life flashed before me

[Quigonjay]

nearly killed myself and my car this morning
i honestly thought it was time to meet my maker, very very surprised i got away with such little damage (well, might not be 'such little damage' as its making a lot of noises it never used to now, suspension and engine )
(this was as i had just set of to york drag strip btw)
For anyone local it was going on to the A56 at the top of manchester road in accrington
Now i have joined this dual carriageway 1000 times previously and always booted it as soon as i joined - its not even what you would call a bend really, just a long sweeping curve (not something you would slow down for at motorway speeds)
I know people always try and place the blame on a particular factor of any incident but there MUST have been diesel on the road (bout 100yds from a petrol station that all the truckers use)
the reason i say that is i have done the same in all conditions snow/ice/heavy rain and never had a problem before (even with bold tyres)
anyway, wasnt a lot i could do about it, snapped round so fast nobody could have caught it, smashed up the grass embankment, back on to carrigeway, back up embankment and came to rest on the carrigeway again (2 spins) not sure how fast i was going at time of incident but think i was still in 3rd
had a quick look round, apart from the ton of grass scooped up at the front didnt seem to be too much damage - front undertray half ripped off, scuffed/damaged front bumper, squeaky suspension)
think i got away lightly but will be getting it inspected at peters later this week
take it easy guys

[CosmosblueMR2]

Lucky escape... get a garage to look under the car for you.

I've done exactly the same before - my car came to rest sideways up an embankment, and when i opened the door to get out the door nearly came off it's hinges and i fell out

as i say better be safe than sorry and get the car inspected - certainly if it's now making "noises"...

Glad you are all ok tho mate

[craig]

Glad you're ok mate, and hope the car is easily fixed [-o<

[Quigonjay]

not too much damage on initial inspection, bumper needed a respray anyway, might need a new undertray, think the radiator took a bit of a beating though from scooping up so much crap
havent had chance to take a good look underneath yet as its been lashing it down all day, probably leave it for peter to have a look when i'm there on wednesday

[FreeFall]

Glad you're OK mate. I can't believe you then went on to York for the strip, I would have taken that as an omen, turned around and gone home

Nick

[Quigonjay]

lol, i did consider turning round but after driving a few hundred yards to check it braked/steered as it should decided it was ok

[ljb]

doesn't look too bad mate, just hope its only cosmetic damage, and the noises are just rubbing trim etc, glad your ok and nobody else got hurt. i was coming back from tuner gp yesturday and saw a crash (after it had happend) was a lorry a car and a woman lying on the floor in a neck brace, we took it steady after that. makes you think twice about doing things for a while.

[^Trickster^]

I was following a Z3 a couple of years ago, we both came off a roundabout onto a road I drive all the time and his back end strepped out, i tought he was plugging it to try and race away, as i got to the point on the road where he had done that i started snaking all over the place aswell, always makes me wonder how diesel etc gets onto the roads, i mean, does it just tip out of the truck or what, this was no where near a petrol station or anything.

Pleased your ok, cars can be fixed!

Graeme

[Ed]

Gas caps on lorries don't seem to screw on as tightly or have as good a seal on them as cars do. (Certainly with some operators who maybe don't take as much pride in maintaining their fleet) If the driver overfills the tank then each time he goes round a corner it can slosh out of the filler pipe. One reason when I was driving that I never filled the tank right to the top.

[Quigonjay]

not too much damage after all, though my downpipe had a little crack in it
at least i know it isnt going to crack at the welds

[jmachling]

Glad you're OK. Best of luck for a speedy fix for the 2 too.

[RyanRs]

it is easy for lorry/coach driver to forget to re-fit the cap aswell.. i have done it myself on a coach.. there was a srping loaded flap and under that was the cap.. after filling up, i replaced the pump nossle back, the flap had sprung shut, and i compleatly forgot about the screw cap inside! altho, i only got to the 1st roundabout before i realised and screwed it up / reported the spillage to me yard..

i fink most of the time its due to coach & lorry drivers having very long hours, and tiredness is cause for a lot of mistakes!