How did I/we/you get away with that?

davemc1

davemc1

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Was having a chat with a mate and we got around to near death/life changing accidents that some how we get away with.

His was an rta on a duel carriageway doing 60 behind a council truck. He took his eye off the road for a second, the truck nearly misses its pull in, slammed on to make it, my mate smashes right up his rear end full speed, righting his van off. Walked away with a few cuts and bruises.

Mine was 16' up on a tower scaffold, sponging up a gable end we'd just rendered. The plank snaps, I come down missing 4 planks and at least half a dozen scaffold bars (lesson learned, always position them towards the outside edge) an land on my feet, sponge in hand. Not a cut or any pain anywhere. Even the snapped plank missed damaging the wall!

Even now when I look back I have no idea how I escaped injury? Luck or a higher power...
 
Car loses control on a bend and mounts the pavement, and I'm the pedestrian in the way. With nowhere to go I jump vertically in an effort to land on the bonnet. The car hits me just above the ankle, spinning me and I slam into the bonnet and then the windscreen. We then hit a drystone wall.

The Police sgt who attended the scene visits me in A&E and whilst there says, "in 25yrs on the job I've never seen anyone survive an accident like that."

12 years later I'm sat here at 1:50am in lots of pain but I survived. Struggle a bit towards the end of a round but I'm still playing, and still break 80 most rounds.

Seen all my children grow up into lovely adults, and have 4 grandchildren that I adore. Life's good.
 
Car accident in rush hour, lost the back end in the rain doing 70mph in the fast lane. Clipped the central reservation spun across all 3 lanes. Didn't get touched once, up the hard shoulder embankment and down under the barrier.

As I spun I saw main beams and then brake lights. After hitting the barrier took the car out of gear, head brake on and just sat there for a minute or so. Was glad when someone stopped to help, as the 999 operator was stressing me out!
 
Still sends a shiver through me when I think about it.....
We had an electric shower installed a few years ago, and I had to change the pull switch housing as it had cracked.
Bought a new one, switched off the electrics at the mains and proceeded to fit said housing.
As I screwed the two parts back together, I noticed that there was a single strand of wiring sticking out so attempted to push it back in with my screwdriver.
There was a loud (and I do mean LOUD) bang as I did so, frightened the bloody life out of me.
I'd forgotten that the electrician had installed a new RCD under the stairs solely for the shower and I hadn't turned it off with the other two.
How I hadn't electrocuted myself prior to this I don't know.
This is why I steer clear of DIY.
 
washed off a beach in the late 70 with my little brother, we were quickly carried way out to sea and down the beach. It was the same storms that wrecked the Fastnet Yacht race which was on the same time. we were in the water for about 20 to 30 mins and ended up a t least a mile down the shore. Out parents were convinced were were dead, still gives me the shivers thinking about it. a couple of other people drowned the same day from the same area
 
Smiffy said:
Still sends a shiver through me when I think about it.....
We had an electric shower installed a few years ago, and I had to change the pull switch housing as it had cracked.
Bought a new one, switched off the electrics at the mains and proceeded to fit said housing.
As I screwed the two parts back together, I noticed that there was a single strand of wiring sticking out so attempted to push it back in with my screwdriver.
There was a loud (and I do mean LOUD) bang as I did so, frightened the bloody life out of me.
I'd forgotten that the electrician had installed a new RCD under the stairs solely for the shower and I hadn't turned it off with the other two.
How I hadn't electrocuted myself prior to this I don't know.
This is why I steer clear of DIY.
Click to expand...
Strangely enough I know what LOUD bang you mean.

Was in a pub in Newton Aycliffe a good few years ago installing a jukebox, drilling through the walls behind the bar for the speaker cables I decided to drill through the mains cable bang and I flew 20-30 feet backwards into the chillers underneath the bar.

Was shaking for about 4hrs afterwards.
 
Touched the live bit when turning up the temperature up on a immersion heater, thrown across the room. Forced into hardcore off the fast lane doing 75 by some clown who just pulled put without looking, fought with the steering wheel for 100 meters. Spun the car on a bend in the wet mounted the curb on the inside on the bend.

Nothing much for the last 12 years though. :D
 
My younger sister and I were flying a kite in the fields and she lost control of it, ran away from me chasing the kite and it landed in an overhead mains transformer. I was stood paralysed, couldn't reach her in time and in a daze I turned away, burst into tears and ran home.

I ran into the kitchen and told my mum that my little sis was dead. Mum stared at me as my sister ran in behind me holding the kite saying "why did you run away?"

Obviously it was me that got skelped for telling tales.
 
As a young and naive new driver I was merrily driving along an empty, seemingly uninhabited country road when I decided it would be best to look for my chewing gum - suspected to be on the floor. Soon noticed the ride getting a little bumpy and looked up to see I'd gone into a field. Instinctively steered back to the road but the tyres dug into the earth and shot me across the road at 45°. By this time I'd caught up with the only two houses for miles which were partly protected by a high verge. I'd got some decent momentum however and went up said verge and jumped the car over a hedge and straight into a tree. I was thrown clear into the owners garden (thanks to a non tensioned seat belt from way back in the day) and soon realised the car had landed around 3m from the poor chap who had been sitting peacefully on the other side of the hedge enjoying the sunshine. I was somehow only bruised, he eventually stopped hyperventilating (thought he was having a heart attack at first :eek:) but the car wasn't in good shape. The front was compressed to around 2ft, all the suspension had collapsed and the gear lever and linking mechanism was in the back seat. Considered myself a very lucky boy and learnt many lessons that day.
 
Up until a few years ago I used to have a very powerful motorbike (Kawasaki ZZR1400). A rocket sled on wheels.
One evening I had arranged to meet up with a couple of guys on their bikes and head off up to Boxhill in Surrey (a regular meeting point for bikers) and have a cuppa and sandwich.
As the faster rider I took the lead and traveling down the A272 in West Sussex (which is quite a twisty road) I was stuck behind a large car transporter pulling a trailer.
Went around a corner, took a quick peek and there was a shortish straight coming up. Dropped it down a cog, pulled out to blast past but as I pulled level with the back wheels of the truck a large 4x4 came around the corner at the end of the straight.
I couldn't brake as I was committed to the overtake, and any hesitation would have seen a collision. I kept the throttle pinned to the stop and just managed to tuck myself in front of the lorry in time.The 4x4 had been flashing his headlights as he came towards me, and had to pull right over to his nearside to avoid a head on.
Absolutely trashed myself and realised what an absolute pillock I'd been. Just thankful that the other two lads had stayed back and not tried to follow me as they would undoubtedly both had an accident being on less powerful machinery and all down to my stupidity.
I sold the bike shortly afterwards, as I found myself taking more and more chances on it.
 
Lincoln Quaker said:
Strangely enough I know what LOUD bang you mean.

Was in a pub in Newton Aycliffe a good few years ago installing a jukebox, drilling through the walls behind the bar for the speaker cables I decided to drill through the mains cable bang and I flew 20-30 feet backwards into the chillers underneath the bar.

Was shaking for about 4hrs afterwards.
Click to expand...

Did they give you a large lime and soda from behind the bar, to calm your nerves?:whoo:
 
Putting a pack on at the supply gate end of a Coal face. In essence when the coal seam has been cut there is ( in this case ) a 3 ft six inch high gap 10 ft wide and 20 ft deep that needs to be packed with rock to stop the gates/tunnels from collapsing. I was just going into the cavity to start and a pal shouted me. I stopped took a step back to ask him what he said as it was noisy and I could not hear him. About two seconds later the lot dropped in, about 50 tons of coal and rock. The cavity was that high we joked you could see the canteen women's knickers and knew it was Spring coz we could see the roots on the daffodils. Don't know what the golfing terminology is but in mining it is "shat yer pants".
me brothers best pal and a couple of others were not so lucky in the Bilsthorpe mining tragedy. My brother escaped and saved a few others but 3 or four were not so lucky.
 
Driving home down the central motorwy in Newcastle car to my left decides it wants to be going right, I swerved to avoid him, but lost the back end on a greasy road, fish tailed a couple of times before the backend came right round did 270 degrees round, front of car hit the the barriers knocking a cast iron post off the side off the bridge, car was half way through to a 40 foot drop when barriers sprung and pushed me back onto the road facing the wrong way, the car then slid down the gutter for 30yards or so. I can still clear as day see the man and womens face in the car that was directly behind as the car slid down the gutter. When the police arrived and looked at the barriers, firstly they couldn't believe how someone on the road below hadn't been killed, when I looked over, the post I'd knocked out was in the middle of the road pointing towards oncoming traffic like a WW2 tank trap, secondly the copper said I had ben very lucky and that in all his days in the police he'd never seen anything like it.

The car that caused the crash didn't stop, no one got his number plate, I didn't get prosecuted as witnesses came forward to say it wasn't my fault, but I had £2,500 damage to my car and 6 months later got a bill rom the council for another £2,500 for damages to the barriers.
 
Wasn't me but i witnessed it and it was one of those OMG moments.

I was travelling north, a car had a coming together with another on my direction, one of the cars hit a telegraph pole sending it pointing toward the southbound traffic. A land rover disco then got kebabed by the telegraph pole, it went right through the windscreen, in between the two front seats, missing all the headrests (and passengers) in the back and through the back window. got out and expected claret and brains everywhere, not a cut or scratch on any of the 4 people in the disco.. it was the luckiest near death i have seen.

For me, i have had loads, highsided the race bike at Snett at about 120mph, spun my car on the road, mounted the verge, went round the back of a massive sign and post and ended up facing the right way back on the road and carried on!
 
I've had a few very close shaves:

I welded my GT380 into the side of a MGBT that pulled out in front of me at a crossroads on a dual carriageway that has since been closed now. I physical cleared the car and did a Sturridge for over 50yds, they thought my back was broken and I was choppered away from the scene, ended up with just a small skin graft, broken fingers, wrist and collarbone, I was very lucky.

On my 2nd tour of NI I'd just handed over my stag on the markets checkpoint barrier to another brick and went to the Divis Flats OP, just as I got settled in the OP it came over the radio that there had been a contact and a Zulu number was given out, I looked it up and it was the corporal I had just handed over to, he had been shot multiple times at the barrier and died at the scene. Just 30 minutes earlier I was standing on that barrier for 4 hours!

I've been stabbed, shot at, glassed in the face and I'm still a good looking fellow :smirk:
 
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Fish
I've been stabbed, shot at, glassed in the face and I'm still a good looking fellow.

That mirror from the funhouse at Blackpool was a good buy eh 😂.

Reading your story reminds me of a similar incident bro in law tells me most years about his Bessie mate ( Leon ) who was killed in Belfast during the troubles. Some get away with it some don't.

 
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Back in the distant past,, I was on top of a zipup scaffold looking at a motor on a large roller shutter door. I hadn't built the scaffold, but, it had been built by a 'qualified' colleague, so, everything should have been okay. Whilst trying to free a jammed clutch mechanism, I applied some gentle taps with an engineers persuader. I remember thinking that my colleague must have loosened the motor fixings as the motor was starting to slide away from me. I had time to turn round and see various people starting to move towards me. Then I realised that it was me and the scaffold that were moving. Fortunately the badly built zip up slowly collapsed in the one plane. I was able to ride it down until I was about 5' off the ground before I leapt off it in the opposite direction. My fault for not checking, but, my colleague got a right mouthful from Me.
 
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