1. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    stupid driving mistakes

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Mckk, Jan 26, 2017.

    Come all, share your stupidest, most infuriating driving mistakes. I just failed my driving exam because the mirror hit the side of a stationary truck as I was trying to get around and I'm currently feeling miserable and I want to rant and have something to laugh about. The examiner passed the other guy after 10min even though he'd hit the curb - that guy would have passed anyone. And I go and hit a bloody f-ing TRUCK. To make things worse, the examiner said I otherwise drove very well.

    :supermad::cry::supermad::cry:
    And I need a facepalm emoji...

    So, what are yours? :coffee: Give me something to laugh about.
     
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  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Commiserations. :friend:Maybe it would cheer you up to hear about my curse with cars? https://annakaling.com/2016/04/15/the-curse-seven-cars-in-eight-years/ (P.S. It's now eight cars in nine years)

    I also hit the kerb in my driving test and passed. I was certain I failed, which I think is why the rest of the test went okay; I lost my nerves because I felt it didn't matter anymore. It's a fail if you MOUNT the kerb, because that's illegal, but if you just hit it and then right yourself, it's only a minor.

    I once went the wrong way down a motorway slip road. Thankfully no cars were coming up it, and I noticed quickly enough to reverse out before any harm was done - but that could have been a fatal mistake.

    On one of my first ever trips to a petrol garage, I hit the pump (just lightly, there was no damage). The guy at the next pump saw my P sign and said, "Don't worry, we've all done it." His kindness meant a lot to a nervous new driver!

    I went into the back of the driver in front at the Dartford Crossing tolls. I'd been driving at 70mph for over an hour, and just didn't brake fast enough when we came to the tolls. Luckily I was only going a few mph when I bumped into him, and he waved it off. I like to think of it as karma, since drivers have done the same thing to me twice and both times I told them not to worry about it.

    All those things happened within my first year or two of driving. It gets easier. :)
     
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  3. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    OK, none of these was my mistake.

    So I'm sitting in the office when my boss comes in, looking very shame-faced. He admitted that, as he was entering the car park, he'd swung a little wide and put a crease up the side of my car...

    So, I take it in to a local garage, go to collect it, and reception is slower than usual. Turns out a learner-driver, collecting her car after having some accident damage repaired, misjudged the distance and caught the bumper of another car, hit the wrong pedal and accelerated across the lot, only stopping by using two other parked cars instead of brakes. Mine was the car with the missing bumper...

    About six months later, sitting in the office when we hear a ruckus outside. The fork-lift truck driver had passed out with fumes in his cab; again, he didn't stop until he ran into something. My car...

    Several years later, I'm driving down a dual-carriageway when a guy comes barrelling down the slip road, dodges between a couple of cars on the inside lane, and takes a small van into the central reservation. I see all this from a couple of hundred yards back and stop to offer assistance, give my details to act as a witness. A couple of months later I get a letter from a solicitor telling me that they're holding me responsible for the accident...
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2017
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  4. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    I once wrote off a car ( a VW sirroco GT - the old type) on the same day I bought it... I'd only been driving for a few years and had never driven a sports car before, so I went straight down a dead straight section of bypass at 'somewhat' more than the 60mph speed limit - at the far end it turns sharply left and in my head I was going to go round it in a stylish fourwheel drift - in actuall fact i went straight on sideways through a hedge and down an embankment ... nothing hurt but my pride, and my bank balance.
     
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  5. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    In high school, I parked in a fairly popular parking lot. Students would regularly hang around there for a while after school let out. Well, I was trying to leave one day... I was backing out and someone pulled up behind me and parked. Of course I backed into him! I was checking my side mirrors at the time, making sure I wasn't going to hit the cars next to me. Fortunately, no damage. So we both just went our separate ways.

    Another time, I was driving on a country road at night. It was raining, there were no street lights, and I was lost. I saw a bar on the left, so I went to turn into the parking lot... and almost drove into a huge ditch. A car was coming straight at me, so I backed up as fast as I could, almost hitting a car behind me, then whipped it to the left to get into the parking lot. Almost three accidents in just as many minutes...

    And I ran a red light once because I wasn't paying attention. I started yelling at the guy who pulled out in front of me because I thought he was the jackass. Then I saw a red light and... well.... *facepalm* lol
     
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  6. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    @Tenderiser - I think if you'd failed there and then, the exam would just be over, no? Or is that not how the UK works? My lessons and tests (this was my 2nd attempt) were taken in Prague. The examiner pretty much told me to pull over about 2minutes after I hit the truck - it was over. The first time I took my test I stopped at a green light... FACEPALM. Seems I'm good at these stupid mistakes. Mind you the first time I didn't feel half as bad because I didn't really feel I did that badly, and I got a racist communist era guy who was looking to fail everyone anyway. The girl I was with drove perfectly and he still failed her - it was so unfair to the point where our own driving instructor, who was with us, actually told the girl not to sign the paper acknowledging the result as a sort of silent protest.

    But this second time round was firmly my fault. There was a 99% chance of passing and I botched it. My friend told me that next time I should just fold up the mirrors first. FUCK why didn't I think of that!? I had my doubts as soon as I turned into the left lane (we drive on the right here obv lol) - it looked too narrow, but by this point it was too late to turn back into my own lane, and I didn't think reversing back into my own lane was a good idea, neither did I think simply stopping - now entirely in the wrong lane - was a good idea either 'cause that's obstruction of traffic and frankly dangerous, no? So I pushed it. And WHAM. The mirror just folded up - it's not like it broke. But still. Sigh.

    Will read your blog now :coffee:

    @Shadowfax - WTF about the final story where you were held responsible for the accident? What happened after? Sorry about your cars...

    Guys I'm loving these horrendous driving stories - makes me feel like I'm not too bad after all if all your drivers with an actual license made way worse mistakes than me :-D keep them coming!
     
  7. xanadu

    xanadu Contributor Contributor

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    I've had one of these before. The person in front of me must have turned right on red, and I didn't really look up to check before going straight. Luckily there was no one in the intersection. Saw it halfway through. Part of me was paranoid for a month, worrying if there was a traffic camera or something. Nope. Got away with it ;)

    In other news, I've had four accidents in my life. Three of them were with inanimate objects.
     
  8. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Nope, here you have to finish the test (50 minutes I think, or maybe 40) before you find out if you passed or failed.
     
  9. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    @Tenderiser - wow. That's mean. No, here there're really no regulations it seems. Technically there's a list of criteria you're supposed to meet, but no examiner actually follows it. I asked my tutor why and apparently the criteria is super strict and it'd mean 80% of students would fail, rather than currently where they pass. Here it just depends on the examiner - my exam was 5min today lol and the guy after me drove for 10min. He quite literally turned a few corners and parked right back at the driving school and passed. Whereas my first exam was probably 30min long. 30min is standard here I think.

    Just finished your blog post. My goodness remind me never to be in a car with you :ninja: it's like you're a magnet for car accidents!
     
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  10. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    I just rang the solicitor and pointed out that, as the chief witness (nobody else much stopped) I might not be too convincing in persuading the court to convict me.
     
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  11. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Unless you are so dangerous the instructor deems it not safe to continue. You can either fail on a major fault in which case they'll cut the test short and return to the centre, or on a combination of minors where you have to wait to the end
     
  12. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Backed up into an empty horse trailer once. In my defense it was not there until I bumped it.
    There was no damage, so I boogied on out of there. :p
     
  13. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    "Backed up into an empty horse trailer..." So, the ramp was down, and you made like you were a horse?
     
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  14. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Are you sure? I didn't get any majors but my husband did (on two tests) and both times they carried on until the end.
     
  15. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Well, my husband ended his first driving test by hitting the side of a double-decker bus. In his defense, he didn't see it coming because the winter sun glare was in his eyes at the time. Nobody was hurt, fortunately. The driving examiner was sympathetic, because the light had been so dazzling he hadn't seen the bus either, but he couldn't very well pass him, could he? (Winter sun is a huge hazard here in Scotland—for pedestrians as well as drivers. Low sun coupled with constantly wet road surfaces does not make for an easy time. I had a horrible time yesterday, just trying to cross a busy road near my house. I could NOT see the oncoming traffic without shading my eyes.)

    Next time Jack took the test, he passed, no bother. And then, that same day, he got straight into the new mini he'd just bought and drove into the centre of Glasgow, to his work. That's the kind of guy Jack is. He just gets the job done, no matter what. He's a very good driver. One of those drivers I've often mentioned, whose driving I don't notice. I just enjoy the ride with him at the wheel. We haven't owned a car for a long time, though, and now rely on public transportation (which is really good where we live, and bus travel is free to people over 60.)

    I never got a UK driving license ...no point if we don't have a car. I did drive in the USA, though. My test was a skoosh, as they often were back then. It amounted to driving a couple of blocks, then returning to the parking lot where we started. No problem. I never had any kind of accident during the years I was driving there, but I did go the wrong way into the entry to the airport in Detroit once. I was not used to big city driving, and took a wrong turn up the wrong lane. Boy, I really got honked at. Fortunately it was at night and it wasn't busy, so nothing came of it. But it was a very scary experience.

    Good luck, @Mckk , next time. You'll pass eventually.
     
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  16. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    Then there's the time my brother-in-law was trying to join a busy roundabout...a very busy roundabout. Finally, he saw a gap between two cars that he could just about get into. Move off smartly, adjust his speed to theirs, hit the tow-rope between them...
     
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  17. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

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    Hi,

    Here's two for you.

    The first one isn't mine. It happened to the guy next to me at the MOT station when we were both sitting our tests. In those days the tests were in two parts, a written multichoice questionnaire, and after that an oral six questions. We had both done the written and passed and were waiting for the traffic officer to come and give us our orals. She arrived and started with the guy next to me. Thing is, she was a motorcycle officer (I assume!) and she came in wearing a short skirt and thigh high leather motorcycle boots, and the fool next to me made some sort of comment about her dress. The first question he got you ask? Name twenty four things you need for a warrant of fitness!!! He didn't get a second question!

    This second one though is mine. It was when I was at varsity, driving home to the family home in Wellington for the weekend. I had just left Palmy and was on Pioneer Highway heading south, which in those days was a two lane (one each way) road running through the country with no street lights and only gravel on the sides ofthe road. And of course it was late at night so I couldn't see anything more than the wash of lights from my car - a dungy old Viva HC. Anyway I'm driving along, going far too fast (yes in a Viva!) when I see a light on the side of the road going rhythmically up and down. And I think to myself a cyclist and its the reflector off his peddles. So I go wide to give him room. Then the light starts going side to side and I'm thinking - he's fallen over! (I know, stupid thought but it was actually what I thought,) So I went wider again until I'm on the wrong side of the road, barrelling towards this light. Which was when I finally thought to turn on the high beam.

    And that was when I saw the light was a torch in a guys hand being waved frantically at me, while I'm racing straight up at the arse end of a fresian cow - the black and white ones - on the wrong side of the road! I have no idea at all how I didn't end up with my bonnet full of cow.

    Cheers, Greg.
     
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  18. Hydraphantom

    Hydraphantom Member

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    When I was getting road test, when turning from the main road to small road, I got nervous and drove on to THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! I almost crash head first into another car, needless to say, I failed.
     
  19. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    Oh no, I'm sorry to hear you failed it!! :( I know how stressful the exam can be, I just took mine... And because I'm a newbie driver, I make mistakes all the time. :eek: I've already forgotten to switch on the headlights (when it was dark), yesterday I joined a busy four-lane motorway (or whatever it's called, where you can drive at 100+ km/h), I first blinked to left, then to right, then left again, right again... I couldn't switch it off :oops: , and then last weekend, again on another motorway, I suddenly forgot how to use the windshield cleaner + swipe (even though I had practiced it at the parking lot), and for a moment I couldn't see anything because right then the sun was reflected off the wet asphalt, blinding me, and the car that sped by me threw crap all over the windshield, so I was going 120 km/hour blind. And don't get me started on misjudging the lanes. Half the time I can't even see the paint because of ice and snow (and the signs above are sometimes covered too), and most lanes are so narrow for the same reason I'll be surprised if I make it through this winter with both mirrors intact. Sometimes luck and other conditions are stacked against you, so don't feel too bad. At least you know how to drive, so you'll pass it the next time, I'm sure. :)
     

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