Your Most Dangerous Driving Experience

[ecotourist]

The summer after my second year of university I had a summer job at a gas plant at Whitecourt, Alberta. We worked a 5 days on, 1 day off, 5 days on, 1 day off, 5 days on, 4 days off schedule. At the end of that shift schedule, being young and having little sense, I immediately drove to my parent’s home in eastern Saskatchewan to spend my days off with my friends.

The drive home was 950 Km (600 miles). In order to maximize my time at home I would work all day and immediately head for home, driving all night. My job was out of town so there was a half hour bus ride to and from work as well. So after a 9 1/2 hour work day, I undertook a 9 1/2 drive without any rest. I would get home about 4:00 or 5:00 am.

On one of these long drives I was within a couple of miles of home and the next thing I knew I was driving in the tall grass in the ditch. I had fallen asleep at the wheel. Without stopping (or even slowing down) I steered back onto the road and finished the drive. That was a hugely dangerous off-road excursion. The ditches were deep and there were large rocks here and there and level crossing approaches at half mile intervals. If I had crossed the road into oncoming traffic, rolled the car or hit anything in the ditch with that old car there would have been a grim outcome.

Did I learn anything? Nope. Kept making the same crazy trip all summer. Only in later years have I considered how crazy it was. I was just lucky.

 

[Hal-9000]

Lucky indeed. I’ve seen the outcome of poor judgment way too many times. Count your blessings

 

[Barkleymut]

Every time I got into the car in High School with 2 of my friends. One of them had an RX7 Turbo, guessing a 1987? We got up to top speed a few times. My other friends dad had a 1983 911 convertible. When his dad was out of town we would take it out to the country and stay at 130mph. Had a few close calls. One time we got pulled over and we were not even speeding, the cop said man I've been looking for you, saw you last week absolutely flying and couldn't get my radar to lock on you. That scared my friend for about a day, then we were flying around again.

 

[Barkleymut]

Was in a head on collision in the RX7 going about 60 (truck in the other lane was stopped). I had my seatbelt on and walked away without a scratch, my friend hit his head on the windshield and i thought he was dead. After a couple of seconds he looks at me and yells, get that #$%%#'s license plate, he was in my lane....I knew he was going to be just fine at that point.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Probably when I got hit by another careless driver. I was going to my mechanics class and was approaching an intersection where I had to turn, well I slowed down a little bit with my signal on and then a car comes around me going at least 50mph or faster and cuts in front of me and another car was in front of me and they clipped the front passenger side of my truck with their driver side then they told the police and insurance I hit them. Which I told them was false. So still haven’t gotten a court date but I’m super scared it won’t be in my favor but the other driver has tons of things on her record and I don’t have a single thing on mine. They wrote her a ticket as well for two things failure to provide adequate information in an accident and hit and run since she left the scene after demanding my information.

 

[wwillson]

"Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment".

When I was young, I wasn't wild by any stretch, but I would push myself to keep driving even though I was tired, because I just had to get there. One time I fell asleep behind another car in the right lane of the interstate. I woke up in the left lane in front of the same car. It scared me so bad that I have never driven when I'm that tired again.

Now the close calls I have driving are usually from someone else's bad judgment. Unfortunately, I experience others' bag judgement almost every time I drive.

 

[FordMan59]

I used to do the same thing. Working construction I'd sometimes work up to 12 hours, drive 500 miles to get to my parents house early on Saturday morning. I'd spend the day with them on Saturday then leave mid morning on Sunday to get back home so I could go to work again on Monday morning. Many years ago I left KY headed to the OK panhandle with fog thick enough I could see about 2 dotter lines on the road ahead. The fog stayed like that for the whole trip. The drive was approximately 1K miles and because of the fog I drove 25 consecutive hours through it after having already been up about 12 hours prior to leaving. I guess my most dangerous driving was done years ago when I didn't have enough sense to stay out from behind the wheel after a day/night of heavy drinking. I flipped an MG Midget one night back in '81 while driving after about 12 hours of continuous drinking. I still don't remember the wreck.

 

[2EHA]

had a very smart idea to cruise at 175mph on i294 heading towards indiana. hit a big fat bump and had the scare of my life when i regained traction

america is a very easy country to speed in but left lane hogs and inconsistent road maintenance makes it scary

 

[rob1715]

Every time my wife drives. Take your pick.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Driving my supercharged Fox body Mustang on drag radials home from my first job out of college. Heading south in the middle of 5 lanes of rush hour traffic all moving 65 mph when we drove into a wall of rain. Just as I was thinking “I better slow down a bit with all this rain standing on the road” the back end started to hydroplane and come around. I know you aren’t supposed to give any steering or brake input but I had to do something to keep from hitting the car in the lane next to me. I can’t remember if I touched the brakes or the steering wheel but it sent the car into a spin with me sawing at the wheel. I was facing the traffic behind me including a semi truck. It felt like I spun 10 times but it was probably only 2. By some sort of miracle I didn’t hit cars in either lane next to me or get hit when the car stalled out. I got it restarted and drove my jittery, adrenaline filled self home very slowly and cautiously.

 

[Duffyjr]

Ten years ago I was t-boned by a lady that ran a stop sign. I seen it was going to happen a split second before it happened. It spun me around 180 and my car kept going, by the time I had sense enough to stop the car I was a few car lengths away from where it happened.

No body was hurt and she had a mini van full of kids but we all had seat belts on. I felt like someone took a baseball bat to me for about a week.

 

[wolfox03SS]

This was during the GM malaise years.

I sported my pop's '84 Olds Delta 88 with the 305 small block and TH200R4 slushbox.

The local villiage idiot had his father's blas`e, similar year, make, model, stealthy-white Shrove-roll; EH! (Chutzpah!) sedan-o-wagon.

We led each other through local suburban surface roads and I only managed to get ahead in my Oldsmobile "Rocket" by sheer luck and maybe better skills. My machine was a lead lined sled on gimp-luxe Goodyear radial whitewalls. He almost kissed my rear bumper when he smacked down on throttle through a 90 degree left turn in a 25MPH zone. (We peaked -with struggle around 60MPH, if I'm remembering halfway right) I instinctively steering corrected when he contacted my bullet proof bumper and must have knocked him a little sideways with a reverse PIT maneuver? He spun off to the right at full throttle across some poor folk's yard, plowed the lawn, shrubs...then came to rest in their livingroom. (!!!)

I stuck around, luckily there was not a scratch on anyone.The family that owned the home was completely absent. The cops already hot to find the "neighborhood racers" were already hot on our trail. It took no time at all to find us, I was parked curbside but helping my friend out of his wreck.

I confessed to everything. Straight up, no lies. My interview collaborated my friend's testimony, but because he lost control and damaged property, the police were more focused on him.

To this day, I just don't. Won't. Ever play dangerous on pubic roads. That experience still haunts me. I play only in legal track meets now...and funnily enough? Against my sister that thinks Jeep Limited HEMI gizmoes are...well...allthatandabaggachips.

 

[Hal-9000]

Op, are we including track events, or is this just street driving?

the back end started to come around. I know you aren’t supposed to give any steering....

There’s a mistake. Research on what to do in this situation to help prevent a reoccurrence

 

[ecotourist]

Op, are we including track events, or is this just street driving?

Driving is driving. I'd include everything.

 

[tyman]

Driving Route Irish almost daily in Baghdad 2005-2006. It was still the most dangerous highway in the world at that point. Fun times.

 

[OilReport99]

Make sure you know when to stop and rest or sleep. You cannot beat biology.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I drove from Gillette, WY to Denver, CO in a blinding snowstorm, in a Plymouth Sundance. In some places, the snow was up to the chin spoiler on that car. I knew better than to stop, because I knew I might not get it going again. When I got to Cheyenne, the highway turned from deep snow to solid ice, in blizzard conditions. No abs on that car, so when you touched the brakes, the steering went numb. I had run through my supply of adrenaline by the time I got to Denver. So many bad things could've happened on that trip. Someone was watching over me.

 

[OilReport99]

I drove from Gillette, WY to Denver, CO in a blinding snowstorm, in a Plymouth Sundance. In some places, the snow was up to the chin spoiler on that car. I knew better than to stop, because I knew I might not get it going again. When I got to Cheyenne, the highway turned from deep snow to solid ice, in blizzard conditions. No abs on that car, so when you touched the brakes, the steering went numb. I had run through my supply of adrenaline by the time I got to Denver. So many bad things could've happened on that trip. Someone was watching over me.

That sounds like the Donner Party...with a happy ending

 

[jurko]

Driving Route Irish almost daily in Baghdad 2005-2006. It was still the most dangerous highway in the world at that point. Fun times.

Were you at Camp Liberty?

 

[road_rascal]

This was around 1988 or so in Colorado (this area here) before 470 was built north of Ken Caryl Ave, so it was basically a straight shot south with no traffic. A high school friend 'borrowed' his dads new Formula Firebird, picked me up, and proceeded to max out the speedo. I think it showed 140 before we hit the next exit. My brother and I also 'borrowed' my dads 1987 Saab 9000 turbo when he was away on a business trip and I think we hit 130 before we slowed down. Stupid I know...