Watch out for idiots!

[Juju]

I met two of them last night!

Riding home from work, down Westerham Hill, Kent. Rural A road, 50 mph limit, unlit, a dark night. Nothing in front and what appears to be a single vehicle approaching me. I'm riding slowly (to manage my 4 day commute of 196 miles on one fillup) about 45. I ride like Miss Marple. On Tamazipan.

Then 50 yards or so from me, a second pair of headlights appears, on my side of the road from behind the car I can see. I've now got 2 lanes of oncoming car, they're both side by side. On my side seems to be a large modern 4x4 thing. The set of headlights on my side are these modern, very white and bright beams.

First thought was "I'm going to die in a couple of seconds". Not a helpful flight or fight reaction, thank you body. All I can do is slam on the brakes to minimise impact speed, swerve to the left to give myself the best chance of avoidance, with a view to going right through the rural hedgerow and any fence hidden within if I have to (and my brakes were in tip top condition from the last service, better than any time since I bought the SV 4 years ago).

Just as the headlights are up to me, the overtaking car starts to cut in, and just missed me by oh, less than a couple of feet, which on a dark night, with a contact speed of guestimated over 100, would have been fatal had it been head on with a big 4x4.

I've lost control on the gravel/verge at the side of the road - bike goes down. I under it, and there's quite a interaction of helmet/road surface.

And they didn't even stop. They can't have failed to see me. They didn't even stop.

The guy following the two oncoming "racing" cars, who kindly called the police, hung around as a witness til they arrived, said they'd been more or less road raging each other, trying to overtake each other, accelerating to prevent it, and generally giving it "the beans" (Think Gareth Hunt, Nescafe ads) to each other and almost stuffed someone else off the road half a mile earlier.

The car behind slammed on, and stopped in the road to make sure I wasn't run into/over, and they stayed to give evidence too - a real talking point of the poor young ladies 21'sbirthday meal!

But what kind of **** human, almost kills another, and doesn't even stop, to see if they did? To be more worried about their bloody ncd than a likely manslaughter.

I am genuinely shocked. It's the first accident/incident, where I really, truely feel that there's NOTHING, I could have done to avoid it! Nothing.

Bikes a wreck, kit's a wreck, no registration, so no one to claim from but my own fairly limited comp policy. And so close to being life changing/ending.

I'm sitting here tonight for the first time since I got my licence in 2001, wondering if it's all worth it. I really thought my time was up.

Apologies for boring you.

Frigging scum of the earth!!

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Juju

But what kind of **** human, almost kills another, and doesn't even stop, to see if they did? To be more worried about their bloody ncd than a likely manslaughter.

Sad indictment of the times of the times we live in, taking someones life means nothing these days, until the doors slam shut in jail

[Matt-EUC]

Cnuts.

Total cnuts, complete disregard for human life.

[ManMango]

Glad to hear you are still here. Truly horrible to hear just think KARMA. On their part not yours, one day it will be a lorry on the other side of the road and not a bike.

[NTECUK]

Ah man what a nightmare.
Thing is you did cope with what could have been worse.
Got past the target fixation and fear thing brilliantly.

"I'm sitting here tonight for the first time since I got my licence in 2001, wondering if it's all worth it. "

Thing is YOU are worth it. Some one rulling your life is a probably not a option for you and your going to rise above it .

[Juju]

The thing is, I've long believed that good observation, and a defensive attitude go a long way to being safe. You can be criticised even when not at fault. You get hit at a T junction, and didn't make eye contact, you got sideswiped by a car pulling from a parking spot and didnt watch for the wheels/puff of exhaust... ect ect

But this one has frankly, distressed me. I can't see anything I could have done otherwise, to make myself safer, and what I did, prevented a high speed head on, mitigating the effects. (And I'm a crap rider, it wasn't a "great bit of riding" it was sheer panic but not "freezing" that meant I just evaded them).

I really feel genuinely lucky to be here today, albeit really ****ed off that they didnt even stop and turn round to see if I was ok.

[NTECUK]

Juju don't sell your self short .
You did a top job .
You dint freeze
unfortunately $hite happens
People get stabbed struck by lightning.etc
pick yourself up and get a lottery ticket!

Originally Posted by NTECUK

Juju don't sell your self short .
You did a top job .
You dint freeze
unfortunately $hite happens
People get stabbed struck by lightning.etc
pick yourself up and get a lottery ticket!

A big +1.
Glad to read you are okay.

[Paul the 6th]

Glad to hear you're still up and about buddy MIB might be worth a look.

http://www.mib.org.uk/Customer+Servi...river+FAQs.htm

What are the Untraced Drivers’ Agreements?
These agreements between the Secretary of State for the Environment and Transport and MIB explain the precise circumstances under which an application from a victim of untraced motorist will be paid.