I almost died today..........

[Sean Reynolds]

Well that might be an overstatement. BUT what happened to me today was quite scary.

I just hit the 1300 East exit (my area) and began pulling up to the light. It turned green and I slowly eased into the right turn. Now I stated earlier in a thread that it's been snowing in Salt Lake City, well it was still snowing and the road was very wet. Since I drive a Jeep Cherokee the back is terribly light so when I began my turn I felt it sway to the left. I had NO clue what to do, so I grasped the wheel and jerked it the other way; which caused my Jeep to totally spin out - I did a 360. After my first 360, I turned the wheel again and went the other way around. Next thing I know I'm spinning down 1300 East out of control. THANK GOD all the other cars saw what was going on and stopped. I did a few more 360s before I regained control and straightened my Jeep out.

The kicker? I wasn't going fast. I'd say I was going ONLY about 5 MPH

During the whole ordeal I was ever so close to shitting my pants. BUT I survived! :) I need to weigh down the back 'cause I do not want that to happen again.

:scared:

[BigMcLargehuge]

1. Always turn into the direction of a spin

even if Bill Cosby describes it as "leaning into a left hook"

[Sean Reynolds]

2. I know that now.....

Stupid Sean almost got himself killed!

[SoCalDem]

6. Two 50 lb bags of cat litter..

great balast and if you DO get stuck, it's great to get some traction if you pour it in front of the stuck wheels..:)

[CO Liberal]

9. I'm Gonna Buy a Few Bags of QuickCrete...

...and put them in the back of my pickup. (I have a cap, so they'll stay dry.) Come spring, I'll be using them to make a new sidewalk.

[RC]

11. Assuming the bags don't rip open this winter...

Then you will have a mess.

[SoCalDem]

4. and brakes are NOT your friend in a spin or on ice

Thank goodness you are ok :)

[Sean Reynolds]

7. Thanks

[arwalden]

3. Wow... That Sounds Pretty Bad. I Would Have...

... definitely been frightened too. Glad you're okay.

-- Allen

[Cha]

5. Poor Baby! I'm so Glad you're all right!

Snow and the roads can be treacherous! Do you have "weight" in the back end of your vehicle?

[Sean Reynolds]

8. Just a spare tire...nothing else.

[Cha]

16. I learned the hard way here in New York

about 5 years ago to put something very heavy in my trunk! So I put
a big bag of Salt(the kind you put on sidewalks to melt snow)! It works!

[Robb]

10. VERY glad you're OK

As another snow driving tip (which you're probably sick of), in most cases in a Cherokee you're not going to want to be in 4WD. Use it to get out of a snow bank, and maybe up to ten or fifteen miles per hour; after that, there's a process that will start you spinning even on a straight road under the right conditions... someone with better recall than me can tell you what it's called, but I remember specifically the Cherokee would do it.

[UrbScotty]

12. WHEW!

Glad you're okay.

[Gato Moteado]

13. that has happened to me on the kennedy expressway in chicago...

...years ago in my big 1974 chevy impala. i was going about 20 mph and hit ice and started spinning. other cars around me did the same thing and it looked like road ballet. luckily nobody hit anything. scary, and none of the old 'turn in the direction of the fishtail' rules would have helped...i was a highly skilled winter driver and this hit me by surprise.

[ShaneGR]

14. Get snow tires

And you'll be fine.

[raysr]

15. Isn't that a VW commercial?

Were you thinking about buying an awd car at the same time?

[geniph]

17. People forget that 4WD

helps you go, but it doesn't do a damn thing to help you stop.

The real key on wet or icy roads is do everything as if you were underwater - very slowly and gently. NEVER do anything abrupt on ice.

My Chevy LUV pickup, which I drove for 22 years, was horrible in the snow, also because it was so light in the tail end. I finally bought six 50-lb bags of sand and put 'em over the wheel wells. It made a lot of difference.

[proud patriot]

18. I'm glad you are okay

:hi:

[liberalmuse]

19. Yikes! Glad you're alive and well!

You were damned lucky. It was pretty nasty out there today and I'm not going out again, except maybe to buy some salt for the driveway. As a matter of fact, I'm going to stay home tonight, cozy up on the couch and watch a Clint Eastwood movie. Try putting a large bag or two of rock salt in the back of your Jeep.

[shanti]

20. i had that happen to me too

on black ice in renton washington, back in the 70's. we hit a guard rail on the right and slid to the other side of the road on th left, into a snowbank. luckily, the car started up and we got the heck on before another unfortunate hit US! we drove back to tacoma THROUGH THE WOODS, IN THE DARK (no headlights). it was truly frightening!! :scared:

i'm glad to hear that you are ok!

[hlthe2b]

21. I used to have a Jeep Cherokee.. and

did a 360 in Cheyenne, Wyoming once. I was also going quite slow-- fortunately. So, I know the feeling. Careful, there Sean. Especially the first of the snow season. Everyone has to relearn it seems and I'm sure, like Denver, there are plenty of newcomers there who don't have a clue.

[toddzilla]

23. this is why i cherish all the time i used to spend

doing donuts and misbehaving in abandoned mall parking lots during snowstorms.. makes you a very good driver when things go badly..

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. Thanks for telling...

I've been very fortunate not to have something like that happen to me in the 29 years I've been driving.

I think when we have our first icy day, I'm going to find an empty parking lot to practice in...'cuz you're never too old.

[Character Assassin]

24. Ummm.... Hold on a sec, Guv'

You did at least 4 360s and you were only going 5MPH?

Are you sure that wasn't something closer to, oh, 35MPH

[SmileyBoy]

25. Back in Minneapolis, I spun out twice on the way to home.

The street and intersection that you turn on going north into my neighbourhood is ALWAYS icy as hell in the winter, and I would routinely skid a little turning onto my block. I completely spun out twice.

Here's another weird story: My best friend and I when we were in high school were driving to an out-burban high school to take the ACT test one day. So after the test, we decided to drive home in a different direction, but we found out that the alternate route was a gravel road. Well, he was going a good 40 mph on the gravel road when we were making a sharp turn downhill (this was in the summer, BTW), and sure enough, we spun around three or four times. I was pissed and cursing at him the rest of the way to his house, but we were laughing about it at the end. He's still cool with me.