. . . this is why we don’t live up north. Nuff said? 🙂
Seriously, NO ONE can drive on ice, unless you have chains on your tires. And there’s nothing quite like the helpless feeling you get when you’re behind the wheel and your vehicle is out of control.
My one and only car wreck occurred on an icy hill in Lynchburg . . . I slid right down it and crashed into a telephone pole, sending my hard head into the windshield (and yes, I was wearing a seat belt!) I think I’ve been slightly addled ever since. (But thank the Lord I have a very hard head.)
~~Angie
Wow. It’s amazing the way they went sideways. I’m sending this to my bloggy friend in Minnesota!
From the North…….sliding on ice in a vehicle and having absolutely no control over it is scary than the biggest roller coaster. The day after Christmas I had an incident (not an accident) with black ice and came out with just a flat tire. If someone had been coming in either direction it would have been much worse. I was all over the road. The video was probably black ice under the snow. So sometimes you have to drive in it because you think it is just snow and it turns out to have ice on the road as well.
There are however some things you can do: Listen to the Weatherman: if he says “it is slippery out there, Don’t go out if you don’t have to” even if he is a professional liar, in winter it is worthy advice. If you are out there: Steer into the direction you are sliding, sound counterintuitive but it works.
DONT panic!!!
DONT slam on the breaks.
DONT try to call from your cell phone while you are sliding.
From the southern edge of Cold Country,
Catherine
My daughter in Ohio was in an accident yesterday because she slid on the ice. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt.
And yes, it’s one of the reasons I live in Phoenix. However, people here don’t know how to drive in the rain!!
Our car is in the shop having $7000 worth of repairs done because someone else lost control in icy conditions.
Another tip if you’re sliding, put your car in NEUTRAL. That stops the forward motion on your wheels and can help stop a spinout.
The video is bizarre. I live where we have ice and snow half the year and I’ve never seen that.
Been there. Done that. Terrifying. NO THANKS!
This clip is from Seattle. There is no flat ground there, only hills.
We had a news video like this last year from Portland over in the west hills.
I don’t drive with any ice or snow on the ground. The older I get the more chicken I become.
I’ve lived in the north most of my life (Texas now) and have driven in all sorts of conditions. The most terrifying drive of my life came one night in Seattle a couple years ago. It had been raining and a sudden cold front came through and froze over the roads. It took me over 3 hours to make the 30-mile trip from my office to home. Cars were abandoned on the freeways at all angles where folks had given up and started walking home. At one point I was sitting at a red light, fully stopped, on FLAT ground, and my car started sliding sideways toward the car next to me – just from the wind. You’re right, Angie. NO ONE can drive on ice. The question begs to be asked: why do we go out there and try?
Agree with Slow’n’Steady … I’ve lived many years in New York and New England and have never seen anything like the driving and crashing in this video. Wonder what the motivating factor was for these people to get out and try to drive!? If you have a hard time walking to your car, that should be a convincing enough deterrent! Clyde
I grew up in the South but married a sailor who got stationed north of Seattle. I was 8 months pregnant and on my way to the doctor when I hit a patch of ice and couldn’t stop at an intersection. On my right was a semi truck which also couldn’t stop; we were about to meet in the middle of said intersection. That’s when I learned how to pray!
Maybe I was a bit harsh on those poor drivers yesterday … maybe they just wanted to get home. After seeing a bit of weather news today, I can see that these kinds of events may be more plentiful than my pitiable experience has allowed! Clyde
I wonder if it’s a bit of a slope. I also wonder why those crazy people are standing in the middle of the road.