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...okay, maybe not die, exactly, but the possibility of pain (physical and financial) existed.
So, I'm driving home, and while it's been snowing on and off all day, the roads are pretty clear. I pull up to an intersection and see that the wind has completely covered a section of roadway just beyond the intersection. I see an SUV make the turn and fishtail slightly. I make a note of this, and make a plan.
I will accelerate through the intersection, then coast across the snowy part, letting my momentum carry me straight through. This has worked pretty well in all the years I've been driving this accursed rear-wheel-drive sports car in the snow. No sudden moves. No changes in speed. I see no reason this will not work for me today. Obviously, I did not consider three factors:
1) an automatic is never really 'coasting', as there is always power to the rear wheels (as evidenced by the fact that it will leap forward if you take your foot off the brake).
2) the road is snow-covered like that for a reason, namely, a very stiff wind that's blowing across the road. A wind stiff enough that, combined with the push from the rear wheels, caused my back end to skitter around on me.
3) when push comes to shove, I react back to my roots of driving a front-wheel drive car, which is what I learned on and drove for the first 15 years of my driving life. This is, of course, the exact opposite of what I should have done.
The upshot is that I was damn lucky my reactions got me through the intersection in front of the car in the lane next to me, who was behind me and continued to smartly hang back as I slid all over the roadway until I managed to snag some pavement and get the car back on track. I was also lucky this happened on a divided road, so oncoming traffic was not an issue.
I've driven through far, far worse conditions, but I was not paying enough attention because, overall, the roads were fine. I should have said to hell with the impatient SUV behind me, let them get pissed I'm going slowly, because I know better. I got sloppy and complacent, and one 100-foot stretch of very slick road almost did me in.
...though, had I wrecked the car, I might even now be shopping for a sensible, front-wheel drive standard shift and wouldn't be contemplating future adventures in the snow (where I promise I will be much more careful and keep in mind that, in essence, a car is a two-ton weapon and should be treated with such respect, which I honestly do - we all have our moments, though). Drive safely, everyone!
So, I'm driving home, and while it's been snowing on and off all day, the roads are pretty clear. I pull up to an intersection and see that the wind has completely covered a section of roadway just beyond the intersection. I see an SUV make the turn and fishtail slightly. I make a note of this, and make a plan.
I will accelerate through the intersection, then coast across the snowy part, letting my momentum carry me straight through. This has worked pretty well in all the years I've been driving this accursed rear-wheel-drive sports car in the snow. No sudden moves. No changes in speed. I see no reason this will not work for me today. Obviously, I did not consider three factors:
1) an automatic is never really 'coasting', as there is always power to the rear wheels (as evidenced by the fact that it will leap forward if you take your foot off the brake).
2) the road is snow-covered like that for a reason, namely, a very stiff wind that's blowing across the road. A wind stiff enough that, combined with the push from the rear wheels, caused my back end to skitter around on me.
3) when push comes to shove, I react back to my roots of driving a front-wheel drive car, which is what I learned on and drove for the first 15 years of my driving life. This is, of course, the exact opposite of what I should have done.
The upshot is that I was damn lucky my reactions got me through the intersection in front of the car in the lane next to me, who was behind me and continued to smartly hang back as I slid all over the roadway until I managed to snag some pavement and get the car back on track. I was also lucky this happened on a divided road, so oncoming traffic was not an issue.
I've driven through far, far worse conditions, but I was not paying enough attention because, overall, the roads were fine. I should have said to hell with the impatient SUV behind me, let them get pissed I'm going slowly, because I know better. I got sloppy and complacent, and one 100-foot stretch of very slick road almost did me in.
...though, had I wrecked the car, I might even now be shopping for a sensible, front-wheel drive standard shift and wouldn't be contemplating future adventures in the snow (where I promise I will be much more careful and keep in mind that, in essence, a car is a two-ton weapon and should be treated with such respect, which I honestly do - we all have our moments, though). Drive safely, everyone!
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We had a Mustang for awhile and we normally drove my car in the winter. But that was when we worked at the same office. Now, Sam has a truck and I wish I could steal it when it was overly snowy... like today. :)
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