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Driving out of the supermarket carpark, I noticed a car had stopped pn the narrow section of road in front of me. Next thing I know, BANG. I thought someone had chucked a breezeblock onto the car from the roof. Then I saw the big yellow barrier right by my head!
So, it seems that the barrier should have been locked in the open position, but wasn't. The car in front of me had driven into it, smashing their windscreen. That impact knocked the barrier forwards, hitting the hedge, then swinging backwards again into my windscreen.
Quite a shock, as you can imagine. I think my neck will hurt a bit once the adrenline has wirn off as it feels a bit sore and sounds a bit crunchy! I reckon half a second later and it would have through the passenger window and through my skull.
Car's a write off most likely as the barrier mashed the pillar and bent the roof upwards.
Shittin 'ell 😳
Oooof!! That is a shocker pal, glad you're okay. Car's can be replaced.
Get yourself a lottery ticket!
Lucky escape. Glad you are ok to tell the tale.
Oh! Very glad to hear you are ok!
I hope you bought new kegs in the supermarket.
Well thank god it was only a Mazda, pheewwwwwww!
Nahhhh seriously, as long as you're doing alright and typing ;d
Shit fire, a chap was killed by a supermarket barrier near me a few years back.
Fooooooook.
Lucky escape really. Could have been worse as you said.
Buy a scratch card and a lucky dip.
10 posts in and nobody has said Koooo-eee
Blood and sand.
Good job there was no-one in the passenger seat.
Cheers. Yeah, I feel very lucky!
The fire service came to safely extract the car from the barrier. I'll speak to the insurance tomorrow - the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.
the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.
Still expect to be out of pocket somewhere down the line
Shit. Bit close that one. Glad you are ok. What happened to the other car and driver?
The other driver hit it at a different angle, so the barrier just bounced off the windscreen. The windscreen was broken, but no other damage and no injuries.
the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.
Nectar points?
the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.
A bit of wink-wink-whiplash....
Lucky boy, op... Lucky boy!
Glad you're alive!
They have to report things like this to the H&S Executive who will come down on them like a tonne of bricks as it has put a member of the public in serious danger. Expect the insurers to roll over too. I also guarantee you will not be left out of pocket, the supermarket will not want any bad publicity from this whatsoever.
Bloody hell OP. Glad you’re okay. I’d be pushing the supermarket for a free food for life deal. After all you now have a fear of supermarkets and won’t ever be able to visit one again 😉
As above I'd be pushing for this to be investigated, I'm sure they identified the this hazard and that all 'triangle' barriers must be locked open to avoid a pointy girder drifting about in the path of vehicles and killing people.
For their sake, hopefully it was locked open but the other car broke the lock when hitting it.
It was not locked open; the padlock was intact and locked onto the pillar. Not sure but I think the rope was a temporary measure by the fire service to keep it open.
Note how the impact has bent the barrier!
Just to clarify, it's a barrier of two halves meeting in the middle when closed. The right hand one was safely locked in the open position. The left one was seemingly unlocked and free to swing. Doesn't seem to be tampered padlock, as you can see above pic, it's intact and locked to the post.
WHOA
You’re a lucky sausage aren’t you!
I complained about the barrier at a local Safeway’s some years ago but they couldn’t have been less bothered.!!!
You would think any risk analysis would require them to be restricted to half road width & only to swing outwards from the direction of travel
The one I complained about was like a bloody jousting pole. Approaching end on it was all but invisible.
Glad you weren’t injured Op.
Buy a lottery ticket today. 🙂
Don't watch Final Destination
wow, thats a lucky escape.
@cb200 - how are you feeling today? That must have been a rough evening for you.
Crikey! You are a very lucky fellow.
I bet that was quite a fright.
Jesus Christ monkey balls!
Any excuse for a new 'what car' thread 😉
I think my neck will hurt a bit once the adrenline has wirn off as it feels a bit sore and sounds a bit crunchy!
Get yourself X-rayed, I had a fractured vertibrea that I didn't know about for a few days after an accident until I got a really weird click when bending over to put some washing in a machine. I had put it down to general stiffness/pulled muscles.
I'm ok thanks. I'm a pretty rational and logical chap and have been fine, if a bit pensive today. The main emotional spike comes when I think of a family member being in the passenger seat. I've driven down that ramp scores of times with my wife or daughter in the passenger seat.
Cheers, yeah, I'm waiting in the walk in centre now to get it checked out, and will see my GP in the week.
To a layman (ie, me), that looks like an incredibly heavy duty piece of kit for what it’s designed for. I would hope that the barrier would be changed to a more lightweight, frangible version?
You were very, very lucky.
A lightweight barrier isn't much good if you are trying to secure your car park!
No, it’s not as secure, but it won’t kill people.
you don’t see many barriers like that on NCP car parks etc., they seem to still make money?
Happens every so often, remember thats life doing a few spots on loose barriers, theyre a killer if not secured.
Thank god youre still alive, it could have been a lot worse, health and safety will investigate as will the police and shit will fly at the car park owners.
Meh. That’ll buff out
Shittin ‘ell
My exact first thought on seeing the photo!
Glad the OP is fine, I can imagine the shock of that taking a while to go, the always-there thought about what could have happened to a passenger. No question about liability, though.
What's all this lucky bollocks, thousands of people have probably driven through there with that barrier unlocked and only the OP gets squashed. Lucky my arse I reckon they're a bloody liability! 🙂
Bloody hell!
[i]argos-delivery-drivers-death-in-oswestry-was-a-unique-accident/[/i]
Just like the other UNIQUE accident mentioned in the post and the UNIQUE accident that started this thread. A lot of very similar UNIQUE accidents...
Remember, you are a unique individual - just like everyone else.
Anyway, unique rant over and glad the OP is OK
Luckily no one was sitting in the passenger side.
Car can be replaced.
I’ll speak to the insurance tomorrow – the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.
Local council took the front end off my car last year, their insurance paid for a hire car and full repairs whilst my insurance had it noted as a not at fault and all costs recovered. Yes, there may be a cost further on but it's up to the claimant whether they notify their own insurance (though you are supposed to).
OP - lucky escape!
I am probably wrong , but that rope does not look like something the fire brigade would use.- loooks frayed anf tired.
Plus .- The lock does look rather rusty and unused to my eye ( IANALocksmith)
I reckon the locks been fubarred for a while and the rope was half hitched round the barrier. .. ... till it wasn't.
Dont dwell on what might have happened , Its car shopping time...yay
Happened on the business park I work on to two women in a transit.
The barrier was black and had swung out. They drove end on into it (very hard to spot end on) and somehow it went into the cab and missed both of them. They must have shat themselves!
You were lucky, but it shouldn't have happened. I'd definitely take it further than jyst an insurance claim.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7200678.stm
Thanks for the links and comments folks. It's been helpful info.
Fortunately all the barriers where I work are either vertical lift, operated by a security bloke in the entrance room, or are a pair of gates that swing open and are padlocked when not in use. Considering the number of vehicle movements every day, they’re the only real option.
I wrote off a ‘53 split-screen Minor hitting a barrier that had been left closed over a weekend when normally it was open all the time, I swung into the entrance as I always did, hit this large steel tube with a square end plate hard with the driver’s side screen pillar, the tube shot back, hit the wall and bounced back, the steel plate catching the rear bodywork under the window, the corner slicing through the steel. The police had been checking a small motor servicing business over the weekend, and had kindly closed the bar, when it had always been left open and swung back against the wall, I hadn’t even noticed the damn thing was there!
No comeback and insurance wouldn’t cover it. Bugger.
Holy Moly! Glad you were flying solo. 'Tis a fragile and fleeting thing, this life innit?!