Nearly had a head on smash on the A505

[Londonscottish]

As per the title I have a very near miss on the way to Norfolk last week.

My S212 was fully loaded - 4 up with a week's work of luggage and cycling gear, camping kit and food completely filling the load bay + 4 bikes on the roof - as I headed up the A505 near Royston. This particular section was single carriageway and I was travelling on or around the 60mph limit when I noticed two vehicles a hundred yards or so ahead. A hay truck on the right and some numpty in an old Astra estate directly ahead. Heading towards me at a combined speed of 120+ mph.

Rather than back off this muppet decided to push on through (!!) which resulted in me smashing the brake pedal as hard as I could whilst steering as close to the grass verge as was humanly possible. And giving him the full benefit of my bi-Xenons and horn. He missed my offside corner by millimetres, still driving at full whack.

By this point I'd almost come to a rest, my heart hammering like it hasn't done for decades. But then I glanced in my mirrors and saw an SUV approaching at speed from behind. I saw the moment the when driver realised I was barely moving and saw the bonnet dive as he hammered his brakes so I immediately got back on the loud pedal hard and got moving as swiftly as I could.

Jeez it was close. Twice.....

Anyway, the good news is that the Merc handled itself impeccably. It just shrugged the whole thing off. Super-stable whilst swerving at speed under max braking despite the load. I guess the Airmatic helped along with the ABS and all the other electronics. Pretty impressive primary safety. Plus handy to have 380 bhp to avoid being rear-ended

PS it was great for the rest of the holiday too

 

[Martin 1]

That's horrific, thank God you and yours are OK ! Your car's behaviour sounds very impressive indeed. PS, the car's kit, is secondary safety, the driver is the primary factor. Hope your heart has recovered. Sometimes I wish we could carry small arms.

 

[219]

I’m glad you avoided the crash , but the good news is a Mercedes is probably the safest car to be in if the worst happens .

It happened to me 42 years ago in my dad’s W115 , when this idiot came around a blind bend overtaking an artic , there was nowhere to go and insufficient time to stop completely; I still remember him coming towards me with his arms crossed in front of his face , as I held onto my steering wheel for dear life .

Thankfully it was a 50% frontal impact but the Merc did its job , the crumple zone absorbed much of the impact , the safety cage did not deform , and I was wearing my seat belt ( before they were compulsory) , after I came to rest , much of the front corner of the car gone ( from the star to the A pillar ) amazingly the engine was still running , I turned it off and the door opened no problem.

The Ford Capri that hit me was banana shaped , folded up like a pack of cards , the doors were jammed and the driver badly injured .

A huge contrast , and because of that night in 1978 I have driven Mercedes ever since : the replacement car was a W114 280 E which I kept for many years .

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Sounds like a close shave @Londonscottish. Glad it all ended without harm to you, your family and car. We had a similar moment yesterday with an articulated tanker on the wrong side of the road in bend.

Cars are far more capable in such situations than most drivers would believe. Advanced tuition can be really eye opening, simulating such situations in a safe environment, slaloms, elk tests, etc.

 

[MissyD]

Glad you are all ok @Londonscottish

 

[ChipChop]

You are obviously a very good driver LondonScottish. If only there were more drivers like yourself on the road, fully aware of their surroundings.

Well done Sir.

 

[whitenemesis]

Well done on the observation well ahead and the quick thinking getting moving again.
The bikes were obviously very well secured on the roof. Wouldn't be the first time seeing a car stop abruptly, only for the roof rake and contents to carry on!

 

[Londonscottish]

That's horrific, thank God you and yours are OK ! Your car's behaviour sounds very impressive indeed. PS, the car's kit, is secondary safety, the driver is the primary factor. Hope your heart has recovered. Sometimes I wish we could carry small arms.

I haven't had a moment like that since I was mucking about (read driving too fast) in various 80's Alfas and finding myself suddenly and rapidly running out of road and/or options for one reason or another.

The last one I can clearly remember was experiencing a high speed blowout on the outside lane of a truck-filled M74 way back in the late 80's or early 90's.

That really was dramatic as it was all down to me to get it safely across three lanes and to a halt from 90 without using the brakes.

 

[Londonscottish]

You are obviously a very good driver LondonScottish. If only there were more drivers like yourself on the road, fully aware of their surroundings.

Well done Sir.

Well luckily I was paying attention. It's easy to get distracted for a moment or two.....

 

[Londonscottish]

Well done on the observation well ahead and the quick thinking getting moving again.
The bikes were obviously very well secured on the roof. Wouldn't be the first time seeing a car stop abruptly, only for the roof rake and contents to carry on!

Thanks.

The bike racks are Thules - nothing seems to phase them, luckily.

 

[GeeJayW]

 

[Londonscottish]

I’m glad you avoided the crash , but the good news is a Mercedes is probably the safest car to be in if the worst happens .

It happened to me 42 years ago in my dad’s W115 , when this idiot came around a blind bend overtaking an artic , there was nowhere to go and insufficient time to stop completely; I still remember him coming towards me with his arms crossed in front of his face , as I held onto my steering wheel for dear life .

Thankfully it was a 50% frontal impact but the Merc did its job , the crumple zone absorbed much of the impact , the safety cage did not deform , and I was wearing my seat belt ( before they were compulsory) , after I came to rest , much of the front corner of the car gone ( from the star to the A pillar ) amazingly the engine was still running , I turned it off and the door opened no problem.

The Ford Capri that hit me was banana shaped , folded up like a pack of cards , the doors were jammed and the driver badly injured .

A huge contrast , and because of that night in 1978 I have driven Mercedes ever since : the replacement car was a W114 280 E which I kept for many years .

Sounds horrible but at least the Merc saved the day for you.

Oddly enough there were a couple of thoughts going through my mind; one was that it would have been a corner-to-corner impact which is the worst. i was expecting a bit of pain at the least. Or being pinballed off the road with all that that can entail.

And secondly that either impact would have written the holiday and the car off. Which would have right royally pissed me off.

 

[ioweddie]

Front and Rear Dash Cam needed...everyone should have them

 

[Londonscottish]

Glad you are all ok @Londonscottish

Thanks

We went on to have a fabulous holiday. North Norfolk is great.

 

[Londonscottish]

Front and Rear Dash Cam needed...everyone should have them

Actually thats a good point. I'd have dobbed that guy in immediately. He shouldn't have a driving licence. He could have wiped out an entire family.

 

[SW18]

Sorry to hear but great to know no harm done.

There seems to be something about the flat lands of East Anglia and lots of horrendous driving by the locals. Don’t know why they seem to have such a death wish. I worked in Norfolk at one time and our company had strict rules on which roads we were permitted to use as some were considered too dangerous. I can’t find stats now but the road casualty rates in Cambs, Lincs and Norfolk used to be way above the norm. I still drive in Lincs from time to time and am used to cars overtaking down the middle of the road in the face of oncoming traffic. It’s better than it was though as average speed cameras have been installed on key routes and it seems to have smoothed out the driving.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Rather than back off this muppet decided to push on through (!!) which resulted in me smashing the brake pedal as hard as I could whilst steering as close to the grass verge as was humanly possible. And giving him the full benefit of my bi-Xenons and horn. He missed my offside corner by millimetres, still driving at full whack.

Good to hear that you all survived. Why did you give “the full benefit of your bi-Xenons”? Was it sensible to make it harder for the oncoming idiot to judge when best to return to the other side of the road? Did you start braking as soon as you saw the road blocked, or did you initially continue on the assumption that the other driver would back off?

 

[Will]

It’s at times like that you wonder if budget tyres are worth it.

Glad you managed to avoid injury, and that the car is okay

 

[markjay]

Glad to hear you're OK, and that the car performed as it should.

Out of curiosity, what tyres do you have?

EDIT: Just saw Will's post.

 

[markjay]

Good to hear that you all survived. Why did you give “the full benefit of your bi-Xenons”? Was it sensible to make it harder for the oncoming idiot to judge when best to return to the other side of the road? Did you start braking as soon as you saw the road blocked, or did you initially continue on the assumption that the other driver would back off?

It would make sense to make the other driver aware that you are there, in case he hasn't seen you for whatever reason.

And yes, it's a form of protest... behavioural sciences

In terms of effectiveness otherwise... if the other driver was high on alcohol, or drugs, or even just Adrenalin, then the 'protest' would have little effect on them.... in some cases the driver would even consider it a 'badge of honour'