‘Tis the season to heed the weather report and stay off the snowy, icy roads if you can, at least in the north. A snow squall yesterday afternoon caused a 59-car pileup on Interstate 75 in Detroit and made national news as drivers cruising well below highway speeds suddenly found themselves in a winter whiteout — unable to see, stop or steer.
A car slammed into an 18-wheel tractor trailer, and the driver walked away uninjured, as did all the other occupants, miraculously, in the long, chaotic chain of fender benders. The outcome could have been different if everyone was driving faster.
I had my own wreck earlier this month, fairly close to yesterday’s scene on Detroit’s north side and in similar conditions. It was dark and snowy when our cars collided on a patch of black ice on Woodward Avenue while heading to a holiday media event, and afterward the driver of the other car just drove away from the scene. It was too snowy to see if that driver parked alongside Woodward, and I couldn’t see any hazard lights flashing.
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Other Driver Left The Scene
I stayed put for a few minutes with my hazards on, in case the other driver wanted to meet up or explain why he abruptly changed lanes and caused the collision. Another motorist checked on me as well, and there were no injuries. I filed a police report.
But, damn, my 2016 Mazda6 sedan was well crunched: driver-side headlight smashed, fascia badly cracked and the fender was folded in, rubbing on the front-driver side wheel. Hood looked to be OK, and the car was able to limp home.
The Value Of Defensive Driving
Does anyone need to hear a cautionary tale about defensive driving or paying attention to weather conditions or keeping your phone charged or having a blanket in your car in the event the engine breaks down in the dead of winter and you have to wait for the police or a tow truck?
In the grand scheme of things, mine was a typical fender bender that reminded me of the goofy dodge ‘em cars we used to ride at the church fair, with sparks occasionally flying overhead as a steel pole attached to the car drew power from the ceiling. Good fun.
Floating On A Bed Of Air
You might recall how poorly these bumper cars steered and how they wouldn’t move if the wheel was cranked too hard to the left or right. But when you got the car moving in a near facsimile of a straight line, you just wanted to hit someone. Didn’t matter who.
The base of each car was all thick, soft rubber and at times it felt like floating on a bed of air, even when you finally made contact. You’d bounce off and gleefully holler at the dimwit who got in your way, and the dimwit would shout back something like, “Hey, I’m gonna get you!”
Staying Well Below Posted Speeds
So that was the memory that came to me almost immediately after the collision. It was a little before 6 pm in Detroit on one of the shortest days of the year, and I was taking it easy, as were several other drivers heading down four lanes of Woodward south of 8 Mile Road, at about 35 mph.
That’s below the posted speed limit, but the blowing snow and obvious ice had most of us erring on the side of caution.
Safely Making A Michigan Left Turn
I was in the left lane of divided Woodward Avenue, and those of you familiar with the “Michigan Left Turn” know you signal and veer left into a deceleration lane so you can go the opposite direction (like a fancy, legal U-turn), or cross over the northbound lanes. Sounds complicated but it works quite well for those of us who grew up with them.
While several other vehicles were puttering with caution, a compact car sped up in the lane to my right, got ahead of me, then changed lanes to make that left turn. But the driver inexplicably stayed in my lane and didn’t fully reach the deceleration lane for turning left.
Floating In A Most Peculiar Way
I was braking and trying to steer around this car but my Mazda6 was following Newton’s Laws of Motion — sliding straight when ice on the road meant there would be no change in direction, no traction for stopping.
For those three seconds before impact, I felt perhaps how an astronaut feels without gravity, just floating like Major Tom in a most peculiar way, bracing for impact with the passenger rear corner of the compact car.
Ice Hinders, Then Helps
Because of the ice, both our vehicles shimmied a bit after contact, like bumper cars. This might explain why no one was injured in yesterday’s 59-car pileup: The ice that caused it also allowed that crash energy to dissipate by way of slipping and sliding. Surely a physics grad can explain it in more academic terms.
I was without a car for nearly three weeks, but the shop owner said the work might take a month, so I felt fortunate. The Mazda6 looks as good as new, and we’ll see if my insurance rates go up. Even with my clean record, what are the chances?
Source: Fox2 Detroit