A sober lesson for us all ?

[flango]

I have thought long and hard about making this post but believe in doing so it will hopefully be of benefit.

Unfortunately my holiday this week was numbed by news from my Nephew that a freind of ours had died in a road accident on the A14 near Ipswitch.

A tragic event that makes you take a step back and think! details of this terrible accident can be found HERE and if any of you are local I'm sure you will know about this.

Geoff a really nice guy was returning home from a Sunday afternoon outing with his girlfriend, when his Maserati left the road resulting in what you can read in the above link.

The point of my post is Geoff was a professional rally driver, a veteran of the Nurburgring in both car and bike and a very skilled advanced driver. It just goes to show that no matter how good we think our driving skills are there can be unexpected events that catch the most experienced of us by suprise resulting in an outcome totally out of our control.

So when going a little quick or going for that overtake just take a moment and think!!!!!! AM I SAFE?

Geoff was a very skilled and safe driver and it shows that the worst can happen to the best of us through no fault of our own.

So my plea to all of you please stay safe out there and don't take unecesscary risks. Think before you committ to your next manouvre !!!!! because accidents do happen.

Best regards
Ian

 

[ringway]

Really sorry to hear this Ian.

Thanks for the wake-up call.

 

[LTD]

Please accept my condolences

 

[coupe deville]

sorry to hear that ian, a sad loss of life sadly one of thousands every year. Ive lost family and friends in road accidents over the years and they always come as a total shock that no one ever expects. The mad thing is that when accidents happen to someone I know then I slow down and drive like the grim reaper is stalking me but it doesn't last

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Very sorry to hear this bad news. My thoughts are with friends and family.

 

[Frank O' Phile]

Sorry for your loss and thank you for the brave post.

I have a 307 mile planned for tomorrow and I wonder how many times I will be reminded of this.

Thank you.

 

[jonnyboy]

sorry to hear this

 

[andy_k]

Geoff was a very skilled and safe driver and it shows that the worst can happen to the best of us through no fault of our own.

as you thought long and hard before making your original post, I thought long and hard before making this reply


How do you know it was 'no fault of his own' ? More likely it was driver error and the consequences suggest that the car was very probably driving somewhat faster than it should have been at the time of the accident.


I'm sorry about the outcome, my sympathy goes out to the families but to absolve your friend on the basis that he was a 'good driver' seems nothing more than speculation - sadly he has become a statistic on a well known 'dangerous' stretch of road. In my opinion and I accept that it may be somewhat controversial, that doesn't make him a particularly 'good driver'

That stretch of road (it's the only bit of dual carriageway for miles on the A14 but with farm/B road access and a big roundabout where the A14 and the A140 join) is one of the highest casualty streches of road in the UK - last time I drove along it (about 4 months ago) there was a 50mph speed limit in force.

Maybe it was excessive speed, maybe it was inappropriate speed but I would suggest that it was speed in excess of the 50mph limit that changed the incident from an unfortunate accident to a fatal one.

As I said earlier, my sympathy goes out to the family but please don't try and convince me that driver error was not a major contribution in this case

 

[davidjpowell]

Sorry to hear the news Ian. It must have affected your holiday badly.

Sadly while driving it is too easy to loose your head and get carried away, and this is a timely reminder to us all to take a step back and think.

Regards

David

 

[Chattonmill]

So sorry to to hear this Ian, Best wishes to all.
Andy, The assumption is always there that he may have been going too fast, we do not know this and nor do the police. So until the time that the details are known I think all would prefer to reflect on his life and not what he may have done.
I lost a friend 2 years ago, a 20 year old on a motorbike on a dual carriageway. The immediate assumption many would make from reading about this in the paper would be that he was going too fast or was not in control, mainly because of his age and the fact he was on a bike.
This was not correct, in fact a woman had not seen him and pulled onto the carriageway from a side road and he went over the bonnet. She was prosecuted.
So let us leave this as a sad loss of life and not start speculating on the cause.

 

[recycled]

Andy give the guy a break please. There is a time for everything anmd you can tell the guy is still hurt and grieving

 

[flango]

as you thought long and hard before making your original post, I thought long and hard before making this reply


How do you know it was 'no fault of his own' ? More likely it was driver error and the consequences suggest that the car was very probably driving somewhat faster than it should have been at the time of the accident.


I'm sorry about the outcome, my sympathy goes out to the families but to absolve your friend on the basis that he was a 'good driver' seems nothing more than speculation - sadly he has become a statistic on a well known 'dangerous' stretch of road. In my opinion and I accept that it may be somewhat controversial, that doesn't make him a particularly 'good driver'

That stretch of road (it's the only bit of dual carriageway for miles on the A14 but with farm/B road access and a big roundabout where the A14 and the A140 join) is one of the highest casualty streches of road in the UK - last time I drove along it (about 4 months ago) there was a 50mph speed limit in force.

Maybe it was excessive speed, maybe it was inappropriate speed but I would suggest that it was speed in excess of the 50mph limit that changed the incident from an unfortunate accident to a fatal one.

As I said earlier, my sympathy goes out to the family but please don't try and convince me that driver error was not a major contribution in this case

You obviously thought long and hard about posting? and you make the comments without having any facts of the incident at all? Facts I have deiberately not posted as I don't want to cause any further distress to friends and family and anyway are not suitable for a public forum.

All I will say is you are well off the mark with your comments and the reason I know is I HAVE THE FACTS, I dont wish to go into details as I have said, as it would not be right. The point of the post was to highlight no matter how good we think we are we are not infalliable so please take care.

You have formed your opinion without having any of the facts (speed, road conditions, involvement of other vehicles etc) and I have no problem with you commenting on the dangers of this road but speculation and judgement and passing opinions on a driver you don't even know and on an incident where you dont even have the facts? I would respectfully suggest that opinions in this area are best kept to yourself as quite frankly I find them offensive.

 

[JumboBeef]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I lost a friend in 1999, together with her three year old daughter, in a head-on crash on a sunny day in the country: the other car was overtaking on a blind bend.

Just shows that any 'normal' drive can end in a tragic accident and death.

 

[219]

I'm sorry about the outcome...........sadly he has become a statistic on a well known 'dangerous' stretch of road.

I always cringe when I hear or read of people describing roads as 'dangerous' .

Roads may indeed contain many physical features ( junctions.roundabouts,concealed entrances) which constitute hazards , but the road or its components themselves are NEVER 'dangerous' ; even hazards constituted by adverse weather conditions are not 'dangerous' in themselves : DANGER only arises as a result of the actions/inactions of DRIVERS .

Sorry for the rant , but that statement is one of my pet hates .

I likewise extend every sympathy for Ian's friend and his family/loved ones . I certainly don't know the circumstances of what happened - perhaps Ian knows more than he posted , perhaps not ?

I do know , however , that on the roads there can often be victims ( fatalities even ) who are 100% blameless for what happened to them : I spoke about a prime example of this the other week at the RPU - the young girl in a Vauxhall Nova whose only error was to be on that particular road when a car coming the other way at very high speed lost control on a bend , crossed to the other side of the road , going sideways , and hit her head on , killing her .

None of us is perfect , myself included , and I am sure there is not a single member on this forum who has not had a 'close shave' at some time or another and realised that they were in some way to blame .

However , conversely , a tragic outcome is equally no indicator of blame .

 

[dchester]

Deepest sympathies to you, and all his family.

D.

 

[Meldrew2]

.....the consequences suggest that the car was very probably driving somewhat faster than it should have been at the time of the accident.....

The consequences do not suggest anything of the sort.

A collission speed of 50mph is more than ample to be lethal, and what we must remember is that whilst safety and crash survival is top of the agenda to Mercedes designers, designers of supercars are concerned with ultimate performance, stability, cornering etc and are designing their car primarily for track use where there are "run off" areas and where the safety is designed into the track, not the car.

On public roads we have many unforgiving hazards, trees and street furniture being very unforgiving objects to crash into. However, it is futile to hypothesise about the chances of survival if the car had been an S class...

The sad fact is that when we read statistics like "less road deaths this year" there are still thousands of casualties. As statistics, they are just numbers. The true tragedy is that each and every one of those numbers is a real person, loved by those whose lives will never be the same again.

Please do accept my sincere condolences on your sad loss.

 

[crockers]

Ian

To be honest words are of little comfort at a time like this - I do understand the hurt and grief you and your family are feeling - I hope you get to celebrate his life and his achievements. We seem to pass through this place so damn quickly - if we can have touched someone's life and left some mark that is one great achievement.

Your post has made me think ... the roads are a scary place - you only have to look at the trend on television to play back the police chases to realise how easily one can leave to go on a journey and have it cut short through no fault of ones own.

Take care and thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[vibesg]

I am planing a 700 mile round trip to London this weekend in the CLK. I do love parts of the M6 AND M42/M40 as you can "open up". We all think we are good drivers and know and can exploit the limits of our cars. I know I do. I also realise it is tempting to see average speed cameras and Police speed watch areas as irritants though I always comply through these zones and beyond.
Ian's post is a timely wake up call to show how easy it is to be here today and gone tomorrow.
I'll certainly be more careful touring this weekend. Thanks for your post and sorry for the loss of someone you knew and cared about.

 

[Druk]

"Thanks for your post and sorry for the loss of someone you knew and cared about."

Ditto this Ian.

 

[st13phil]

I didn't know Geoff, and I only "know" Ian through his posts on this forum but I still extend my condolences unconditionally and without any judgement.

If the only thing that is learned from such a sad incident is that life is both precious and fragile and should be celebrated constantly then it will bring some small benefit to those who have been directly touched by it.