My husband works away and this past week i have missed him, so this morning i decided to drive from Merseyside all the way to Reading a full 4 hours (didn't think i had to get back in the same day :rolleyes: ). Anyway i turned up at the store he was working at and to see his face was worth the drive.
The problem was on the way back, it was getting dark and i was going at about 60mph and i could see in a split second something was amiss up front, a wagon was swerving all over the place then he just jack-knifed and lost his load (polystyrene bails of some sort?) i got caught up in it and slammed the brakes on and skidded into the hard shoulder along with others.
The wagon went right off the road and tipped over, I can't get over this tonight and definitely can't sleep. I had my 4 yrold in the car with me and i'm telling you my life flashed before my eyes, i feel so so sick and how lucky we were!
I've lost all confidence in driving and how i got us home i'll never know i don't remember a thing, think i was on automatic pilot.
The worst thing was as i was skidding i was pleading out loud that no other car should hit us, and god must have guided us onto that hard shoulder out of the way.

Got that off my chest(hope it made sense)
Sarah

What an awful experience. Remember though if you were a bad driver you wouldn't have anticipated any of this and just driven straight into the lorry. You had the presence of mind to brake and avoid a collision and make sure you and your child were safe. You should have confidence in your abilities. Well done.

Jesse

What a shock for you Sarah, thank goodness you and your little one are safe. :) We had to drive to Skelmersdale and back from Bradford yesterday and it was mainly M-way for the whole trip. The weather was bad and folk were going too fast.... frightening, specially when some jokers up in front were hassling each other.  We went to Lancashire a few weeks ago and almost got hit by a huge lorry at a roundabout. I had to scream "stop" at my husband It's daft, but I always thank the car for getting me back safely afterwards!

Don't leave it too long before you get back driving or you'll never do it.... and start with little country lanes. :D

Kath.xx

Hi Sarah,

Get back on the motorway as soon as you can - two or three trips and you will have your confidence back.  It sounds like you are a good driver and avoided trouble, even though it was a frightening experience.

Years ago I was driving home from work on the motorway.  It was after the rush and there weren't too many cars.  I was driving along a bend in the motorway and all of a sudden, from the *other* direction of the highway, as small sportscar seem to fly over the divider (there was a low metal railing) and landed on my side of the road.  It had been going so fast around the curve it actually became airborne.

It was a small miracle no one hit the flying car - everyone managed to break and stop or screech to the side of the motorway.  After I stopped and my adrenalin rush caught up with my brain I started shaking really bad.   I wanted to sit there and recover, but was actually frightened I would not want to start the car up again. Instead, I drove home.   It took me a couple of trips over the same route not to expect to see a car drop out of the sky in front of me, but I did get over it.

Stacey

"I've lost all confidence in driving"
LOST your confidence Sarah???  I think that you should congratulate yourself on how your reacted in such extreme circumstances!!  Well done lady driver!! :p
Would be a good idea to pop out today and drive one junction on the nearest motorway - just to confirm what an excellent driver you are!! ;)

Thanks for the advice, i've been to hospital this morning for my daughters appointment and i'm sad to say i was a bag of nerves and it wasn't even the motorway!
Don't know how i'll tackle this problem, i feel sick at the thought of driving down the M/W slip road. :(

The longer you leave it the worse it will be :)

You proved you were a good driver by avoiding an accident .

Get back on it as soon as possible, you will be fine ;)

Lucy
xx

Thanks Lucy i think i'll leave it till the OH comes home in a fortnight and he can drive me on it and attempt to get me through it at the least because it's his fault really ;) I wouldn't have been on that blasted M/W if it wasn't for him.
Like the lady said above the amount of stupid drivers i saw in terrible conditions was breath-taking.

i  agree with val--you did ever so well ,   :D      things like that do throw you, but try to get back in the seat-----i drove down to birmingham and back last night and the trip home was horrific-lots of accidents .    :(      but you need to get right back out there as soon as you can, GOOD LUCK.

hell Dizzy what time? We hit Birmingham at about 7.30pm and it was absolutely treacherous (sp?) I went down on the M6 toll road part at 1st but missed it on the way back so stayed on the 'normal' M6.
I think with my dad having that smash on the Runcorn bridge the other month and he was very very lucky (pushed into oncoming traffic) it's sort of hit a raw nerve i guess.
Ahh well :)

You must be a very good driver to have coped so well, if you find that you cannot get your confidence back maybe a motorway lesson with the AA will do the trick.

Tho I love driving and will drive anywhere I rarely 'do' motorway driving - I leave it to my OH and act as the second pair of eyes, the way some idiots drive is terrifying - and it always seems to me they drive faster and more erratically (sp?) in bad weather.  I have never forgotten going to Birmingham and getting boxed in by lorries on the motorway, they were so close behind we couldn't see their front windscreen at all and they wanted us to get out of the way but there was nowhere to go - they were on all sides!  And the number of people still using mobile phones.....

Im the same Dill; my other half drives as it doesn't bother him, and i am sitting there very alert and ready "in case".

I would be fine if the roads were clear and there were no other drivers on the road - i guess i just don't trust other drivers to be "safe" :( 

I do think Mygirl that you reacted very well and will be safer than most on the road!! :)

Lindsay
x

Lindsay you've hit the nail on the head, its the other drivers that bother me, not that I'm paranoid, but they're all out to get me :D
Seriously tho, when you see the idiotic things that people will do while driving, how can we trust them to be safe?

Best piece of advice my driving instructor ever gave me was 'drive as though everyone else on the road is a blind clueless moron'. Oh, and 'the brake is the one in the middle' :-D

The best advice I was given (can't remember who said it - it was that long ago ) was that if the car behind you is too close touch your brakes a few times - without actually braking. If that doesn't work slow down - they'll eventually give up and overtake you. Driving on Motorways freaks me out ( at least the English ones do - they've got THREE lanes ;) )

Apart from bits of the M25 which have four lanes - now that's really unnerving!

Aw thanks for the support, but Nope i haven't gone back on the motorway yet (will wait for O/H) he tends to drive if we are both togther (which is rare these days, can't remember what he looks like :rolleyes: ) and i go to sleep normally as i can't stand the way he drives but he's used to motorways.
I absolutely love driving which is the annoying part of being fearfull now!

My worst habit is pressing an imaginary brake on the passenger side when he drives lol and nobody say they haven't done that!!! :)

Best thing is to have someone with you in the car to get your confidence back.  You had a bad fright and it's awful seeing and hearing a crash.  You had a narrow escape but if you actually LIKE driving then it hopefully won't be too long before you can put it behind you :)
Good Luck
Lara x

When a friend of mine had a smash, her 'lovely' husband encouraged her out of her nervousness by driving her past the scene of the crash, jamming on the brakes and yelling "BANG!!!" She's been fine ever since she stopped quivering ...
:)

lol hopefully O/H will be more understanding, i know i'll be ok just don't want to do it on my own.

lol Jenna.

Hubby is teaching me to drive at the mo, and his favourite saying is.....'treat everyone else as idiots'  It's probably the best thing to do, as it makes you more aware of other drivers.

I tell you what though......I feel damn sorry for the original poster (sorry...had a couple of glasses of wine and can't remember who it was :( )
It must have been an awful experience for you, and obviously I don't know how that feels.
You're obviously a good driver though....you avoided a nasty accident.  Get back out there as soon as you can, hopefully, soon, all that will be a distant memory.

Take care, and best of luck with getting your confidence back,

Lisa