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Original poster

Nearly in a serious car accident - hand hold please

719 replies

Usedandhurt · 24/10/2023 16:09

Im literally shaking. Just had a driver nearly kill me and my dc on the motorway. He/she must have not checked before they pulled onto the motorway from a slip road, I literally had to slam on the breaks to avoid crashing into them and thankfully the driver behind me and the one behind them etc etc were able to stop also. My dc would have been very badly hurt - it was a huge bus and I can only imagine the driver got distracted.

Im a nervous driver at the best of times and Im literally sick with nerves.

OP posts:
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8
2thumbs · 27/10/2023 08:41

duvetstealer · 27/10/2023 08:27

Not nearly as much a menace as the ones that think they have priority everywhere and just barge their way through!

Tell me, where is this being said? Who is posting this? The last few posts have been very measured in explaining how an aware and considerate driver might behave. I think everyone has agreed that the bus driver was in the wrong, but worryingly only a minority seem to see that the OP could very likely have avoided the situation altogether.

TheCompactPussycat · 27/10/2023 09:09

duvetstealer · 27/10/2023 06:37

Anyone here who thinks it's the op's fault for not moving over, hand your fucking license in. Traffic joining from the slip road does NOT have priority. If there is no space, they must slow down or even stop until it is safe to merge!

I don't think most people are saying the OP is fundamentally wrong. Yes, she was following the rules and the bus driver was in the wrong. However, it is always worth remembering that if you are alongside a large vehicle which is in the process of merging into your lane, you are highly likely to be in it's blind spot and it will not be able to see you. Yes, the OP had priority but being alive is always preferable to being right. That is what the people saying try to move over, or ease up on the accelerator are getting at.

Teddleshon · 27/10/2023 09:41

How can a car on a motorway be in a blind spot for the entire duration of a slip road? It has been compulsory for blind spot mirrors to be fitted to all vehicles over 3.5t since 2009. Yes it is possible for a cyclist who is inches away from the side or back of a lorry to be in a blind spot but it’s difficult to see how a bus could not be aware of the position of traffic on the motorway they are about to join.

The mirrors on my horsebox afford me far greater visibility of a far larger area than the ones on my car.

FrankieStein403 · 27/10/2023 11:04

>How can a car on a motorway be in a blind spot for the entire duration of a slip road?

Easy if the car maintains the same speed as the joining vehicle - have you not seen the current advertising Blind spot campaign?

HGVs are speed limited at 60, PSVs at 70. This means that on a busy motorway the left Lane will be running between 55 and 60mph (assuming no incidents)

This means the bus would have been at 55-60 when it joined - it would not have been 'speeding' because it would then have had to brake as soon as it got in front of OP.

The OPs story just doesn't hold up, she got frightened yes but that's about it. Hand hold is all very well but won't stop it happening again.

Alertness and road sense will.

VIDEO: National Highways launches HGV ‘blind spots’ safety campaign

National Highways has launched a new safety campaign amid concerns about drivers’ awareness of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) ‘blind spots’ when overtaking.

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/truck-news/2023/02/28/video-national-highways-launches-hgv-blind-spots-safety-campaign

Haffiana · 28/10/2023 11:24

How can a car on a motorway be in a blind spot for the entire duration of a slip road?

The same way a car approaching a slip road doesn't notice either that slip road or the great big bus about to merge.

LadyOfTheWagon · 28/10/2023 21:16

FrankieStein403 · 27/10/2023 11:04

>How can a car on a motorway be in a blind spot for the entire duration of a slip road?

Easy if the car maintains the same speed as the joining vehicle - have you not seen the current advertising Blind spot campaign?

HGVs are speed limited at 60, PSVs at 70. This means that on a busy motorway the left Lane will be running between 55 and 60mph (assuming no incidents)

This means the bus would have been at 55-60 when it joined - it would not have been 'speeding' because it would then have had to brake as soon as it got in front of OP.

The OPs story just doesn't hold up, she got frightened yes but that's about it. Hand hold is all very well but won't stop it happening again.

Alertness and road sense will.

I'd also add that HGVs have huge mirrors which significantly obscure your view when approaching things like roundabouts. If a car is moving at a steady speed it can get completely blocked by the mirror and appear to suddenly pop out in front of you as you turn left onto the roundabout.

The mirror is roughly the size of two large Ipads stacked on top of one another.

Teddleshon · 28/10/2023 22:10

I drive an hgv horse box and the extra large mirrors and compulsory blind spot mirrors give me far better visibility than my car. They are especially good for providing visibility on slip roads. The only time they can be problematic is at a t junction and for bicycles and traffic which is literally immediately behind or immediately on the passenger side.

LadyOfTheWagon · 28/10/2023 22:40

Teddleshon · 28/10/2023 22:10

I drive an hgv horse box and the extra large mirrors and compulsory blind spot mirrors give me far better visibility than my car. They are especially good for providing visibility on slip roads. The only time they can be problematic is at a t junction and for bicycles and traffic which is literally immediately behind or immediately on the passenger side.

Yeah, they give a wider field of view but there's not really a blind spot to have to worry about in a car.

Horseboxes are much closer to a 7.5t van (still technically a HGV but not really a lorry). A 65ft arctic will be 3x the length and have much worse visibility when you're looking at something alongside you 40ft back.

Teddleshon · 29/10/2023 06:51

Mine is currently 12.5t and have previously had an 18t. The vehicle in the OP’s post was bus. There is a blind spot in cars which is why you must look over your shoulder before overtaking on a dual carriageway.

chaosmaker · 31/10/2023 23:58

limitedperiodonly · 24/10/2023 21:34

People are not that great at driving which is why buses and walking and 20mph limits are the way forward.

The 20mph limits newly in Wales have meant more people on their shitty mobiles while driving. Pisses me right off.

MikeRafone · 01/11/2023 05:42

chaosmaker · 31/10/2023 23:58

The 20mph limits newly in Wales have meant more people on their shitty mobiles while driving. Pisses me right off.

Show quote history

These drivers were already in the phone not hands free

Standingchair1 · 27/12/2023 09:58

So you think the bus should have stopped at the end of the slip road?

Standingchair1 · 27/12/2023 10:12

The OP could have CAUSED a serious accident by doing an ‘emergency stop’ on a motorway.

Standingchair1 · 27/12/2023 10:27

The bus was visible several hundred metres in advance. It would have been be very easy for the OP to gently adjust her speed to allow the bus to join safely at 60mph. On the other hand she could just assume the bus will vanish into thin air, or itself do an emergency stop, at the end of the slip road.

Standingchair1 · 27/12/2023 10:55
  1. Who had the much better view ? (a) the OP who had a perfect view of the bus merging from the slip road ahead, or (b) the bus driver who has to be looking well ahead whilst also occasionally glancing in his RH wing mirror?
  2. One vehicle was very small and nimble weighing 1 tonne, and the other very large and cumbersome weighing 30 tonnes. Which was the OP driving?
  3. Which driver could most easily have adjusted their speed slightly (and gently) to allow the safe merging of traffic?
  4. Is it safe or unsafe to stop at the end of a motorway slip road with traffic going past at 60-70mph?
  5. When joining a motorway is it safest to join (a) at 5mph (as from a standing start at the end of a slip road), or (b) at approximately the same speed as the traffic already on the motorway - typically approx 60mph?
WonderingWanda · 27/12/2023 11:53

It's annoying when vehicles just plough off a slip road with no attempt to check the traffic or adjust their speed to slot into a suitable gap. I think buses and lorries do have a huge blind spot but I think the onus was on him to ensure it was safe to pull out.

crackfoxy · 30/12/2023 21:12

If I'm on the motorway and see that there will be joining traffic ahead I move over instinctively even if I can't see if anything is coming, it's about anticipation surely

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 30/12/2023 23:51

OP was competent and aware enough to avoid it. Why is she being criticised for driving well?

Slamming on brakes on a motorway is never driving well.

The bus was in the wrong but OP clearly was not reading the road and anticipating the bus, therefore slowing down as she says moving over was impossible.

Anyone here who thinks it's the op's fault for not moving over, hand your fucking license in

It is her fault for slamming on! If moving over or speeding up to pass isn't possible, slowing down always is. Just taking her foot off the gas would have been a far safer and better manoeuvre than slamming on the brakes.

I get that OP was upset and the adrenaline was flowing, but this is honestly a learning moment for her (possibly for the bus driver but I guess we'll never know)

NerrSnerr · 31/12/2023 18:12

There seem to be two schools of nervous motorway drivers on MN, the ones who stay in the left hand lane and will not consider changing lanes ever and those who move straight to the middle lane and don't move until their exit.

Competent drivers keep left and use the middle and right hand lanes to overtake and let people merge on as necessary but always moving back over when safe to do so. There seems to be a belief by many MN users that anyone who overtakes is 'weaving through traffic' even if they're safely manoeuvring.

Anyone who thinks the OP was driving safely in this situation is an idiot. The bus shouldn't have almost swiped her but she should have noticed the bus before it was merging. Forcing a bus to stop on the slip road is dangerous and she should have seen a huge bus and altered her driving (whether that be taking her foot off the gas or moving over) so she didn't have to slam on the brakes.

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