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Oh and nickc has got a good lucky escape story, but I'll leave to him to tell it. It always gives me the chills.
My Aunty was knocked off her motorbike by an Artic Truck on her way to work - the truck stopped with her trapped between two sets of wheels. Unable lift it the emergency services had to reverse the truck back over her to her out and off to hospital.
The lucky escape was that the place of work she was on her way to was the Herald of Free Enterprise.
just reading through these before posting my families experience and theres stoners about the same disaster ^^^
my mum and dad, bro and his family all lived in phuket at the time and were heading to the nearest beach for the day. his wife wanted to pop into a shop but left her money behind and so they had to go back for it.
when they got to the beach it was all closed off by police and they didnt know why. then started hearing about the tsunami that hit that beach a few minutes earlier.
My father went to sea after college as a Marine Engineer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, where he met and became great friends with another guy.
Scroll forward many years; my Dad's now working as an engineer in industry, but his best mate is still at sea, but now as a Chief on Townsend Thorenson ferries. He was asked, and agreed to change roster with a colleague so his colleague could go to a family event. As a result, his colleague was on the Herald the night it turned over and lost his life.
Scroll forward a few more years and my Dad was on a business trip with his agent in Scandinavia. They had meetings in Estonia, and then some in Stockholm, but while they are in Estonia they get a call to cancel their swedish meetings. As a result, my Dad flies back directly rather than getting the MS Estonia which sank with the loss of 853 lives.
My Dad's nearly 80 now and on his bucket list he wants to go on a cruise; he's never lost his love of the sea. We are less keen to go with him.........
My wife and I were backpacking round the Philippines many years ago, and on one particularly touristy (i.e. picturesque) island, she wanted to stay in some flimsy palm-frond huts right on the beach, which she’d read about in Lonely Planet. They looked idyllic but they were pricey and we were on a budget, so I insisted we stay in a dull but cheap concrete cube of a hotel. A couple of days later we got hit by a typhoon. The devastation was unreal. Debris everywhere. Lots of people missing. All the sand on the beach had been washed/blown away, to be deposited on every surface of everything that was left. Our hotel was a mess but still standing. The beach huts had ceased to exist, along with everything in them. 🙁
On the motorbike, going south on craigmillar castle road, up to the righthander near the hospital. I made a complete cock of the corner entry, and ended up positioned over near the middle of the road, still in lane but miles from where I wanted to be... And a ZX7R came the other way, totally out of control, crossed out of his lane and passed me [i]on my left[/i], exactly where I would have been if I'd not messed the corner up. I actually had to stop and have a bit of a cry 😆
Absolutely nothing compared to a number of stories on here, but driving west on the M42 after the Redditch junction one night, heavy snow slowed the light traffic including us until we all dropped into the inside lane at about thirty miles an hour. About five seconds after we pulled in, something went [i]whoosh!]/i] past us, and it took a few seconds to realise it was someone driving the wrong way up the motorway in the middle lane.
November '87. Had been for a visit to the Houses of Parliament with a couple of mates from school. We were going to get the tube back to catch a train home, but on the spur of the moment decided to go for a beer in a pub (this was back in the days when you could still get served at 17 without ID). When we got on the tube an hour or so later it didn't open the doors at our station - strange, but no info, so we changed onto another line back to the same station but the same thing happened again. Eventually we got a tube to the next train station up the line and got the train home from there instead - well they did, I had to call for a lift as the trains which stopped there didn't stop at my station. Didn't understand why mum was so pleased to hear from me.
The station we were trying to get off at - Kings Cross. The date 18th November 1987. Don't ever tell me beer isn't good for your health - the timings would have put us there just as the fire was starting otherwise.
I was working on the farm replacing some grain conveyors up in the roof space of a big shed, it was after the oil seed rape crops had gone through which are basically like tiny ball bearings filled with oil, while braced up between some stuff tightening some bolts I slipped, fell and managed to catch myself on the wooden stairs 14'below me and slide down the bannister to a safe stop, think it was closer to 25'just to the right to a concrete floor and something more than a little friction burn.
When climbing my mate couldn't finish a route
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Tippler Direct - Stanage, I went up on top rope to get his hear back, due to the traverse a mate offered a second rope from below to stop me swinging if I had to hang and get the gear out.
A move above where the climber in the pic is contemplating the hardest move I asked for a tight rope and the knot started to move away from me. On some sketchy foot holds and one sweaty hand I just about managed to tie in, reversed the route to the floor before collapsing in a shaking heap.
My mates had spotted just before me that I wasn't tied in and were working out how to tell me, they basically thought there was no way to save my legs in a fall so had better try and stop me smashing my skull.
Every time I have climbed since I check the knot a few moves off the floor.
Are you getting in the car with me and my boss tomorrow?
Then you too have had a lucky escape.
My new wifes brother in law was best man for my last wifes brother in law, 20 years apart other end of the country no connection between wifes.
On April 1st 2001 I rode my KTM Duke straight into an oncoming car, both doing at least 50mph, full head on impact, no braking, ripped my bike in two & put a 2' V into the front of the brand new Toyota Yaris. After going airborne through a tree I landed in some bracken and got a ride home on the back of my mates Fireblade. I did ache for a few months after though.
Went for a gap in traffic on my [as then] new Specialized. Weight a little further back then I was used to on that frame, and there was oil on the road.
I highsided, and flew through the air like superman. As I flew I saw I was due to land in the path of an oncoming bus, doing 30ish...my and legs arms started scrambling before I'd even hit the floor.
I ricochet off the road [leaving a lot of skin behind], but [i]just[/i] managed to take a single staggering stride before it hit me. This meant my head protruded "beyond" the windscreen of the bus, and the impact was in the chest, and didn't smash my face in.
The bus also traveled many many meters further than the point of impact. That I didn't end up a smear on the road, or with a concave face is all down to catching my footing in that instant.
Also - Ex girlfriend No2. Though I hear she's married now!
Coyote thats 1.5 kgs of a thymoma tumour 🙂
A week later and we're in the pub, me and my mates, and she turns up.. Starts blabbing on about me running away and being some kinda Ghay, because like who would turn her offer down eh..
I'm still failing to see how this was a lucky escape. The following morning may have counted, depending how many limbs you had to chew off in the cold light of day...
I have a few stories of lucky escapes while 'making progress', but the story that springs to mind is being 100m from an IRA device that went off in Camden. The IRA had called in a warning, but the police evacuated the wrong place (the market) before the device exploded in the High St. Fortunately no-one has killed.
My great uncle on the other hand was in the merchant navy during the war. Aside from getting sunk six times and being adrift in a rescue boat for nine days (if memory serves - not the 22 described below), he contracted something nasty during one voyage and was bed-bound in London for a while. After being discharged and declared fit by the hospital he went to the docks to join a crew, only to be told by the doctor of a Baltic-bound convoy that he still wasn't fit enough. Reluctantly he stayed behind, and the entire convoy was sunk somewhere very cold.
His obit: http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/nov/28/jack-carlin-obituary
Was in a car crash last August, combined impact of 120mph+, only broke my leg and neck. Pretty lucky really.........
M1, 3am, 80mph, middle lane
Oncoming car in our carriageway, fast lane.
Happened pretty quick and got a jolt from the air pressure. 6” right would not have been good...
was sat back lounging in my chair in the middle of a french lesson leant forward to hit mate in front of me when a large 12" light bulb fell out of its holder about 4m ( old building) directly above my position and exploded on the seat of my chair Mon Dieu!! It brightened up the lesson a bit.
About 30 odd years ago a poor family were killed in their sleep on a Fishguard to Rosslaire ferry, fumes came up a section of ducting and into their cabin, it was only when I read about it in the paper did i realise I had been on the ferry journey before it made its return and killed the family, from the floor plan in the paper it was almost certainly the same cabin we slept in.
I'm a skip diver, and notice stuff that's left around.
In the mid 70s I had an evening shift in the centre of Bristol which involved a walk to work down Park Street. I took an evening off to celebrate a whole year going out with the current Mrs Moses.
If I hadn't, I'd have walked past the sports bag which the IRA had thoughtfully left in a recessed shop door a few minutes before it detonated. I know that I'd have spotted it and taken a look inside. Oops.
Oh yeah - walked out of this:
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4101/4776904670_87073788cf_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4101/4776904670_87073788cf_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/8h7Tkm ]Bye bye Focus[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/pimpmasterjazz/ ]Neil Cain[/url], on Flickr
M1, 3am, 80mph, middle lane
Were you overtaking at the time? :p
Yes! Nowhere to go 😯
As I didn't realise what happened until I was looking in the rear view mirror, it was over that quick so having nowhere to go was irrelevant! Slight right hand bend masked the approach from a distance.
Still go cold occasionally at the thought
On April 1st 2001 I rode my KTM Duke straight into an oncoming car, both doing at least 50mph, full head on impact, no braking, ripped my bike in two & put a 2' V into the front of the brand new Toyota Yaris. After going airborne through a tree I landed in some bracken and got a ride home on the back of my mates Fireblade. I did ache for a few months after though.
I cant post the photos due to ongoing court case but my dad took on a VW crafter van full frontal on his 14 plate fjr 1300 in france.
Bike written off frame folded up front wheel exploded. forks touching the radiator - and the insurance company here in the uk disputed the fact it was a write off......
Van totaled as well.
We have the video - and the french driver still claimed "le tourist" was on the wrong side of the road - despite video saying otherwise - his insurance backed down sharp when shown the video. the french van driver was fully on the wrong side of the road coming round a blind corner.
My dad was taken to hospital with blood coming from his ear and in a vac spinal board - told to expect the worst - he was discharged from hospital and flew home the next day(no thanks to his insurance). Albe it undergoing ongoing treatment and symptoms - to this day.
By rights - should have been much much worse.
Missed the IRA bomb in the lav at London Bridge rail station by about 60 seconds. I had just got off the train and was walking down the ramp to the cross passage when it went. Felt the pressure wave and heard a bloody great whumph as it went.
A mate if mine was doing final checks on a lynx helicopter before going flying over the badlands of Afghanistan when, with the rotors running, the drive shaft to the tail rotor sheared with a bloody great bang. Luckily they were on the ground and not airborne. Sod that !