1969 Renault 8S Car Crash

[Gibbo]

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In 1969 my family was travelling to see a concert in Birmingham along the A38 near Burton-on-Trent. At one point we were met by a Jaguar on our side of the road, overtaking a line of traffic. My father drove off the road onto the grass verge to avoid a head on collision which caused the nearside rear wheel to buckle and the car to loose control for a few hundred yards, swerving back onto the carriageway in the direction of the oncoming traffic then back onto the verge. A glancing blow to a telegraph pole and the hedge took off most of our speed and my father brought us to a perfect stop at the side of the road.
Someone called the police and the policeman commented that he didn't realise it was us to begin with due to how neatly we were parked! 
Having been in the front passenger seat I suffered pain in my left side and my Mum, sitting behind me, was bleeding due to being showered by her smashed door glass.
The policeman took us all the the Derby Royal Infirmary to be checked out. My first ride and only in a police car! Mum was patched up and an X-ray showed I had a fractured rib.
To the best of my knowledge, the Jaguar driver was never found.

Photos by my father with his Leica M2 and Agfachrome.

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[Marc B-C]

Yikes; glad all were okay. About 30+ years ago a friend of mine had a Renault 8 Gordini. I am not sure I have ever seen one since.

[Gibbo]

 

6 minutes ago, Marc B-C said:

Yikes; glad all were okay. About 30+ years ago a friend of mine had a Renault 8 Gordini. I am not sure I have ever seen one since.

Now, I would have liked a Gordini!

[wlaidlaw]

I went to watch the Rallye du Var Classique, which was coming very near to the village where I live in France, in fact it went round the roundabout which I can see from my patio on the road coming from Aups and then heading down the very twisty mountain road to Villecroze. This road is used in the uphill direction for a speed hill climb course, which I have done once when I had my 911 RSR with me in France. An R8 Gordini came charging into the roundabout far too fast snaking heavily under braking and almost came to a halt, then toppled quite gently over on one side. A head popped out of the passenger window gesticulating furiously for the spectators to right the R8, which we duly did. He then roared off waving his thanks out of the window. We got the impression it was a not uncommon occurrence. 

Wilson

[Tailwagger]

 

Wow, that brings back memories... though not very good ones. I think back in those days, Renaults had a habit of doing that.  In the early 70's, I was coming home late one night when a a guy tried to pass me. He got about 1/3 the way past when he swerved into the rear quarter of my VW bug which bounced the right rear off the curb and sent me straight across the street dead center right into a telephone. Totaled it.  He claimed that as he was passing, his front end just fell off the car and he lost control. The dude was well and truly drunk; I always maintained he was shitfaced and weaving when he tried to pass, hit me first and then the front end fell off, but as I had had one or two myself, the cop decided rather than having to run us both in, he bought into the guys story. Either way, the initial impact wasn't much of a hit and indeed the entire front suspension, both sides, were caved in.  I later heard that from my insurance company that the whole front of his car was rusted out, so in the end a chicken and egg problem. And yeah the Renault in question was an R8. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Tailwagger

[Gibbo]

This accident was caused by the Jaguar that was approaching us head on, on our side of the road and my Dad had no choice but to leave the road or our family would have died. The car held up very well considering. It certainly was no fault of the R8, it saved our lives!

[Michael Geschlecht]

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6 hours ago, Gibbo said:

This accident was caused by the Jaguar that was approaching us head on, on our side of the road and my Dad had no choice but to leave the road or our family would have died. The car held up very well considering. It certainly was no fault of the R8, it saved our lives!

Hello Gibbo,

It is good that your car was your friend & helped you & that everybody was pretty much OK. You were all very lucky.

Best Regards,

Michael

[Michael Geschlecht]

6 hours ago, Tailwagger said:

 

Wow, that brings back memories... though not very good ones. I think back in those days, Renaults had a habit of doing that.  In the early 70's, I was coming home late one night when a a guy tried to pass me. He got about 1/3 the way past when he swerved into the rear quarter of my VW bug which bounced the right rear off the curb and sent me straight across the street dead center right into a telephone. Totaled it.  He claimed that as he was passing, his front end just fell off the car and he lost control. The dude was well and truly drunk; I always maintained he was shitfaced and weaving when he tried to pass, hit me first and then the front end fell off, but as I had had one or two myself, the cop decided rather than having to run us both in, he bought into the guys story. Either way, the initial impact wasn't much of a hit and indeed the entire front suspension, both sides, were caved in.  I later heard that from my insurance company that the whole front of his car was rusted out, so in the end a chicken and egg problem. And yeah the Renault in question was an R8. 

Hello Tailwagger,

It is good that "The Cosmic Dice" "rolled" in the favor of both you & the other driver that day.

Best Regards,

Michael