Bit of a fright

Narj

Narj

Narj

Soldato
Joined
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London
Don't normally post in here but last night left me flabbergasted and frankly a bit shaken so thought I'd share..

Heading towards the A2 turnoff anticlockwise off the M25 last night... in the 2nd lane, and the car in front of me starts indicating to turn off, slows right down, doesn't take a few opportunities to get off and then suddenly stops, putting their hazards on. It's busy and I can't pull out either side so I have to slow down, eventually to a stop as well with nowhere to go - hazards straight on and thinking WTF.

I think they've broken down, the driver gets out, runs over to me and tells me that she's lost... again this is in the 2nd lane with traffic whizzing past either side. I'm in a bit of a panic here so tell her to get back in the car, take the turnoff and get help, but she's still chatty until she eventually dashes back to the car and pulls off...

There were a few near misses with people braking hard then swerving out to miss my rear end. I presume as the approach is around a bit of a bend and it's dark, it's not registering until pretty late for some people.

I'm a bit shaken up by it really and can't see what else I could have done except hope for the best. I had a decent amount of distance when she started slowing down but no opportunity to get to another lane.

Seeing as it's by a busy junction, is it likely it'll be on camera and that I'll get a call from the police or Highways Agency?
 
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I'd either forget it ever happened or report it yourself first so your side of the story is clear. I know it's one of those things that shake you up, but it will be clear what happened if there is CCTV.
 
She sounds bat **** crazy. I'd have taken a note of her plates and reported her to the police, then gone home and washed my underwear.
 
What a stupid bint - I'd have been tempted to report her to the police too - surely that would be tantamount to dangerous driving?!
 
div0 said:
She sounds bat **** crazy. I'd have taken a note of her plates and reported her to the police, then gone home and washed my underwear.
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To be honest all I was doing most of the time was looking at my rear-view mirror thinking, "oh **** this one is definitely going to hit me". Hindsight is great but I found that self-preservation tends to override pretty much everything else. :p

Cheers chaps, I'll look up the non-emergency local number and let them know later. I'm more inclined to forget it in all honesty but if she pulls that trick again, she could get herself or someone else killed.
 
wait so..... on a motorway....she just slowed to a complete stop in the middle lane, got out an approached you....and basically asked for directions? o.O

that's a bit mental...would have been worried she was gunna car jack or something! :p yea why didn't she just take the next exit and ask someone normally.... like most others would do (or carry on in stubbornness, determined to prove that I'm not lost! xD ). Don;t think she;d get in trouble for the incident being reported, probably more likely to have a chat about the danger she put her self in and what to do in future :)
 
Bloody hell, this kind of behavior simply defies belief. Just how stupid do you have to be to stop in the middle of a motorway to ask directions?
 
Jesus. I know exactly where you're talking about, I take the same turn off every evening on my commute. It's absolutely hectic around there - how one Earth did she think it was OK to stop!
 
Sasso said:
wait so..... on a motorway....she just slowed to a complete stop in the middle lane, got out an approached you....and basically asked for directions? o.O
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Sorry, should clear this up as I worded it badly, it was on the road to the A2 turnoff, so not on the motorway itself, but on the exit where people were still tearing past at a rate of knots. She stopped on the A2(W) writing part of the road here

I think if it had been on the motorway proper, I'd not be posting. :)
 
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ahhhh okies xD thanks for clearing that up hehe! makes more sense on that road as I'm guessing she had taken a wrong turn somewhere and just panicked when she didn't recognise any place names. It's called sat-nav love ;)

also just noticed the road on the NE side of that round about, the B260 "Trolling Down Hill" .....HAHAHAHHAHAHA xD
 
Conscript said:
how one Earth did she think it was OK to stop!
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She clearly didn't think, I know a few people like this, their driving scares me as they appear oblivious to what's going on around them, the sorts that drive around with a flat tyre & never notice or care.
 
Outcast said:
Sat Nav on = Brain OFF

Perhaps she had an issue with the sat nav and was unable to re-engage brain ?
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maybe :P I like to use both, I'll look at the route before hand, try and remember some key junctions/turnings, then once in the car I'll put the sat nav on but rarely glance at it...maybe if things get a bit complex....e.g. giant roundabout, I'll try and get the exit number and read off the exit road so I can pick the correct lane to be in :)

but we all know that sat nav can be a massive pile of **** sometimes, especially with new road layouts.
 
To be honest I have no idea why you stopped behind her, surely there must have been some way for you to get round her.

Never endanger your own life for the sake of someone's stupidity to disobey the road rules.
 
Just be thankful you weren't a passenger in her car! I don't think you have anything to worry about legally, just one of those situations you can't avoid but could have caused utter devastation if something had gone wrong which thankfully it didn't.
 
Grimezy said:
To be honest I have no idea why you stopped behind her, surely there must have been some way for you to get round her.

Never endanger your own life for the sake of someone's stupidity to disobey the road rules.
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Nope, unfortunately there wasn't unless I'd been riding a motorbike. I'm not the world's greatest driver but I'm usually fine with being assertive and getting out - in this case it was just busy and no-one was going to brake hard to let me in. The only way I'd have avoided it is by clocking on to her slowing down too much on the M25 itself then doing the impatient douche overtake but then you never expect someone to stop completely like that. :p

I did think about trying to cut inside on the few opportunities she should have taken but then I was risking her smashing into my right hand side.

Your second sentence is exactly why I stayed in my car and told her to get back in hers! :p

LOL @ Satnav comments... I tend to only listen to it for speed camera alerts and use directions when I turn off the motorway/main roads to somewhere I don't know. Last time I used it in the Lake District, the damned thing tried taking me down a narrow track and over a stream... haha.
 
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