and there was a crash a few cars ahead. The skill of all the drivers around me, a well cared for road surface and very good breaks on my car meant there wasn't another crash. We all screamed to a halt and most drivers got out of cars and leaned against doors for a few minutes. I felt very sick at what might have been. Once road was cleared I had to drive on alone for another couple of hours to get home. Very thankful to get there alive.

Brakes! Blooming autocorrect! And not my fault so perhaps not in spirit of thread...

I was following an ambulance with my DC in it.

They overtook a lorry, and then immediately went into a layby.

I was in the process of overtaking the lorry, and realised I was going to miss the layby so I could stay with the ambulance.

I floored it, and threw myself into the layby, narrowly missing the lorry.

I HAD to stay with the ambulance, the driver knew I was following them and still overtook the lorry.

Still feel sick every time I think about it, but it was all fine.

Had not long passed my driving test and was going up the M1 to visit then boyfriend. I got on at J5 and off at J9.

I was going straight from work and was driving at max speed when I realised cars in front of me were stopped. Across all lanes. Slammed on and only just managed to stop in time.

That was when I realised ‘rush hour traffic’ was a real thing. It was terrifying, I was shaky for ages.

An elderly man stepped out into the road in front of me when I was doing 40mph on a country road. How I didn't hit him I'll never know.

Hit a greasy patch on a duel carriageway while braking and felt the car start to skid towards a massive lorry. Realised there was no chance of me stopping in time and yanked the wheel to the right to get into the outside lane. Nearly wiped myself and a van out in the process.

Heard later on that there'd been an accident in exactly that same spot. (I reported it to 101 but I'm not sure if anything was done)

Many incidents where I've nearly killed myself, thankfully I don't think I've nearly killed anyone else!

I decided to be DIY Superwoman last year and fit a new light fitting, didn't turn the electric off in the fuse box, and got hell of a shock, twat. Needed to have a lie down and reevaluation of my DIY abilities after that one!

Years ago, I drove home late at night after being out working. It was 11.30, so dark, and it was raining. The distance was about 13 miles from my house. Several drivers sounded their horns at me, flashed their lights - stupid fuckers, I thought, what's their problem - it wasn't until I'd got about a mile from home that I realised I'd driven all that way with no headlights on

I didn’t learn to drive until I was in my early thirties, and driving confidently hasn’t come easily to me. After I got my license I psyched myself up to go for a short trip to a nearby supermarket with DD, who was around 1.

Driving home, I forgot to put on the headlights, as my instructor’s car had automatic ones. Didn’t realise, came off the slip road onto the dual carriageway and had a very near miss. It could have been so much worse, but I drove home with DD and me both crying and it put me off driving for a long while afterwards.

Renovating a house on mat leave. Old wooden mantlepiece resting against the bedroom wall. Baby happily crawling about. Popped to the loo. Heard a huge bang. My heart stopped. If it had fallen on him it would have killed him. Baby grinning at me as I got back in the room, mantlepiece on the floor all around him. Makes me feel sick now, 7 years later.

When I was about 8/9 I was regularly left in the care of a group of young teenagers while my Dad went out on his boat. They had use of a small boat with an outboard motor we used to drive it as fast as possible and dive off the side into the sea Baywatch style so things already dangerous but one particular day they let me drive the boat and they all jumped off leaving me in one charge of the boat and driving back to pick them all up. Everytine I hear horror stories of people getting caught in outboard motor propellers I cant help thinking that so easily could have been us. The motor was so big and heavy and I was so little I had a very hard time actually making it go in the direction I wanted.

I was 16 with a terrible boyfriend, his mum used to drive a carload of people for nights out (she didn't drink as designated driver... but she did take a lot of speed!).
We used to get in the boot of the car as there weren't enough seats. So fucking dangerous, but I was a teenager and it felt like great fun.
I feel a bit sick looking back at it.

Driving down a country lane, going 60, garden centre on the left, old dear pulled out right in front of me, literally in front of me, had to swerve onto the oppersite side of road, managed to somehow keep control of the car, and luckily no car coming towards me, or would of been a 60 on 60 head on crash, makes me shudder thinking about it all these years later, I screamed I thought I'd give my self a brain heamorage,

Screamed That loud**