I am lucky...

killerkebab · 20-10-2007, 18:40

... and I am not even joking.

Last night was a novel experience for me. I decided to go on the M4 towards Reading. All was well until at some point in my nighttime journey I lost concentration for a few seconds.

Long enough for my right tyre to find gravel, and for the car to spin to the left. I attempt to correct and of course, overcorrect, landing my sorry ass into the central barrier. It is a miracle that nobody else was around when I was spinning.

So now I am on the M4 fast lane, facing the wrong way in the middle of the night, with no way out in sight. I find that whilst I didn't feel anything when I hit the gravel and lost control and went into a barrier, I do feel scared right now. I feel an adrenaline surge like none I've ever experienced and watching those cars come within mere inches of mine at speeds in excess of 90mph make me feel very, very nervous. So I make a frantic call to emergency services, who advise me to get out of the car. That's nice, but where to?

Someone must have heard my fears because a '05 reg VW stops on the hard shoulder. A man gets out, dons a fluorescent jacket, grabs a spare, runs across the motorway, sees he has an opening in that the motorway was going to be quiet for the next 20 seconds, and literally grabs me out of the car and takes me to the hard shoulder. I had nothing but a T-shirt so he gave me a spare jacket, a spare fluorescent jacket, he said he'll stay with me to the end, he allows me to take calls from his car so I can get help, and he even offers to drive me home if I need it. It was only then that I looked and saw two kids and his wife in the car. This man was ready to postpone his plans (he was taking his family to legoland) to help me out. A hero of the highest order.

Nothing hit my car in the end, but I probably owe him my life regardless.

First person to arrive is an ambulance. Possibly due to my frantic manner in the phone call, he was very surprised to notice that I am fine and I don't have a single scratch on me. Only then do I notice he is right. I instantly become fascinated at the way I can survive a 75mph collision with a metal barrier without a single scratch, especially when we consider my car is dead. At least from here I think it is, because it is dark and whilst my car is still in the middle of the fast lane... my bumper is in a ditch beyond the hard shoulder, the license plate glowing blue from the ambulance's lights. This strikes a nerve (a lot of things will tonight) and I suddenly find I have a slight case of the shakes.

Soon therafter the police arrive. I tell my saviour that he shouldn't stay and that I will have to take care of myself from here on in, and he only seems to accept that when the policeman voices the same opinion. The police ask me routine questions, make a vehicle check, insurance check, license check, and alcohol check, and we put down the cause as lack concentration due to tiredness. He was a very nice man, telling me he could chase this up but he feels I have suffered enough. He gives me a lecture on concentration on the road especially on a straight motorway in the middle of the night when I am alone in the car, and ends the lecture saying he knows I don't want to hear it, but that he would much rather give me the lecture rather than be the one who has to inform my father of my recent death. That sentence struck a hell of a nerve. I found my recent adrenaline rush to be just about negated and I find my slight case of the shakes to be a severe one by now.

I manage to phone recovery who inform me that they will take upwards of an hour to show up, which means I am stuck on the side of the motorway with nothing but a T-shirt for an entire hour at 10pm. Highways agency stop and hand me a 'space blanket' which looks like a huge strip of tin foil to wrap around myself. I thought they were joking and obviously my facial expression gives this away as the man says 'trust me, it doesn't look like much but it might just save you from frostbite.' Damn if he wasn't right. The strip was paper thin but no wind gets through. I am absolutely frozen stiff by now and doing nothing but thinking. Thinking about what I must do, where I can go, the fact that I nearly died and how the hell do I tell my father that I have just gone and crashed a car he bought me no more than three months ago and nearly went and killed myself in the same move?

Recovery arrives and at this point I feel like a stalagmite but at least the truck has heating. My car gets towed to the university where I decide to make my next call to my dad. Upon finding out that I have crashed he goes from extremely concerned about my health to completely furious and back to concerned when he realises I was on the M4 in the space of 90 seconds. He tells me he will be here tomorrow (Saturday) to see what we must do.

I decide to go to uni halls which I've moved into earlier today. Walking past the communal kitchen one of the guys pokes his head out:
'You must be the new guy, you all right?'
'Not really, no'
'Why?'
I bet he was totally expecting the story that followed

I find I have an urge for drink and gulp down some vodka to calm me down, and sleep. Pretty easily, considering.

Fast forward to this afternoon. The car is now in car heaven, where it shall stay. RIP Clio, they were fun days

Blackstar · 20-10-2007, 18:47

Glad you are ok Eddie.

Haly · 20-10-2007, 18:47

That's.......scary.
Glad you're ok

Sounds like you've had the lectures and hopefully taken them on board so I won't go into that too

Scary how easily it can happen though.

Nutcase · 20-10-2007, 18:52

Whoah - glad you're ok!

Sounds like the right person was driving by at that time too. There really are genuine and heroic people still out there

Kell_ee001 · 20-10-2007, 19:21

Glad you're ok and even in those unpleasent circumstances I can see why you count yourself lucky

petemc · 20-10-2007, 19:34

Bloody hell dude! Glad to hear you're ok. The guy who stopped sounded like such a nice guy. Really nice to hear that he was so generous with his time.

Belmit · 20-10-2007, 21:10

Amazing story with thankfully the most positive outcome we all could have hoped for, considering what may have been. Glad there was no lasting damage.

I had a bit of a wake up call a few days ago myself. Coming home on the commute I've done about a thousand times before, I approached a roundabout in the outside lane with a car on my inside. Somehow the roundabout was suddenly upon me and for some reason I just hadn't noticed how quickly. Conditions were damp after a long period of dryness so very slippery. Stamped on the brakes a little too heavily as a reaction and the wheels locked, sliding forward at just under 70 with the kerb to my right and a car to the left. Released with a bit of correction and hit the brakes again, locking a second time. Came to the realisation that if anything moved out of the left-hand lane into mine then I'd definitely be in a spot of bother. Pressed the brakes for the final time and locked again, sliding to a halt on the white line. Had there been a car there I would have shunted it straight onto the roundabout. Been driving rather more conservatively since then.

Glad I kept my head and lifted as the car started to slide. Had I just kept my foot on the brake there definitely would have been consequences.

Tak · 20-10-2007, 21:29

Glad you came out in one piece and kudos to the guy who stopped to help you out

Glad you're ok too Chris

LeperousDust · 20-10-2007, 23:15

As i just spoke to you on MSN, yeah you were lucky suck it up to experience and don't let it scare you off driving at all... I wrote my mums car off (male boy racer sterotype me?) a few months after passing my test into the back of two cars... All my bad really i admit it now but you have to move on

Darrin · 21-10-2007, 02:14

Glad you're ok. Is there any way for the police to find out contact details of the family who stopped to help? IT would be nice to be able to send a thank you card or something to him and his family.

I know the possibilities are slim, but maybe a dash cam or something caught his reg plate and they can look it up for you.

20-10-2007, 18:40	#1
killerkebab Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol/Reading Posts: 656	I am lucky... ... and I am not even joking. Last night was a novel experience for me. I decided to go on the M4 towards Reading. All was well until at some point in my nighttime journey I lost concentration for a few seconds. Long enough for my right tyre to find gravel, and for the car to spin to the left. I attempt to correct and of course, overcorrect, landing my sorry ass into the central barrier. It is a miracle that nobody else was around when I was spinning. So now I am on the M4 fast lane, facing the wrong way in the middle of the night, with no way out in sight. I find that whilst I didn't feel anything when I hit the gravel and lost control and went into a barrier, I do feel scared right now. I feel an adrenaline surge like none I've ever experienced and watching those cars come within mere inches of mine at speeds in excess of 90mph make me feel very, very nervous. So I make a frantic call to emergency services, who advise me to get out of the car. That's nice, but where to? Someone must have heard my fears because a '05 reg VW stops on the hard shoulder. A man gets out, dons a fluorescent jacket, grabs a spare, runs across the motorway, sees he has an opening in that the motorway was going to be quiet for the next 20 seconds, and literally grabs me out of the car and takes me to the hard shoulder. I had nothing but a T-shirt so he gave me a spare jacket, a spare fluorescent jacket, he said he'll stay with me to the end, he allows me to take calls from his car so I can get help, and he even offers to drive me home if I need it. It was only then that I looked and saw two kids and his wife in the car. This man was ready to postpone his plans (he was taking his family to legoland) to help me out. A hero of the highest order. Nothing hit my car in the end, but I probably owe him my life regardless. First person to arrive is an ambulance. Possibly due to my frantic manner in the phone call, he was very surprised to notice that I am fine and I don't have a single scratch on me. Only then do I notice he is right. I instantly become fascinated at the way I can survive a 75mph collision with a metal barrier without a single scratch, especially when we consider my car is dead. At least from here I think it is, because it is dark and whilst my car is still in the middle of the fast lane... my bumper is in a ditch beyond the hard shoulder, the license plate glowing blue from the ambulance's lights. This strikes a nerve (a lot of things will tonight) and I suddenly find I have a slight case of the shakes. Soon therafter the police arrive. I tell my saviour that he shouldn't stay and that I will have to take care of myself from here on in, and he only seems to accept that when the policeman voices the same opinion. The police ask me routine questions, make a vehicle check, insurance check, license check, and alcohol check, and we put down the cause as lack concentration due to tiredness. He was a very nice man, telling me he could chase this up but he feels I have suffered enough. He gives me a lecture on concentration on the road especially on a straight motorway in the middle of the night when I am alone in the car, and ends the lecture saying he knows I don't want to hear it, but that he would much rather give me the lecture rather than be the one who has to inform my father of my recent death. That sentence struck a hell of a nerve. I found my recent adrenaline rush to be just about negated and I find my slight case of the shakes to be a severe one by now. I manage to phone recovery who inform me that they will take upwards of an hour to show up, which means I am stuck on the side of the motorway with nothing but a T-shirt for an entire hour at 10pm. Highways agency stop and hand me a 'space blanket' which looks like a huge strip of tin foil to wrap around myself. I thought they were joking and obviously my facial expression gives this away as the man says 'trust me, it doesn't look like much but it might just save you from frostbite.' Damn if he wasn't right. The strip was paper thin but no wind gets through. I am absolutely frozen stiff by now and doing nothing but thinking. Thinking about what I must do, where I can go, the fact that I nearly died and how the hell do I tell my father that I have just gone and crashed a car he bought me no more than three months ago and nearly went and killed myself in the same move? Recovery arrives and at this point I feel like a stalagmite but at least the truck has heating. My car gets towed to the university where I decide to make my next call to my dad. Upon finding out that I have crashed he goes from extremely concerned about my health to completely furious and back to concerned when he realises I was on the M4 in the space of 90 seconds. He tells me he will be here tomorrow (Saturday) to see what we must do. I decide to go to uni halls which I've moved into earlier today. Walking past the communal kitchen one of the guys pokes his head out: 'You must be the new guy, you all right?' 'Not really, no' 'Why?' I bet he was totally expecting the story that followed I find I have an urge for drink and gulp down some vodka to calm me down, and sleep. Pretty easily, considering. Fast forward to this afternoon. The car is now in car heaven, where it shall stay. RIP Clio, they were fun days __________________

20-10-2007, 18:47	#2
Blackstar Ambassador of Awesome Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edinburger Posts: 3,676	Glad you are ok Eddie. __________________ Jim Garrahy's Fudge Kitchen

20-10-2007, 18:47	#3
Haly Do you want to hide in my box? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 14,941	That's.......scary. Glad you're ok Sounds like you've had the lectures and hopefully taken them on board so I won't go into that too Scary how easily it can happen though. __________________ Halycopter

20-10-2007, 19:21	#5
Kell_ee001 Wants Big Meat Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newcastle Posts: 6,478	Glad you're ok and even in those unpleasent circumstances I can see why you count yourself lucky __________________

20-10-2007, 19:34	#6
petemc Moonshine Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Nr Liverpewl Posts: 4,371	Bloody hell dude! Glad to hear you're ok. The guy who stopped sounded like such a nice guy. Really nice to hear that he was so generous with his time. __________________ Thats no hamster, its a space station!

20-10-2007, 18:52	#4
Nutcase Moonshine Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chelmsford, innit! Posts: 3,979	Whoah - glad you're ok! Sounds like the right person was driving by at that time too. There really are genuine and heroic people still out there

20-10-2007, 21:10	#7
Belmit The Mouse King of Denmark Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Winchester Posts: 6,476	Amazing story with thankfully the most positive outcome we all could have hoped for, considering what may have been. Glad there was no lasting damage. I had a bit of a wake up call a few days ago myself. Coming home on the commute I've done about a thousand times before, I approached a roundabout in the outside lane with a car on my inside. Somehow the roundabout was suddenly upon me and for some reason I just hadn't noticed how quickly. Conditions were damp after a long period of dryness so very slippery. Stamped on the brakes a little too heavily as a reaction and the wheels locked, sliding forward at just under 70 with the kerb to my right and a car to the left. Released with a bit of correction and hit the brakes again, locking a second time. Came to the realisation that if anything moved out of the left-hand lane into mine then I'd definitely be in a spot of bother. Pressed the brakes for the final time and locked again, sliding to a halt on the white line. Had there been a car there I would have shunted it straight onto the roundabout. Been driving rather more conservatively since then. Glad I kept my head and lifted as the car started to slide. Had I just kept my foot on the brake there definitely would have been consequences. __________________

20-10-2007, 21:29	#8
Tak L'Oréal Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 9,977	Glad you came out in one piece and kudos to the guy who stopped to help you out Glad you're ok too Chris __________________ The look on your face when a toddler rips out your heart and shows it to you? Priceless.... For everything else, there's FWOOSH!

20-10-2007, 23:15	#9
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	As i just spoke to you on MSN, yeah you were lucky suck it up to experience and don't let it scare you off driving at all... I wrote my mums car off (male boy racer sterotype me?) a few months after passing my test into the back of two cars... All my bad really i admit it now but you have to move on __________________

21-10-2007, 02:14	#10
Darrin Dirteh Kitteh Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hiding out in Mormon Country Posts: 1,629	Glad you're ok. Is there any way for the police to find out contact details of the family who stopped to help? IT would be nice to be able to send a thank you card or something to him and his family. I know the possibilities are slim, but maybe a dash cam or something caught his reg plate and they can look it up for you. __________________ A bullet may have your name on it, but shrapnel is addressed "to whom it may concern".

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