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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to thank the lady in a blue mazda on M25

405 replies

mw27pink · 25/09/2010 23:01

We were travelling on M25 this morning at about 9.30 on the fast lane. Couple of cars before us suddenly slowed down, but the breaks in our car did not work. All I remeber is me shouting at my husband to slow down as I could see us crashing into this convertable blue mazda(not sure about the make). The lady herself was able to break on time and get out of our way by 10 cm...I am still shaking. We were going out for a fun family day and it could have gone soo wrong. We never got a chance to say thank you to her as we had to move out of the motorway all togather, but I have been thinking of that woman all day as I dont think she realised how lucky she was avoiding us at 70ml/h crashing on her back. So whoever you are THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

OP posts:
pinkbasket · 27/09/2010 07:59

Where's the OP gone?Hmm

warthog · 27/09/2010 08:13

this is very upsetting.

glad you're ok, glad that woman SAVED YOUR LIFE and HERS.

don't be so stupid again. please.

Chandon · 27/09/2010 08:20

for future reference, and if you have defective breaks:

Put car in NEUTRAL then apply handbreak.

My brakes did not work during my driving class once, and this is what the instructor did.

Original poster
mw27pink · 27/09/2010 14:41

Thanks warthog and chandon!! In 40 years I have never been in this kind of situation and feel totally blessed to have come across an absolute angel- felt like shouting on top of my voice to the world a big THANK YOU to whoever she is. I guess I'll never know!! But life is good and we carry on...

OP posts:
coraltoes · 27/09/2010 14:51

mw27pink

Could you clarify something, did you carry on driving after it happened??

Maylee · 27/09/2010 14:51

Erm OP - are you serious?

You made a bad judgement call by driving the car on the motorway to begin with (but I can sympathise with a lack of judgement initially). But you then CONTINUED to drive the car on the motorway once you knew the brakes were faulty? What the fuck??

You show no remorse for any of this. Do me a favour and get your car sorted out and acquire some sense of road awareness and responsibility. If you want to jeopordise your life then that's your business, but don't jeopordise mine.

Sorry, am realy Angry about the seemingly complete lack of responsibility.

MistsAndMellow · 27/09/2010 14:59

Oh dear.

I really regret my first post on this thread now.

Yes it was fantastic that the OP and family were not killed along with the innocent driver in front but I hadn't realised that:

(i) OP knew the brakes worked at 30 / 40 but wasn't sure about them for motorway driving

(ii) They continued on their journey

(iii) OP doesn't know for sure that braking distances vary with speed Shock

chippy47 · 27/09/2010 15:01

mw27pink -stop harking on about the woman in the blue mazda (she may not have even seen you and just changed lanes anyway) and either respond to the questions (like 'are you a complete idiot?') or just feck off because your attitude is just sh*t.

mumofthreesweeties · 27/09/2010 15:02

OP, I am in utter shock that you continued driving a car with faulty brakes and did not take it upon yourselves to pull up on the hard shoulder and call for assistance.... Honestly, you are unbelievable tbh. You say you want to thank the woman in the blue mazda that she saved your life and yet you continued to put other road users and (yourself after just having your life saved might I add) at risk again for 'a family fun day'. Why didn't you just wait for assistance and have your brakes checked out before continuing on your journey? The public at large are the ones who are lucky here

MistsAndMellow · 27/09/2010 15:02

So how do you stop or slow down with brakes failing in an auto or manual? I'm very interested now just in case Hmm

MistsAndMellow · 27/09/2010 15:03

I must add that I have only had three lessons. I'm not on the roads unsupervised not knowing such things Grin

ForgottenTomato · 27/09/2010 15:05

I honestly don't believe that any of this can be true. In this situation you'd have spent the next (at least) ten minutes shaking on the hard shoulder grateful that you and the kids are alive, while you waited for the RAC or equivalent. This sort of thing would be terrifying.

mumofthreesweeties · 27/09/2010 15:06

are you a troll?

coraltoes · 27/09/2010 15:09

did the brakes fail or did it just take longer for your husband to notice people were braking, and therefore you were careering into the traffic ahead not through technical fault but through human error? I;m starting to think it sounds more like this is the case. No driver on earth would carry on driving if the brakes really had failed. and you would have crashed regardless...just into the next car ahead which was no longer the Mazda driven by Saint Christopher.

chippy47 · 27/09/2010 15:10

Pump the brakes as much as you can to get what braking there is left in them, in a manual take your foot off the accelarator (and automatic) and use the engine to brake by going down the gears. Not got an auto but have driven them -there is usually a manual setting for 1st and 2nd so get into 2nd (and mnodern autos usual have a manual option/tiptronic type gear boxes so you can select whichever gear you want. Judicious use of the handbrake(this can cause you to skid and turn though).

chippy47 · 27/09/2010 15:12

Using the above to stop is not going to create instant results -if you are doing 70+ on a busy motorway you are pretty f*cked unless the traffic keeps moving and you can glide onto the hard shoulder.

MistsAndMellow · 27/09/2010 15:36

Thanks chippy47 Smile

Animation · 27/09/2010 16:01

I have nevr read it to mean that the breaks ACTUALLY failed. Not ACTUALLY failed - just that they failed to respond quick enough in the crisis situation.

I have also NOT read anything in the OP's post to warrant the aggression and condemnation from some of the posters here.

It's like, 'roll up roll up - frustrated with life right now, well come and vent your spleen on this thread and give the OP a right good kicking. Feel better now?' Hmm

cumfy · 27/09/2010 16:08

OP did it feel like you were braking hard ?

How far was the next car on 1,2,3,4,5 car lengths ?

Rockbird · 27/09/2010 16:10

Breaks do seem to work when the car goes at 30 or 40 m/h and it is a big car ( 7 seater) ,so I presume it takes longer to break at 70 or 80??? I have no idea about engines or makes, but was glad it was my DH driving rather than me.

I think really that the quoted paragraph there is reason enough for the agression and condemmation. And the fact that 10 minutes later they were obviously still driving this deathtrap.

The op could have killed the woman in the blue mazda, not to mention anyone else they came across and not to mention the how many children in the back. As they have a 7 seater I'm assuming it's more than one. Hmm

And what does the op do? Bounces along on here without a care in the world whilst developing a fixation on this woman who saved the lives that she put at risk. It's bloody bizarre.

And people are pissed off because any one of us could be driving in front of her and her equally stupid hiusband and she doesn't seem to give a toss.

coraltoes · 27/09/2010 16:10

Animation, she said "the brakes in the car did not work". If it were just braking too late surely you'd say "the brakes didnt kickin fast enough" or "we didnt leave enough time to brake"

bad turn of phrase by OP i think...

cumfy · 27/09/2010 16:18

Animation

I see what you're saying but to be fair the responses are more buckets of cold water to jolt OP into reality.

This situation could have lead to death or serious injury

It is far more important that the OP wakes up, takes on board views different to DP, than being too vexed re her being "picked on".

I think the consensus is that the OP doesn't get it.

Morloth · 27/09/2010 16:22

This is what happens when there are no predators.

The problem with numpties like the OP and her DH is that when they do take themselves out they often take out other people with them.

Get the fucking brakes fixed you moron.

Animation · 27/09/2010 16:22

Coraltose - "the brakes in the car did not work"

Yes, that's what the OP said. That is not the same as saying the brakes HAD failed. The brakes just weren't responding in this situation.

If your brakes had REALLY failed you'd know about it - and NO driver would drive ANY further.

Animation · 27/09/2010 16:25

Cumfy.

I think the OP has gone - and I don't blame her. Why would she want to stick around for more of the same third degree?