What near death experiences have you had?!

Alain Quay

On Saturday, cutting a hedge, I got seriously electrocuted - thrown, hand clamped onto the cable while I'm on the ground, then my hand burnt on the bare wires which had caught fire. Scarey! :shock: Another near miss was on my bike and being blasted by a car horn, getting such a surprise I hit the gutter then landed on the other side of the road - an A road - but thankfully nothing was coming the other way. I rode like crazy to catch the driver but to no avail. :twisted:

crashtestdummy12

Had some heavy hocky goal posts blow over and miss my head by inches, and several near misses in my other main persuit, skiing. :shock:

cougie

One that springs to mind is riding across the metal bridge in Queensferry, N Wales. Three of us - singled out and this Cavalier comes hurtling towards us and bursts a tyre. It span 360% on the bridge without hitting the sides or pinning us against the sides. Freaky.

Oh and also in Wales - the car on the garage forecourt whose handbrake cable snapped when we were 20 meters away from it, and rolled across the road and smashed into the dry stone wall on t'other side of the road.

Harry B

cougie wrote:

One that springs to mind is riding across the metal bridge in Queensferry, N Wales. Three of us - singled out and this Cavalier comes hurtling towards us .

Did he have his sword drawn, or was it a spaniel

jam1e

Sat on the bog, 122mm rocket impacts VERY close by. Toilet blocks shakes like hell.

Do I run for cover and helmet or do I finish and wipe cos I dont want to die with poor personal hygiene?

Stayed, wiped, (washed hands, didn't want to get DV) ran like F!+k, helmet and armour on, under my bed giggling as as the rockets land all over camp...

Happy days

Trickyupnorth

cougie wrote:

One that springs to mind is riding across the metal bridge in Queensferry, N Wales. Three of us - singled out and this Cavalier comes hurtling towards us and bursts a tyre. It span 360% on the bridge without hitting the sides or pinning us against the sides. Freaky.

Oh and also in Wales - the car on the garage forecourt whose handbrake cable snapped when we were 20 meters away from it, and rolled across the road and smashed into the dry stone wall on t'other side of the road.

:shock:

Both of those sound like they could be from the film 'Final Destination' if you've seen it. Scary :shock:

Richie

cougie

Tee hee - cavalier ! The bridge one was spooky cos I didnt even think you could do that - its just one lane each way, and the guy driving wasnt a stunt driver or anything. Us three just looked at each other and counted our blessings. V lucky.

pneumatic

Hanging in the dark by the two smallest fingers on my right hand from a rope ladder in the middle of a waterfall 20 metres underground in a pothole while the guys up at the top (unable to hear me above the roar of water in the cave) were pulling up my rope that was snagged around both my ankle and the bottom of the ladder. One sharp tug from them and it was headfirst down the torrent and onto some unforgiving rocks in the darkness below.

Did I panic? Well, all I can remember is a great feeling of calm and weighing up rationally whether my life so far had been fufilling enough.

Strangely, I don't even remember how I got out of the predicament. I must have been on automatic pilot.

Bad luck with the hedge trimmer, Alain. I cut through the cable on mine so often, it wasn't long enough to reach the hedge any more. Now I have a petrol one which is a bit like trying to hold a Harley Davidson above your head, but at least there's no cable to cut!

chuckcork

Being shunted while on my motorbike by a motorist who seen me start to move into a road, then looked away and consequently hadn't seen me stop. Bike took off like a rocket as I dropped the clutch and put on huge throttle, with me on it, before it dropped short of the other side of the road and the 3 foot high wall there. Fortunately nothing was moving at the time along what is normally a fairly heavily trafficked road.

It was over so fast no time for anything to flash. Bike was a write off though

fossyant

I've also cut through the hedge trimmer's cables twice - luckily clean cuts......

Fell off on spilt dairy produce coming down the Cat and Fiddle at speed....bike and I slid onto the opposite carriageway as a car and caravan approached - got up blooming quick....

Hobbled off, removed a 6 inch patch off my ass (skin), holes in my hand and arm..., scuffed pedals/shoes/bar tape. Written off a great pair of shorts and top.....

Fortunately, nothing too close in the way of other road users....

Also nocked off by a transit, left hooking me at about 25 mph - I went through it's wing mirror, and flew (witness saw it) about 30-40 feet, and landed on my back, in between scaffolding outside a shop....bike hit the scaffolding and was a write off - driver legged it. 1 bust wrist... missed the scaffolding

That's it so far !!! :roll:

Fastlad

went out on a long ride with a club and overdone it with the pace. got the knock, big style and hit the guy in fronts back wheel and went straight across a country road onto the other carriageway into the path of a honda accord travelling about 50mph. He hit me side on and i went over the top of the car (fortunately) and came to rest beside a wall with my left leg looking as if it had been through a mangle!! then i tried to get to my feet :shock:

synchronicity

1) As a very young & very stupid kid, practising hammering a nail into a block of wood, with a petrol tank as a support structure. Yes the nail pierced the petrol can just as my father walked in screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" & to this day I don't know why it didn't explode right in my face.

2) Accidently stuck my fingers in an empty light bulb socket fumbling around at night trying to turn a light on. Nice resulting purple spark lit up the room for a brief moment... but "OH what a feeling".

3) Zapped myself as an adult (240v mians electricity) fixing a tensile testing machine at University.

4) Shortly after #3, zapped myself again in the exact same manner before I realised what the first warm fuzzy feeling was. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? (Oh hang on, I just got electrocuted...twice... git)

5) Semi trailer brushes past my shoulder at an ungodly speed on Tum Uglies bridge, an narrow two-lane stretch located in Blakehurst, Sydney. Absoultely no room to spare either side. Nearly got crumpled under I dunno how many wheels. Never figured out how I managed to stay on my bike.

6) Foolishly ride in the ridiculously narrow gap between two Sydney 'stationary' buses when one decides to start merging --> almost become the filling of a giant "Bus-Leslie" Sandwich.

7) Hit & run while zipping along at 50km/hr... the sideswipe was so fucking close, the passenger-side windscreen hit my narrow road handlebars & I lost it instantly. If it was any closer, I would've been on top of the bonnet. Relatively light injuries: lesions on every part of my body + fractured wrist. the skin disappeared completely from my right thigh. Brief emergency room stay + morphine administered.

sazzledazzle

Fell on the pointy end of a ski once, impaled my head on it actually. :shock:

Odd thing was as I lay in the snow with a halo of blood around my head and bits of skin and skull poking out I can distinctly remember wondering why everyone was screaming at me! Didn't feel a thing until they loaded me into the ambulance and accidentally banged my head on the door - cue lots of swearing.

cycologist

Rather similar to Pneumatics's tale, my closest near death experience was when potholing. I was washed away down a steam passage in Kingsdale Master Cave. I managed to field myself by holding on to opposite sides of the passage, lying speadeagled on the surface of the torrent and unable to either stand up or climb out of the water My companion, who knew the cave system well, explained that the stream went into a sump further downstream which was one of the longest cave dives in the country. I remember quite calmly saying to myself "well, I maybe about to find out if there is life after death or not" before letting go and eventually managing to get my footing back and thus climb out of the cave.

ddraver

nothing to you guys really.....

but walking into a WW2 passageway in the dolomites without a torch - and hearing afterwards that there werte several major drops in said passageway

Oh and climbing a pretty exposed via ferrata up to les deuz alpes from the valley below. When I got to the top and jokingly pulled on my cable the rope system simply undid itself and ended up in a pile on the floor. I ve tied Fig. 8 notes thousands of times and one has never budged - WTF happened that time I have no idea buit the same kit undid on my mother on a similar via ferrata - I cut it into little bits afterwards-possibley the only supersticous (sp?) thing i ve ever done

tombate911

i once swolled and alkali battery which resulted in emergency surgery on my stomach due to the chance of an stong acid/alkali reaction, its scary when i look back over it, :shock:

Mark Alexander

pedestrian (me) vs big, red, double decker bus :shock:
I looked left, right, then walked out, right into the driver's side window. I spun round face first into the pavement with 2 broken teeth.

If I'd stepped out any earlier, I'd be splattered against a wall :shock:

Mark Alexander

tombate911 wrote:

i once swolled and alkali battery which resulted in emergency surgery on my stomach due to the chance of an stong acid/alkali reaction, its scary when i look back over it, :shock:

Duracel or Eveready?

markos1963

I once forgot my wedding aniversary!

Mark Alexander

markos1963 wrote:

I once forgot my wedding aniversary!

:shock:
You were lucky to make it out alive!!

markos1963

Mark Alexander wrote:

markos1963 wrote:

I once forgot my wedding aniversary!

:shock:
You were lucky to make it out alive!!

I know! There isn't a man alive I am afraid of, but the two women in my life(wife and mother) can reduce me to a snivelling wreck with just a look.

bagpusscp

Going down Man Nick into Edale Derbyshire down hill on a tandem .Brakes failed :shock: :!: :!: :!: :?: :?: :P :P :twisted:

bornagainbiker

When I was 14 I came very close to drowning myself.

I used to swim train with the local club and this one day I went up to the pool early and found myself alone in it. GREAT lets see just how far i can swim underwater (in my defence my brother held the unofficial club record of 2 3/4 lengths of the 25m pool) so there i was pushing myself to the limit along the bottom of the pool and I pushed too far I had no oxygen , no boyancy and no-one watching me. I remember thinking that the surface seemed like miles away (it was 4 foot deep) and I just couldn't reach it. I must have managed to break the surface just as i was blacking out. It was all a bit surreal really. serves me right though. :shock:

andysol

Most recent

This morning as made an attempt to climb Sutton bank near Thirsk (A series of 25% gradient s). It was foggy and i was 20 yards from the summit (head down, blowing out my ars) when i heard a sudden screaching of brakes. Next thing i know this car, about to come down the bank misses the left hand turn completley. Proceeds to skid across my lane and smashes in to the barrier on my left hand side. Missing me by about 5 yards.

Im so glad i decided to stay in my saddle prior to this and not make a push for the top!

The young lass and mobile phone she was using were ok but car not so good. I checked she was ok changed my pants and continued on my ride!

Andy

bonk man

Got rescued out of the surf [ along with 2 brothers ] by my dad as I went under for the 3rd time, I was about 11 at the time,,, cheers dad..

Pee'd on an electric fence felt like I was about to die when I did that..

Last week on the Elan and Ystwyth audax met a white van on a hairpin bend coming down from Abbey Cwmhir, the Irish bloke I was chatting with screamed something in Gaelic [ thats what it sounded like ] and was obviously on the brakes before me so my only option was calmness and aim for the 8 inches of tarmac between van and barbed wire topped fence, that was close,,,,,, if I had of braked hard I would have most likely had the bloke behind go into my back wheel and both of us end up through the windscreen :? or into the fence..

Oh yeh every time we go a club ride some idiot in a car nearly causes a pile up by overtaking on blind bends or the brow of a hill.. every bloody time... :x

andysol

Earliest one

I also almost choked on a cola cube when i was about 8 years old. I was saved by my mother smacking me on my back for about a minute or so before coughing it up. After i recovered I still finished my 1/4 oz of the things. But i dont quite enjoy them now as much as i used to. Perhaps im scarred metally.

Andy

st68

10ft from a tree that was struck by lightning got showered by flying wood chips scarey :shock:

Stewie Griffin

Heckler & Koch MP5 pressed firmly into the back of my head with another 2 aimed at me from behind and either side. Actually at the time I was quite calm as it was London Police and I hadnt done anything to warrant such attention. Although I do remember thinking that had I been running down the stairs instead of walking then everyone's immediate reactions could have been very different indeed.

bonk man

Stewie....... do you have a beard, carry a rucksack and wear a puffa jacket? if you do I suggest you don't do that in future and stay away from the tube system for good measure.

chuckcork

bonk man wrote:

Stewie....... do you have a beard, carry a rucksack and wear a puffa jacket? if you do I suggest you don't do that in future and stay away from the tube system for good measure.

Talked to a guy a while back, he had the same experience, except I think it was sub-machine guns. Didn't help that he was British Asian, a muslim, and with wires sticking out of his chest from his MP3 player, and wearing a backpack and jacket.

But then he said again a friend of his was on one of the tube trains that got blown up and had his face ripped off, so he could see why....

GTi-R23

cougie wrote:

Tee hee - cavalier ! The bridge one was spooky cos I didnt even think you could do that - its just one lane each way, and the guy driving wasnt a stunt driver or anything. Us three just looked at each other and counted our blessings. V lucky.

Where are you based? I ride over that bridge quite often, there is a proper pedestrian crossing on it now with traffic lights though.

I've had a few 'near deathers' usually in cars, I was a passenger in a car that did a 360 on a wet motorway at 90mph, not clever. Also had a front wheel decide to detach itself from my gf's Pug 306 on the rare occasion i decide to drive it, luckily I was only doing 30mph but it's still a sobering experience watching your front wheel go flying off down the road in front of you. Moral of the story, don't buy an old French car!
Plus loads of other bike crashes that i shouldn't really have simply walked away from, been really lucky thinking back.