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Public Service Announcement
By John
If it was ice that almost killed me, snow saved my life.
I had just spent a fantastic Christmas day skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO. Normally I would have stayed the night, but I have to work tomorrow morning and needed to get home this evening.
So as the sun began to set, I massaged my sore calves, chugged a can of Red Bull, and started off on a 3 hour drive through the icy mountain roads of Northern Colorado. I did fine until I hit the Snowy Range on the Colorado-Wyoming border. There, WY-230 became treacherous, if not barely passable. Wind was blowing snow from the recent blizzard over the road, and mini-drifts were accumulating on the pavement. Going down made controlling speed and movement tricky. I kept it at 40mph, even though the limit was 60.
As I reached the base of the mountains, I thought that I was home free. The roads looked clear, the wind had died down, and I was starting to put the winding curves of the mountain path behind me. So I sped up a little.
I don't remember exactly what happened, or how it started. I felt my back tires start to slip, just a little. So I made a minute adjustment to the right and laid off the gas, hoping to straighten the truck. I clearly overcompensated. Now, not only was I sliding to the right, I was starting to lose control of the vehicle. And I was headed towards a guardrail. Nothing but black on the other side.
Now at this point, I had done everything by the book. I was still under the speed limit, I made the proper directional corrections, and my seatbelt was buckled. But that guardrail scared me, and losing control scared me, so I did something very, very stupid.
I slammed on the brakes. Not hit, not tapped. Slammed.
The brakes locked up the back tires, sending the truck into a vicious (and I do mean vicious) spin. I nicked the guardrail with my rear bumper, which did nothing to slow the truck's rotation. It's funny, for a few seconds I was spinning in a violent circle, sliding down a two-lane mountain road at 50mph, and yet for some reason, I felt a wave of inner peace sweep over me. The kind that Buddhist monks dedicate years of introspection and meditation towards attaining. Looking back, I think my mind was shutting down. Preparing for the inevitable.
Right before impact, I remember being surprised that my truck hadn't flipped yet. The Ford Expedition is one of the most rollover-prone vehicles on the road, yet it stayed upright. Then, SLAM.
I stopped.
As soon as the truck halted, I didn't check to see if I was hurt, I didn't jump out of the car to check for damage, and I didn't sit in the seat and shake. Instead, I clasped my hands together and prayed. I don't remember what I said, but it was a prayer of thanks straight from the heart. I was positive that I had a guardian angel riding shotgun with me this evening, and I wanted to let the proper authorities know that I appreciated it.
Prayer over, now I'm wondering why a sudden stop at 50mph was so gentle. Not only was I feeling okay, the surge of adrenaline that washed over me had cured a small bout of nausea that I was fighting. Didn't even feel whiplash.
I hopped out of the truck, waved to a motorist who had stopped, letting them know that I was okay, and went to check the damage. It was the snow that saved me. I entered a large drift back-end first on the opposite side of the road. The good news was, there didn't appear to be any serious damage to the truck (or me, for that matter). The bad news was that the drift was about four feet deep, and my truck's fat ass was stuck in right in the middle of it.
Thank God for the Ford Expedition. Not only is it a truck that consistently earns high safety marks, it's got a powerful V8 and four-wheel drive. I threw the thing into four-low and after a little fighting, had it back on the road. When I got out for a second damage inspection, I almost fell flat on my back. The road was sheer ice. Thankfully the only damage was my wrecked nerves and a little impact damage on the bumper, from when I hit the guardrail.
The public service announcement is this: take ice seriously. I was following all the rules, driving carefully, seatbelt fastened, but I still lost control of my vehicle. Had that snow drift not caught me or that guardrail not held, OPFOR may have been reduced a three man operation from here on out.
Keep it under the speed limit folks, alls I have to say.
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Comments
Holy Crap...
glad you are alive and well...
and achieved nirvana
ya never know....
Thank God, indeed. I know the feeling, same sort of thing happened to the wife and me about 60 miles east of Missoula, MT, back in 2002.
jpp 89
I'm joining the chorus of "Glad you're still with us." And I also have a similar tale of a much less snow worthy vehicle. I crashed a '95 Trans Am into the middle of the road near Sioux Falls, South Dakota in late 1996. Doing all of 30 mph when there was a 4-foot high snow drift directly in front of me. Thanks to the anti-lock brakes I plowed in at a much more reasonable 28 mph. I was heading to the Chevy dealer to pick up a 4WD S-10 I had purchased, but not yet insured, the night before.
Too Fast. In conditions like that you should be doing 25-30. I usually have tons of cars passing me, but it dose not take any longer really, and your gonna be safe.
I'm glad to hear your okay though. Those snow bound accidents can be scary, and completely unpredictable.
Glad to hear you are OK... and your truck. Winter driving is no joke.
Glad you are OK, John. I grew up in eastern Washington state and every winter someone in the area died in an accident caused by ice. It is very dangerous. I always put my vehicle in 4-wd if there is any ice on the road. Speed limits are meaningless. 10 mph might have been too fast. I have slid right off the road when I stopped at the mailbox.
Whew! So glad you made it! Very scary...
Sheesh! Don't they use salt on the roads there?? Ice is deadly and as Mark said, even 10mph can be too fast.
You're a very lucky man, John. An experience like that kinda gives you a fresh perspective, doesn't it?
...Going too fast for conditions. Forget the speed limilt signs, they wre made for good weather. Put on your 4WD before you need it and anytime your wheels can slip to compensate. When you started to slide you did the right thing and might have made it out ok if you'd been in 4Wheel. Until you get traction back you're not in control, period. That's only going to occur when the coefficient of friction between your tires and the road are greater than the forces working against you. So sit back, let it slow down by engine braking and put as few steering inputs in as you have to.
...32 years as a traffic cop, the worst 5 words in winter? ..I just 'touched' my brakes....
Whew! You're one lucky man, or that Guardian Angel was working overtime! Glad to hear you're okay.
It's no fun when driving becomes a "spectator sport"! Glad to hear you're ok!
Mike
John I am so very grateful for that snow and that you are ok.
Gone the next two days, so I just wanted to offer a heartfelt thanks to all the well-wishers here, and remind you guys....
take ice seriously!!
"...and yet for some reason, I felt a wave of inner peace sweep over me. The kind that Buddhist monks dedicate years of introspection and meditation towards attaining. Looking back, I think my mind was shutting down. Preparing for the inevitable."
Happy to see you made it out ok. Funny how the mind works in stressfull situations. I lost it once on snow and ice, nowhere near as nasty as your case, did a couple of doughnuts, and wound up pointing the way I came. The interesting thing is, when it started I was whistling some tune or other, and when it was all over, I was still whistling! Different brain sections for different skills, I suppose.
Jeez, didn't you get your safety briefing? ;-)
(glad to hear you're ok though)
I remember the invisible black ice days of Colorado. I've slid quite a ways myself.
Very glad you are okay.
Ice is nice ...... except for driving on.
I know exactly what you felt. More than 20 years ago, I "drove" my '70 Chevelle sideways off the road between Laramie and Tie Siding* on what I thought were snow-packed roads. I had much the same experience of being mildly surprised that my car was upright and still running.
When I finally got out of the ditch**, I could barely stand on the road.
* US-287 south from Laramie towards Ft. Collins.
** "Ditch" is perhaps a misnomer, since it was pretty nearly flat.
Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to be reading your words. In the same manner you graciously provided me with Hooked on Phonics and Basic Reading for Marines, I consider sending 'Driving for Dummies.' But it thankfully appears to be unecessary reading for you now.
Perhaps this is why they do not let you fly.
Perhaps...
Cheers my friend. Good to have the thorn back in my side another day.
John:
Baruch Ha-Shem. Thank G-d. Very glad you are still with us. Snow and ice are beautiful but real killers.
I just spoke with my daughter in Jerusalem where she's attending a post high-school, pre-college religious seminary.
"Daddy, there's a municipal emergency!"
My heart skips a hundred beats.
"Hit the pavement! Watch out for the secondary explosion!"
"Noooo, silly Daddy. It's snowing."
Head in hands. One breath after another. White hair sprouting where black once grew.
Offspring #3 continues: "It's an emergency because Jerusalem has no snow plows, well the Army has, but up in north, in the Golan. Anyway, it' just awesome, actually beyond awesome. Bye, Daddy, gotta bounce, have to get to school now."
"How?"
"By car."
"Nooooooooo!"
"Why?"
Offspring #3 is just 18-years old, I console myself. At this age they believe they are invincible. So did I. Basically, when you are 18-years old you are a high functioning moron.
"There are no snow tires in Israel." I explain patiently. "Israelis have no idea how to drive in the snow and ice. In fact, they have no idea how to drive even when it's not snowing. Anyway, the roads are hazardous. Stay put. That's a parental slash general order. Do you copy?"
"You and mommy have been watching '24', I can tell."
I've just been totally busted.
"Whatever."
"You mean it's okay for me to miss class?"
"Yup."
"Love you, Daddy."
Wow! As a Wyomingite myself - glad to hear that all ended well! Have had many a time of getting caught in the ground blizzards that our Wyoming wind can whip up - this Christmas Day on I-25 north of Chugwater a prime example. Ground Blizzard + chopped ice road + 40 mph winds(and higher) = strongly times 4 likelyhood of getting pushed sideways across the road whether you wanna or not. Vice grips on the steering wheel and chanting "I will not slam on the brakes" 20 times to myself!
Very scary indeed. Maybe you were going too fast for conditions, but you were not driving faster than your angel can fly. Good thing.
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Hey John, glad your still with us. I'm sure you know that we all are supposed to have faith and take care of ourselves, but it does do us good when we see evidence of that faith displayed, for our own stupid selves.
Have a safe and happy Christmas
And Continue the Mission.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA