What's the worst driving experience you've ever had that wasn't your fault?

Question

I was stopped at a stop sign behind a Trailblazer today, (keep in mind I was driving a little bitty Toyota Tercel) and as I patiently waited for my turn, this idiot in front of me put the car in reverse, and started backing up! I just about peed myself... This hasn't been the worst incident, but it scared me to death. What are some of your close calls?

Answer 1

Recently I was turning left in the turning lane, Blinker on, Everythings cool, NOBODY in the way of me turnin!
BAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM
Get hit on my passenger rear by a motorcycle!
I get out of my car, Guys already off his bike(big guy)
He takes off running, leaves his bike in the street.
I call the cops, Motorcycle hasnt been registered in 5 years, no insurance no nothing, Have to pay $500 deductable PLUS
Week later, I get a phone call from police saying I made an illegal left turn, to come pick up my ticket at the police station, I tried arguing my way out of it but the police officer was a jerk!
Now Im taking it to trial, Nov.30th Igo
Can you believe that?
Waste of my time & money The system SUCKS~!

Answer 2

My first winter in Aspen Colorado I got up one morning in January to find that a blizzard had come through the night before. It was my first day on a new job and I felt that there was no way that I could call in absent. So I bundled up, got in my old VW bug and headed down the hill behind the snowplow at about 15 miles an hour. I managed to make it about five miles this way when I came to a long downhill slope with a curve to the left. In the middle of the curve the car started sliding to the left and in slow motion the rear end became to come around until I was sliding backwards. There was nothing I could do to steer or brake the car and I felt the car hit the snow on the edge of the road and then suddenly the whole car dropped about fifty feet down a steep slope backwards. When it hit the bottom of the hill it rolled over and over coming to a stop besides a rushing river. I could not even speak I was so scared, and there I hung upside down on the edge of a river. I managed to get out of the car and climbed the hill back to the road where I stopped a car and they called the State Patrol. When they came they gave me a ticket for not controlling my car, asked me if I needed a tow truck and drove off.

Answer 3

1. Your sister's behavior towards the dogs is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Not all dogs are tolerant of children, and your mother should not allow her to interact with dogs if she cannot treat them gently. One day she'll squeeze a large dog too hard and end up dead as a result. While toddlers are not capable of regulating the strength with which they pet or squeeze with accuracy, a 5 year old is more than capable of doing so. So yes, your sister is in large part responsible for this, and it would NOT be expected that a normal 5 year old would be too rough with a dog during a supervised interactions. 2. Your mother's behavior is unacceptable and irresponsible. At 5, your younger sister should be MORE than capable of treating a dog gently and your mother should be responsible enough as a parent to stop her from picking up or squeezing the dogs. It is not that hard- if she cannot pet them gently, she shouldn't be allowed by your mother to even lay a single FINGER on the dogs. Your mother has a duty not only to protect your sister from the dogs, but also to protect the dogs from your sister's mean behavior. 3. The dog's behavior towards each other is unacceptable, not normal, and should have been addressed when they were first brought home. When blood is drawn, that's serious fighting with intent to hurt- and eventually one will be seriously hurt. A behaviorist should be consulted to develop a training plan, or the dogs placed into separate homes. 4. The dog's behavior towards your sister is inappropriate and unacceptable, but I would not call it necessarily all that abnormal. Many dogs are poorly socialized with children and have a low tolerance for children. Children are loud, they move quickly, they handle clumsily, and they can be deliberately mean to animals for no particular reason. Small breeds are easily injured and easily intimidated, and are NOT usually good choices in a home with younger children. These dogs should not be in a home with children, period. Whether they should be in ANY home would depend on whether any of the bites were without provocation. Have they ever bitten anyone else with no apparent provocation? If not, that would imply that the sole reason for the bites is your sister's inappropriate handling, and I would have them evaluated for aggression by a behaviorist, and placed in (separate) new homes with NO children if they pass the evaluation. If they have bitten others unprovoked or fail a behavioral test, the solution = euthanasia, as they could not be safely placed into another home. I am extremely surprised that the dogs were not seized and euthanized after your sister was admitted to the ER with serious dog bites. If it were to happen again, I have no doubt that in most places, your mother would be charged with child endangerment for continuing to allow her around a dog that has already inflicted serious injury. Add: If the dogs are surrendered to any shelter, they will be put down immediately, as they have bitten a human seriously. The liability for the shelter to place them in a home is too high. "No-kill" is a misleading term. All it means is that a shelter does not euthanize for space reasons. Any dog deemed "unadoptable" for behavioral or medical reasons is euthanized. And a dog that has inflicted serious injuries requiring medical attention will most certainly be deemed unadoptable. Add2: In that case, your best shot is Child Protective Services, to report that the dogs have seriously injured your sister once already, and that your mother continues to allow your sister to handle the dogs roughly despite the previous injury and she has been bitten repeatedly since. If Animal Control did not get involved when the ER visit was made, it's unlikely they would do anything until another bite incident occurs, since they are concerned with the dog's level of danger posed, and not much else. Be aware that reporting this may result in charges against your mother. Do you have an adult family member that can intervene that your mother respects, before you go that route?

Answer 4

My experience?

Well, I was in the parking lot and out of my car. I was jumping around, running like an idiot because I was watching this little kid for someone [until they got to their car]. I pretended like we were in a car [and we even made strange tire noises] and then out of nowhere, a car drives towards us. At first I was wondering the hell was wrong with the guy for driving when a kid was right in front of the car.

But then I notices that there was no driver. And out of transluscent wonder, I yelled at the kid to look at the car [It's moving on its own!] and yes that was a stupid move. But I was lucky enough to drop kick the kid out of the way and to safety.

Then, since we were on a hill, the moving car started to pick up speed and rolled down the hill, faster and faster. I raced after it of course to try to stop it but [being the tiny girl figure I am] I couldn't stop it and yelled like a damsel in distress.

Eventually some men came to help and verified who the owner was and all that stuff.

So yeah, the car was set on neutral and blah blah. I was kind of petrified when I actually kicked that kid but it's all good now. The kids was so excited that he got to see 'a real monster', I was just glad I wasn't the one driving.

But it was a 'driving experience' nevertheless.

Answer 5

Hydroplane accident. No control whatsoever on a really wet road. I should not have been going as fast I was in the first place, but I did not expect to find an idiot with no lights on in the left lane of the hiway. Thinking back on it, I should have hit the dummy since I totaled my car trying to go around. Worst thing about it was I got a ticket for damaging the guardrail. Damaging the guardrail! Heck, my taxes paid for that guardrail in the first place! Never lose control in the rain. You hardly ever get it back.

Answer 6

Mr. Special, driving that Big Ford F-150 Pickup, much newer than my Chevy Malibu came up fast behind me on the rural two lane winding road in my area. I was proceeding at the speed limit, in (mind you) a double yellow line (no passing either way) zone --

But NOOOO -- he just could NOT wait or be patient or go the limit -- he ZOOMS around me as fast as possible (and it literally blew me to the side, cut as close as possible to my front end, and scared me lifeless -- especially since I am disabled, and if he did hit me and shove me off the highway -- there was no way I could get out and get safe.

Then there was another time, a couple of months ago -- that ANOTHER Big Pickup (another Ford) comes up to the light that I am stopped at. The girl is SCREAMING and hitting the guy driver -- and the guy is screaming back. SHE caught him answering and calling another female -- and it was a down and out blowup right there in the lane. SLAM -- the door opens and misses MY driver's side by mere swiff of an inch -- then ... still going at it and screaming, BAM -- the door closes, the guy screeches his tires, and just cuts across my front end (barely missing me!, turns to the parking lot (and mind you -- I AM in the right lane -- he is in left lane -- and cuts across TWO lanes to get into the parking lot, where they SCREECH to a halt, STILL screaming and beating, and then they start chasing each other calling names in the parking lot. SHAKING, I am still at the stop light, and NO ONE is moving -- we all saw it and are SCARED to death and glad we were NOT hit. As I went by a little later on the way home - - there were TWO police cars there -- both in individual police cruisers locked in back seats. NEVER so happy to see the police lock anyone down.

Answer 7

I was driving throught he Caldecott Tunnel. As I came out, I looked over my shoulder to move into the lane next to me as saw some BMW tearing down the road.

I instinctively pulled over (still in my lane) but this freaked out the driver that he lost control of the car, zoomed past me, crossed three lanes of traffic, crashed into the jersey barrier, came back out into traffic, overcompensated and turned the car around, so they were driving backwards down the freeway in the emergency lane.

As the car righted itself, it spun about and the driver's side nose slammed into the barrier again, causing the car to stop.

I soared right on by, uncertain what to do (as I never hit the car, so I felt I had no need to exchange numbers, but I was also scared that the guy would attack me for wrecking his car), but it sufficiently stopped traffic that there was no one behind me for five minutes.

Answer 8

Mine was when I was 16, I had only had my license for a month! I was getting ready to turn left and this crazy old lady decided to pass me and she was going about 55mph! Needless to say I took the whole back end of her car off! Thankfully no one was really hurt except some bruises! But she got out and cussed me to pieces! Some guy stopped to help and he told her off for cussing at me because it was her fault! That wreck scared the crap out of me! I didn't drive for almost 3 months because I was terrified!

Answer 9

Couple of guys in a stolen car hit the back of my car at high speed. I got out after a minute in total pain and they pulled a gun on me saying that I saw nothing and if they got any heat from the cops they would find me through my registration number and kill me.

Answer 10

I got hit by a drunk driver while was (not driving) but walking down the sidewalk, i had got hit from behind...THALK ABOUT NOT KNOWING WHAT HIT YOU !!! I remember wanting to get up and kick somebodies butt, but i couldnt (lol) I was kindof scared to get behind the wheel, thinking i would to hit somebody