A very close shave.....

Sackmycook

Sackmycook

Ex-owner
T6 Legend
A697 North of Newcastle, travelling South...Merc driver forced me to take evasive action onto the verge to avoid a head on collision.....it was only the fact that I was driving to the System of Car Control as taught to Advanced Drivers by the Police which saved me, the Mrs and the dog.
Dashcam has caught all details of the Merc and van, Northumbria Police will be receiving my footage and statement shortly.
Stay safe and alert boys and girls.

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Sackmycook said:
A697 North of Newcastle, travelling South...Merc driver forced me to take evasive action onto the verge to avoid a head on collision.....it was only the fact that I was driving to the System of Car Control as taught to Advanced Drivers by the Police which saved me, the Mrs and the dog.
Dashcam has caught all details of the Merc and van, Northumbria Police will be receiving my footage and statement shortly.
Stay safe and alert boys and girls.

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What a tosser
 
Sackmycook said:
A697 North of Newcastle, travelling South...Merc driver forced me to take evasive action onto the verge to avoid a head on collision.....it was only the fact that I was driving to the System of Car Control as taught to Advanced Drivers by the Police which saved me, the Mrs and the dog.
Dashcam has caught all details of the Merc and van, Northumbria Police will be receiving my footage and statement shortly.
Stay safe and alert boys and girls.

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Good skills.
You often take for granted the skills developed as an advanced pursuit driver, but incidents like this make you realise the benefits of driving to the system.
Glad you came out unscathed.
 
What an absolute twunt! Glad you survived, and hope he gets what's coming to him. I read recently that dashcam footage is being used increasingly to secure convictions. Hope this is another instance!
 
DaveD said:
Probably the most exhausting course I ever did, but its benefits go way beyond work.
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Still driving to the system even though blues and twos have been replaced by a hearse after 30 years of jam sandwiches and battenberg. The system works just as well at slow speeds when idiots think that there is no need to pay any respect. Sometimes we can make sure that they meet a rolling road block with a hearse and a limo!
 
Is this a Police course only or can you do it privately?

I drive both a van and an Up and I'm getting battered by cars coming at me in the wee car. I have ADHD so I know I need to concentrate with no distractions in the car at the best of times...

The new van is getting a hardwire dashcam, as well as a tracker, when and if I ever get my hands on it.

ThreeBridgeT6 said:
What an absolute twunt! Glad you survived, and hope he gets what's coming to him. I read recently that dashcam footage is being used increasingly to secure convictions. Hope this is another instance!
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I think in North Wales you can upload it directly to the Police. Their live chat works well too.
 
Jay586 said:
Is this a Police course only or can you do it privately?

I drive both a van and an Up and I'm getting battered by cars coming at me in the wee car. I have ADHD so I know I need to concentrate with no distractions in the car at the best of times...

The new van is getting a hardwire dashcam, as well as a tracker, when and if I ever get my hands on it.
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Yes! Available as an IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) course. My employer sent me on it many moons ago as I was a high mileage employee!
 
I too am interested in honing driver skills. I have the old version of Roadcraft which I’ve read various sections - I’ll dig it out again! I understand there is a civilian version now which omits some of the practices eg going onto wrong side of road for a fast left hand bend (when the road is clear)
 
Jay586 said:
Is this a Police course only or can you do it privately?
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Paynewright said:
I too am interested in honing driver skills.
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My old employer brought in a firm to bring down accidents and their version of the course was called SAFED - Safe And Fuel Efficient Driving.
I’ve had a Google and it looks like that is an industry term coined by the DSA, so if you find a company offering that, then you’re on your way (no pun intended).
 
My courses were brilliant with Metpol and NYP.
The things you remember and use daily once trained.....!
"Raise your Vision"
"Have an escape plan"
"Anticipate and read the actions of other drivers"...

I would thoroughly recommend all discussed course options. May save your life one day
 
Sackmycook said:
My courses were brilliant with Metpol and NYP.
The things you remember and use daily once trained.....!
"Raise your Vision"
"Have an escape plan"
"Anticipate and read the actions of other drivers"...

I would thoroughly recommend all discussed course options. May save your life one day
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I agree, it's all about your driving plan and your observations-scanning to the limit point and back. It's just as relevant at my normal van speed, which is mainly bimbling along. It then just needs practice.
i used to drive to work over the moors on a 2 lane A road and 3 times in one week I had to avoid a head on with an oncoming overtake. it's only because of seeing it unfold way in the distance and planning for it that there was no crash. I actually had to pull off the road into the soft ground for 2 of them.
I do think that overtaking should be taught as part of driving tuition as it's a skill. the number of people that I see on that same road that won't overtake on a series of bends with a cross view of over a mile then they get to the straight part that has a dip with a total loss of view and go straight into an overtake. Scary stuff indeed when they think the second option is the safe way to go. Had a fatal there about 3 years ago doing exactly that. Hit some poor guy head on in an A3 as he came out of the dip, and bounced back into the car they had just overtaken too and collected them.
It's well worth seriously considering some tuition.
 
The problem is that the bad drivers are oblivious to the fact, so would not even comprehend the need to be better educated.

I'd like to think that people on here have an interest in vehicles and therefore driving standards, so do drive to at least IAM levels as a matter of course. Most of what I was taught by IAM and is published in roadcraft is common sense anyway.
 
You'd think that people were oblivious but we used to have a friend that would do the same as the Merc driver and wave at the terrified people in the car he was scraping past in the middle of the road. He was a perfectly reasonable bloke otherwise who actually drove a hgv for a living but just took a delight in driving his Jag at people.

I did say to him at the time it was terrifying but he just thought it fun and he was a much older bloke, who was never going to listen to me, regardless.
 
One of the things I don’t understand is when someone else does something wrong, they are aggressive towards you? If I make a mistake I’ll hold my hand up and mouth sorry. I tend to reflect on near misses (at blame or not) to see if I could have done anything differently / better.
 
Major and passionate subject for me. I’ll try and stay brief. My father, when he taught me to drive back in the days of original cats eyes and traffic policemen standing in the middle of the road with stripes sleeves advocated the same points as @Sackmycook and luckily I have passed on those same techniques to my son. In fact, sometimes when we happen to both be in the same vehicle the driver will start a realtime commentary of their vision and actions. Anticipation is, of course vital but not possible without concentration. Even if the best driver in the world has concentration broken no anticipation is possible…or any other advanced driving techniques. No need to mention mobile phones and family distractions make things difficult but it’s not impossible to drive in a metaphoric bubble. It’s so obvious when following someone that is concentrating on other things. For them, being in charge of a moving vehicle and navigating it through traffic and hazards is incidental. I could write a book on the subject but feel that fifty seven years of motoring has only shown me deteriorating standards. Although driverless vehicles gives me the horrors in the future I can only foresee it being safer on the roads. Nice that the T6 forum is full of drivers that not only enjoy driving but care about how they do it. Rant over!
 
slocumjoseph said:
Major and passionate subject for me. I’ll try and stay brief. My father, when he taught me to drive back in the days of original cats eyes and traffic policemen standing in the middle of the road with stripes sleeves advocated the same points as @Sackmycook and luckily I have passed on those same techniques to my son. In fact, sometimes when we happen to both be in the same vehicle the driver will start a realtime commentary of their vision and actions. Anticipation is, of course vital but not possible without concentration. Even if the best driver in the world has concentration broken no anticipation is possible…or any other advanced driving techniques. No need to mention mobile phones and family distractions make things difficult but it’s not impossible to drive in a metaphoric bubble. It’s so obvious when following someone that is concentrating on other things. For them, being in charge of a moving vehicle and navigating it through traffic and hazards is incidental. I could write a book on the subject but feel that fifty seven years of motoring has only shown me deteriorating standards. Although driverless vehicles gives me the horrors in the future I can only foresee it being safer on the roads. Nice that the T6 forum is full of drivers that not only enjoy driving but care about how they do it. Rant over!
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I, too, have passed on my skills and observations to my son who is one of the most polite and considerate drivers I've ever known. Proud dad of a 22 yr old man
 
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