Oliver Jetson
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 12:40 AM |
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1st accident!
Just thought I'd tell someone about this as I'm pretty shaken up!
About 6.03pm this evenin I was in a real nasty, but luckily non-serious rta.
In my mates punto comin round a bend off the M6 near cannock, greasy/wet road, understeered, lost it, hit curb with the rear right hand wheel, car
rolled 3 times over onto opposite side of road, t-boned another vehicle (while we were upside down during the rolls!), rolled to a stop luckily the
right way up but facing the wrong way on the other side of the road! Weather to blame, nothing my mate could have done.
My mate driving had grazes on right arm, girl in front passenger has minor head injuries from caved in A-pillar, I was in the back left hand seat and
suffered small cut on elbow and neck strain. Couple in t-boned car were fine, just a little shaken up.
I cannot believe how lucky we all are to be here now after this nasty accident. Just thought to myself as we went over and over that I don't
want my arms and head bein partly ejected thru the totally smashed windows so I did a kind of brace position like they teach you on a plane!
Sittin here now just wantin to tell someone coz bein only 21 this has really shook me up!
Can't thank the paramedics/ppl who stopped and the police enuf for their fast action and professionalism.
Loaded some pics n my archive just to give an insight!
Oli
[Edited on 29/9/05 by Oliver Jetson]
[Edited on 29/9/05 by Oliver Jetson]
[Edited on 29/9/05 by Oliver Jetson]
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Winston Todge
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 01:22 AM |
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Crikey that Punto looks nailed...
Glad to hear everyone was okay. As you say could have quite easily been much worse...
Chris.
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jonbeedle
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 04:17 AM |
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Been there myself in a VW high top van. It seemed to roll in slow motion. Not something I'd care to repeat. Glad you are ok. You were very
lucky. It will take a little while to get over it but it will make you appreciate what a dangerous place the roads can be and how these things can
happen when least expected.
Take care.
Cheers
Jon
"Everyone is entitled to an opinion however stupid!"
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alister667
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 06:08 AM |
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Glad to hear you're alright.
http://members.lycos.co.uk/alister667/
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shortie
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 06:18 AM |
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Glad to hear you're ok mate.
Punto actually looks like it stood up to it well, fair play to fiat!
Rich.
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donut
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 06:29 AM |
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Crikey, looks nasty. Glad you're all in 1 peice. 
Andy
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andywest1/
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JonBowden
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 07:32 AM |
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I did that at speed in an MGB GT years ago. I think I'm lucky to still have my right arm - as it must have jumped out the window during the roll
(badly grazed elbow).
Glad you're ok
Jon
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MikeR
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 08:34 AM |
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Glad to hear your ok - modern cars do hold together very well.
did something similar (although through a ditch / along a hedge) at christmas. Still think about it at times.
Just try to relax and let the emotions happen. you've been through a big shock, let your body go into shock. I didn't - rushed around
afterwards and made it (mentally) worse. Watched a rally car video a couple of weeks ago and had nightmares about my accident that night.
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colibriman
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 08:41 AM |
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glad all of you are ok...scary situation.
need a bike engine? - www.colibriman.com
SVA ready Mk Indyblade possibly for sale.....if the offers good...!
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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gingerprince
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 09:00 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Oliver Jetson
In my mates punto comin round a bend off the M6 near cannock, greasy/wet road, understeered, lost it......Weather to blame, nothing my mate could have
done.
Glad everyone escaped relatively unhurt, looks like it could have been a lot worse!
However I do have to pick up on your comment above. There was something he could have done, i.e. drive to the conditions.
I know we've probably all driven too fast etc in the wet and I'm no exception, just that technically there was something he could
have done about it.
Glad everyone's okay though.
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Oliver Jetson
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 10:14 AM |
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Cheers for your comments guys, woke up this mornin feelin bruised - got a lovely one on my collar bone!
I suppose there is somethin he cud have done, but the road was a 50 and i know we weren't doin more than 40, plus we didn't know the road
at all, so didn't know wat kinda corner it was. But it's over now so glad of that.
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Mike R-F
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 10:56 AM |
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Glad everyone was OK, but hate to rain on the parade. This sounds like a classic case of too much speed in adverse conditions & if so, your mate
IS to blame.
I should add, I've done exactly the same thing myself a few years ago & ended up upside down in a Cavalier with wife & kids (all
strapped in). Nothing more serious than a written off car but the point is, it WAs my fault. I was driving too fast for the conditions. Cars
don't understeer for no particular reason.
Just to prove I'm really stupid, I did exactly the same thing again a year or so later. Another written off car. I treat road conditions with a
bit more caution now.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 11:30 AM |
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As a counter-argument to the "actually, it was the driver's fault" posts, there was a programme on ITV recently that discussed a
road surface that's been introduced. A very large number of people have been driving along at very reasonable speeds and found themselves with
no control over where the car's going. Something to do with the top surface of the tar going shiny, or similar. Many councils now roll fine
gravel into the top to stop this happening, a process that wasn't thought necessary before.
So - the question is - was the road surface laid recently?
David
BTW: I support the "bit too fast in the wet on strange roads" theory... 
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MikeR
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 11:39 AM |
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I was going to post a point i often make about you should only drive as fast as you can see and be able to stop in my original post. Something a lot
of people don't do which scares the willy's out of me - especially if i'm the passenger.
I thought better off it even though he wasn't driving due to the shock Olivers probably going through now (yeah, yeah i've said it now -
but so have lots of other people).
But here's the rub. I work by a large roundabout at the top of coventry. Every time it rains after a couple of weeks of ok weather i get to
admire a smashed up car. The roundabout DOES NOT GRIP in the wet. Even after a few weeks of winter weather i still get to look at smashed up cars. I
know this and have still managed to spin a car (luckily not hitting anything). Road surface has a lot to do with accidents, modern, safe, comforable,
insulated fast cars also have a place in the equation.
Last night it was a rather new MGF with a slight rear offside camber problem - the wheel was hanging off.
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tadltd
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 11:39 AM |
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Glad everyone's OK, but I also have to agree with comments about driving to road conditions.
Although I've never rolled a car (only a kart!), I have had some pretty big accidents that were entirely avoidable if I'd driven with a
bit more common sense.
I thought I learned my lesson first time, but - as the years passed - I became complacent and cocky again. Result: another accident. Luckily(!),
no-one's been in a car with me and I've never hit another car.
After my first big shunt (I was about 18 or 19), I remember emotionally breaking down in the back of dad's car about a week later. Give yourself
time to come to terms with what's happened, and be glad that you and your friends are around to learn from the lesson.
Best Regards,
Steve.
www.turnerautosport.com
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mookaloid
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 04:00 PM |
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I think I can say with some conviction that I am quite good at avoiding accidents like this now.......
In my younger days I had several shunts and rolled a car or two - I'm bordering on expert on crashes and what causes them considering the number
I've had! I would also say, thinking back that I probably could have avoided them all if I had known what I know now about driving.
However I think that the single biggest lesson I have learnt is since I took my bike test about ten years ago - there is nothing like riding a bike to
make you aware of road surfaces and conditions. I would definitely say that most car drivers who have never ridden a powerful motorbike on roads will
not have a clue about varying road surfaces and conditions. I certainly didn't appreciate it.
Once you have learned the skill of reading the road on a bike it transfers back to driving the car and accidents like the one mentioned here can be
avoided.
Also, and I have no wish to be hard on anyone, but the insurance companies charge young drivers high premiums for a very good reason - they
don't have the experience required to avoid accidents like this and consequently they do have them on a more regular basis than more experienced
drivers.
Any way glad you are all ok
Cheers
Mark
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MikeR
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 06:21 PM |
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Just looked at the pictures of the crashed car - looks just like the Clio i was passenger in when it rolled (except you haven't got half a hedge
in yours and it seems lots of bits are still attached like bumpers, mirrors etc).
The other thing that reminds me of the clio is the roof. I'm NEVER having a car with a sun roof again - don't mention the seven anyone,
its not having a roof!
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Oliver Jetson
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 06:35 PM |
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My mate does realise that it was his fault, bad judgement and all that but caused by the adverse conditions. And the fact that the ambulance driver
told me that 4 weeks before a 4x4 did exactly the same thing 4 weeks ago in the same place in wet weather goes to show that it is a nasty place.
I'm suprised there was no central barrier dividing the 2 carraigeways thus stopping any cars going to the other side if it is a known type of
accident there.
Thumbs up to Fiat for building a sturdy little car aswell 
We live and learn, that was my mates 1st crash in 6 years of driving lets hope there's no more!
Oli
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Hellfire
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 07:20 PM |
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You can't "hope" for avoiding accidents... slip of the tongue I guess  You must take measures to ensure you don't have
another.
An accident is always your, or the other driver's fault... it's human error, nothing more.
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big_wasa
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 09:01 PM |
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Rollled my first car ,a Mini .The rear subframe collapsed .me and my brother went over 3 and a 1/2 times..Scared the sh1t out of me and him..
The main thing is every one walked away.....
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johnemms
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 09:24 PM |
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Diesel spill !!!! You wait till you hit one in the wet - got nothing on ice i can tell you !!!!!!!!!
all the best mate....
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MikeR
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| posted on 29/9/05 at 10:17 PM |
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ok, ok, ok, who's not been in a car thats rolled ???
come on, show of hands, you, lad, at the back, put that hand up or down, none of this half way silly business..........
(I'll now wait for NS Dev who i seem to recall has managed to roll, flip, plough a furrow and catch fire all in the same accident - its not
clever, its just showing off)
[Edited on 29/9/05 by MikeR]
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Browser
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| posted on 2/10/05 at 01:44 PM |
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ME! Never been in a roll,never want to be I spun my Fiat Strada (a Super 85 no less ) on a Roundabout due to driving like a total nob. Clipped the
inside (45 degree raked backward) kerb, rear suspension compressed fully (single transverse leaf spring, rather elderly/sagging ) which unloaded the
rear wheels and spun us, retaining a good deal of momentum in the direction of travel. Car now proceeding backwards at about 40-50 mph, I
thinks"phew, that was clo.."!BANG! as we hit the first lamp-post on the exit from said roundabout. Result: 1 written-off Strada due to
uneconomical to straighten, 1 very peeved me!
Glad to hear you're OK, other have so I won't day it was all the weather's fault, but most of us have been there and done it to a
greater/lesser extent, just learn from it!
My only contribution is, what type of tyres did he have fitted? I always used to fit cheapo's or Colway remoulds until I got a Carina GTi which
came fitted with Goodyear Eagle Venturas and my god did that open my eyes! I couldn't believe that a normal car could grip so well on standar
road tyres. Sadly, I didn't immediately banish cheap tyres from my mind until we got a Nissan Micra as a second car a while back and it needed
four new boots, so it got Korean cheapos which imbued it with the handling characteristics of a long-clawed dog on wet lino I was OK with it but
wifey was not as good at allowing for conditions and nearly rear-ended someone at a roundabout 'cos it locked up on her. Since then, I've
happily paid the difference for decent rubber as I (now) can't see the logic in having a well-designed braking system if the friction medium
need to transmit said braking force to the road is second-rate kack!
[Edited on 2/10/05 by Browser]
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greggors84
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| posted on 2/10/05 at 06:00 PM |
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Glad to hear your ok mate. When i first read the title i thought you have crashed your locost!
Regarding what hellfire said, accidents often happen by accident so there is nothing wrong with hoping that they don't happen again as
well as driving a bit more cautiously, which i guess Oli's mate will do from now on. But apart from driving 10mph everywhere its hard to avoid
them, and if we were all going to be driving that speed we wouldnt be on here!
Chris
The Magnificent 7!
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JoelP
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| posted on 2/10/05 at 07:03 PM |
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i nearly totaled someone the other day, she couldn't see me due to the setting sun and turned across my path. Fortunately she stopped and just
left enough room for me to swerve past her, as there was no chance of stopping (60mph and maybe 20 yards from her) without the abs i wouldnt have
been able to get round her as it had locked up.
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