i have never been so scared...

josh8o · #1 10-17-2002, 03:33 AM

tonight i was driving home from work. it had been lightly raining this evening in san diego, and it was the first rain of the season. i go to get on the fwy, and as i am driving down the onramp i feel my car start to hydroplane...of course i want it to stop so i hit the brakes and i start to fishtail. i try to turn out of it but my car starts to go directly torards a island that separates the onramp and the fwy. so i try to turn out of it and my car flips around and i am headed directly towards a underpass wall. i trun again and my car goed back towards that island and flys over it. i spin out across 4 lanes of the fwy and do a 360. luckly there wasnt any cars at that moment...i don't want to think about what could have happened. anyway, my car seems fine, but i dont think i have ever been so scared in my life.

ZTAMiami · #2 10-17-2002, 08:07 AM

Be thankful nothing happened. I'm glad you're okay!

aephi alum · #3 10-17-2002, 09:32 AM

You're very lucky - like you said, it could have been a lot worse. Even just a small skid can be a scary experience.

Stay safe.

BearyCuteAPhi · #4 10-17-2002, 10:34 AM

Thank God that you are ok...hard to believe that you and your car are ok

. It sounds horrible

I am glad tohear that you are ok!

Becareful out there...

ronnie

AchtungBaby80 · #5 10-17-2002, 11:24 AM

I'm glad you're all right! Somebody was definitely watching out for you...

alphachiohmy · #6 10-17-2002, 11:35 AM

goodness ... am glad all is OK.

One night in high school after driving on backroads from a small town to my hometown, I was in a spin out and landed in a ditch.
There were three of us in a truck and it was misty-rainy out and cold, we we going around a curve and my friend lost control of her truck. We went in at least three circles and then in the ditch. All tuned out OK, but we never told any cops. We just got back in the truck and detoured to a friends house and crashed there. It does not sound as dramatic as your experience, but I know how it feels to be freaked out.

texas*princess · #7 10-17-2002, 11:48 AM

I'm so glad you are ok! Take care!

SSS1365 · #8 10-17-2002, 02:34 PM

Wow, I'm glad you're all right! I've had similar situations happen to me before, but I never really got to the point you got to. If I had a dollar for every time I've hydroplaned or fishtailed, I'd probably be rich! So of course I always feel extremely lucky that I always somehow manage to keep my cool and not overcorrect, which is probably the biggest mistake people make in those situations. My scariest experience was when I was in high school and I was driving to school right behind a bus on a back road. The bus drives over a huge patch of ice and then stops for apparently no reason! Not letting kids on/off or anything. Just STOPS. So since I'm behind it, I have no choice but to hit the brakes, and lucky me, I'm ON the ICE! So my car does a complete 180 and nearly spins into the back of the bus! I was SO mad at that stupid bus driver!

Anyway, glad you're okay

Peaches-n-Cream · #9 10-17-2002, 03:53 PM

Rain and snow can make for dangerous driving. I'm glad that you are fine.

Hootie · #10 10-17-2002, 05:49 PM

I'm glad you're alright!

Here's a little tip from someone who hydroplains all the time:
If you feel yourself hydroplaining, throw your car into N and pump the brakes really fast. It will stop your car!

I was on my way home from school when it rained and I had to suddenly stop. I started hydroplaining for what seemed like years but was able to just throw my car into Neutral and pump the brakes. THANK GOD FOR THAT! I woulda smashed my little prizm into the back of a huge truck! Ouchie for me...probably not for them!

Optimist Prime · #11 10-17-2002, 06:39 PM

Damn dude. I'm glad you're okay. Be careful

josh8o · #12 10-17-2002, 07:41 PM

thanks everyone....
i had no ideal what to do when my car hydroplaned, but now i have some smart tips. i told my parents and not my mom wants to put all new tires on my car...she is kinda freaking out and is very over protective. anyway, its nice to know you all care.

Kevin · #13 10-17-2002, 07:47 PM

I was just about to ask if you'd checked the tread on your tires lately.

Fewdfreak · #14 10-17-2002, 07:54 PM

Josh, I'm so happy you are all right, that sounds like it would have been a mother of an accident under different circumstances. Hopefully new tires will help, bald tires are not good!

If you have ABS brakes you are supposed to hold them down and just steer out of it, don't pump them, because they lock, and it won't help. My friend got a new car last winter with ABS and tried to stop going down a icy snowy hill like he'd done with his old car, and we ended up in a ditch and like five inches from nailing a tree. Also, don't try to accelerate out of a hydroplane, take your feet off everything, and let the wheels regain traction. Another reason to SLOW DOWN when there are adverse weather conditions.

aephi alum · #15 10-17-2002, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fewdfreak
If you have ABS brakes you are supposed to hold them down and just steer out of it, don't pump them, because they lock, and it won't help.

In general, that's true - but ABS brakes actually can still lock. I had a bad skid once, hit my brakes, and the car just kept going. I couldn't feel the brakes pump through the pedal, so I pumped them myself, and the car finally stopped - a few inches from the guard rail (whew). Next time the car was in the shop, I told the mechanic what had happened, and he told me that if the car is going at any great speed (I was on a highway) and entering a curve, ABS won't do a thing. (Newer ABS systems might be able to handle this better. My car is over 10 years old.)

Quote:

Also, don't try to accelerate out of a hydroplane, take your feet off everything, and let the wheels regain traction. Another reason to SLOW DOWN when there are adverse weather conditions.

Excellent advice. Too bad SOME drivers don't heed it...