Those of you in the colder states may have related stories in this
category. Just remember if you're not paying attention to the temps,
you can find yourself out of control of your vehicle before you
realize it!
Last week, I was spared from an accident by an oncoming driver who
found the black ice just before I did. I approached a section of
2-lane state road that I drive daily. There's a jog in the road
created to preserve an old elm. As I approached the elm, I noticed
taillights elevated higher than they should be and quickly realized
they belonged to a pickup, nose down in a ditch. I brake carefully,
not yet realizing the cause. Not being able to stop safely in time to
talk to the driver, I pull into the next driveway and pull a U-ey.
Well, before I realize it, I'm faced the direction I had intended...
but I didnt turn, I SPUN. Convenient, but unsettling. Now it all comes
together. The road, although it barely even looks wet was completely
iced over (it took a much closer look to distinguish it from the dry
road a quarter mile back). The driver, who I had initially assumed
just missed the jog in the road, had actually been driving the
opposite direction. He hit the black ice, spun 180, crossed the road,
slammed his tailgate into the elm, and bounced 20 feet forward into
the ditch. His tailgate was shaped like a U (he hit the tree
squarely). As I approached to help him out, I saw glass everywhere and
blood all over the seat and his clothes. He was wearing his seatbelt,
but the airbags had not deployed. The driver was conscious, though,
and I soon found out all the blood was coming only from his lip, where
his teeth had most likely punctured through. As I stayed there with
him waiting for the emergency crews to arrive, I watched another car
lose control and slide off the road. He was able to drive away a few
minutes later. The driver I had stopped to help was taken away in an
ambulance.
Two days earlier we had recieved 9" of rain. This wasn't the first
freeze since then, but now that the localized flooding had drained
down, the water wasn't moving as fast and could freeze in some spots.
I got blocked in by the emerg crews, but when I was finally able to
leave, I noticed my temp guage read 30 degrees. I realized that I
should have been paying more attention... and in the future I will!
Don in CT
89 Dakvert 318 5spd 4x4
98 JeepGC
74 Dart Sport 340
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jan 01 2009 - 00:12:23 EST