#1
Posted: 2/14/05 at 5:29pm
First, NO ONE WAS HURT. Thank God.
So, as some of you may know I went to visit my boyfriend in Toronto last night. I had to drive back to school today because I have a midterm tommorow morning, but the weather is atrocious.
Freezing rain, and the highway is icy.
What would have normally taken 2 hours took me 3.5 because I was going 80 km/ hr (i don't know what that is in miles but the speed limit on the highway is 100 km, and most people do around 120), and driving SO carefully.
I was half an hour till I was home, on a two-lane stretch of the 401 (in Napanee for you Ontario folks). I should tell you, this is a UNLUCKY stretch for me, I broke down twice there this summer.
Although I was driving very carefully in the slow lane, I still lost control of my car. It's hard to explain. It's like I was steering one way and the wheels were going another. I was swerving all over the road and I didn't know how to fix it. I was trying desperately to get myself back on track but I couldn't. I was probably all over the road for a good three seconds.
There was a big extended cab Silverado in the fast lane. Everyone in the fast lane, despite the poor conditions, was still doing about 130km/hr, it baffled my mind. It's frustrating because althoguh I am at fault for this accident, if the Silverado hadn't been driving so fast, he had at least 3 seconds of my swerving to realize that something was wrong. When I began swerving there was no one around me, he would have caught up to me quickly though at the speed he was going.
I managed to stop the car by the time I hit the left shoulder. Which was terrifying because even though I was off the road, the shoulder wasn't wide and I still had transport trucks zooming past me on the icy roads at 130km/hr. The Silverado pulled over on the left shoulder a few hundred metres ahead, and a witness stopped.
Then I had to dial 911. Ever since I was in Brownies I've known how to dial 911. I never thought I would actually have to. I hope that no one ever has to. Considering the actual details of the accident are quite blurry, I remember that as the most frightening moment. Sitting in the car for a few seconds, then realizing "oh my God, I have to call 911".
As for damages, my front bumper fell off but that was all. My dad can fix it and apparently we have a parts car. I can actually drive the car back home this weekend just fine. Thank God.
I put two dents in the other guy's Silverado. I'd feel worse if he wasn't such a jerk. It killed me when the cop said "Drive carefully" to him as he was leaving, and he said "I was trying to". I know it was ultimately my fault, but the truth of the matter was HE WAS DOING 30KM/HR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT ON AN INCREDIBLY ICY HIGHWAY. I was doing 20km under. I was driving safely. Go figure.
Everyone I dealt with today was so nice and so helpful. The witness was an incredibly sweet woman with a smile on her face who wanted to help in any way she could. The cop was a young guy and I spent the hour I had to wait with him joking around and trying to keep my spirits up. The tow truck driver was funny, I just told him about the bad luck I've had on that highway on the way to the garage. The guy at the garage, who has fixed several internal problems on poor Liza, looked at me and said "long time no see, where have you been hiding?". The cabbie on the way back home was even nice and chatty. I had to call my voice teacher from the police car to cancel my lesson and she was so concerned and then wished me a happy Valentines day.
My parents took it better than I could have ever expected. They were both dissapointed that I chose to venture out on a day like today, but they of course were just happy I was okay. And even though it will affect my insurance and we'll no doubt have to pay Silverado's deductable, they were great. My dad is a paramedic and deals with this stuff all the time. And he said to me what he tells all of his unharmed accident patients: accidents happen, that's why they're called accidents, and it's over now.
So I'm quite shaken up but I made it through this whole ordeal with a smile on my face. I've never been so close to being killed, but even while it was happening I didn't think "i'm going to die", I just thought "how do I fix this?". I was pretty amazed actually. And I owe it to the kindness of the people I dealt with today.
Of course I started crying when I got home.
So there goes my clean driving record. But it could have been so much worse, and I am so thankful for how lucky I have been to escape with everyone unharmed.
For the record, Come What May was playing on my C.D. player when it happened. Now every time I hear that song I'll think of poor Liza spinning out underneath me on the icy, fast and furious highway 401.
*EDIT- also important- I wasn't charged! yipeeee :) *
So, as some of you may know I went to visit my boyfriend in Toronto last night. I had to drive back to school today because I have a midterm tommorow morning, but the weather is atrocious.
Freezing rain, and the highway is icy.
What would have normally taken 2 hours took me 3.5 because I was going 80 km/ hr (i don't know what that is in miles but the speed limit on the highway is 100 km, and most people do around 120), and driving SO carefully.
I was half an hour till I was home, on a two-lane stretch of the 401 (in Napanee for you Ontario folks). I should tell you, this is a UNLUCKY stretch for me, I broke down twice there this summer.
Although I was driving very carefully in the slow lane, I still lost control of my car. It's hard to explain. It's like I was steering one way and the wheels were going another. I was swerving all over the road and I didn't know how to fix it. I was trying desperately to get myself back on track but I couldn't. I was probably all over the road for a good three seconds.
There was a big extended cab Silverado in the fast lane. Everyone in the fast lane, despite the poor conditions, was still doing about 130km/hr, it baffled my mind. It's frustrating because althoguh I am at fault for this accident, if the Silverado hadn't been driving so fast, he had at least 3 seconds of my swerving to realize that something was wrong. When I began swerving there was no one around me, he would have caught up to me quickly though at the speed he was going.
I managed to stop the car by the time I hit the left shoulder. Which was terrifying because even though I was off the road, the shoulder wasn't wide and I still had transport trucks zooming past me on the icy roads at 130km/hr. The Silverado pulled over on the left shoulder a few hundred metres ahead, and a witness stopped.
Then I had to dial 911. Ever since I was in Brownies I've known how to dial 911. I never thought I would actually have to. I hope that no one ever has to. Considering the actual details of the accident are quite blurry, I remember that as the most frightening moment. Sitting in the car for a few seconds, then realizing "oh my God, I have to call 911".
As for damages, my front bumper fell off but that was all. My dad can fix it and apparently we have a parts car. I can actually drive the car back home this weekend just fine. Thank God.
I put two dents in the other guy's Silverado. I'd feel worse if he wasn't such a jerk. It killed me when the cop said "Drive carefully" to him as he was leaving, and he said "I was trying to". I know it was ultimately my fault, but the truth of the matter was HE WAS DOING 30KM/HR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT ON AN INCREDIBLY ICY HIGHWAY. I was doing 20km under. I was driving safely. Go figure.
Everyone I dealt with today was so nice and so helpful. The witness was an incredibly sweet woman with a smile on her face who wanted to help in any way she could. The cop was a young guy and I spent the hour I had to wait with him joking around and trying to keep my spirits up. The tow truck driver was funny, I just told him about the bad luck I've had on that highway on the way to the garage. The guy at the garage, who has fixed several internal problems on poor Liza, looked at me and said "long time no see, where have you been hiding?". The cabbie on the way back home was even nice and chatty. I had to call my voice teacher from the police car to cancel my lesson and she was so concerned and then wished me a happy Valentines day.
My parents took it better than I could have ever expected. They were both dissapointed that I chose to venture out on a day like today, but they of course were just happy I was okay. And even though it will affect my insurance and we'll no doubt have to pay Silverado's deductable, they were great. My dad is a paramedic and deals with this stuff all the time. And he said to me what he tells all of his unharmed accident patients: accidents happen, that's why they're called accidents, and it's over now.
So I'm quite shaken up but I made it through this whole ordeal with a smile on my face. I've never been so close to being killed, but even while it was happening I didn't think "i'm going to die", I just thought "how do I fix this?". I was pretty amazed actually. And I owe it to the kindness of the people I dealt with today.
Of course I started crying when I got home.
So there goes my clean driving record. But it could have been so much worse, and I am so thankful for how lucky I have been to escape with everyone unharmed.
For the record, Come What May was playing on my C.D. player when it happened. Now every time I hear that song I'll think of poor Liza spinning out underneath me on the icy, fast and furious highway 401.
*EDIT- also important- I wasn't charged! yipeeee :) *
Updated On: 2/14/05 at 05:29 PM
