Reply to: How to avoid a Lamp , a Bench and a downhill.

[hyperD]

'Fish-tailed' - is that what it's called?

Apparantly so, without the hyphen of course!

Nasty incident though RC.

It's wierd what we can do to get away with it in times of crisis. I'm sure it's a Jedi Force thing.

[RichardCranium]

My hands just moved independent of my thought, grasping for opposite lock and I fish-tailed down the motorway over 5 times before miraculously the car steadied itself.

'Fish-tailed' - is that what it's called?

Bombing along in the early hours on a narrow road through the woods in Hertfordshire, (not far from Ivinghoe Beacon), I came out of the trees doing 70ish, met a right-hand bend and a completely-frozen-over road. To the right, trees. To the left, a steep slope down to more trees.

I went back and forth across the width of the road 4 or 5 times, regaining control and trying to steer back again each time and losing grip again.

It wasn't skill: I simply got away with it.

[newblood]

Where you're car ended up there appears to be a dark patch in the snow, like the snow has melted. Is that where you peeeeeeed yourself?

Go to church more often and these lucky escapes become the norm....apparently...

Contrary to what I'd have expected , while this was happening I was 100 % calm as there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to hit at least something. In fact I was thinking "There you had your fun now you dork".

It will take more than that to get me in church . Maybe tomorrow I will try "How to avoid an oncoming lorry" ...

[SuperZ]

Where you're car ended up there appears to be a dark patch in the snow, like the snow has melted. Is that where you peeeeeeed yourself?

Go to church more often and these lucky escapes become the norm....apparently...

[hyperD]

here is the video , dont try at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhOElYhYajs

Nice one!

Sometimes we are in the laps of the gods at times.

I remember accelerating from the sliproad onto the M25 a few years ago. The road was dry and it wasn't icy at all but they had laid some grit/salt down the previous week.

I had the car in third gear and punted the accelerator to join straight onto the middle lane to avoid the slow van in the inside. As I crossed the lane suddenly the back flew out and I was facing the barriers at 60mph. My hands just moved independent of my thought, grasping for opposite lock and I fish-tailed down the motorway over 5 times before miraculously the car steadied itself.

That was not done by conscious thought alone and no way was it driving skill - as I was merrily fish-tailing, all I could think about was that the police were really going to do me for this one as cars were desperately trying to avoid me.

Cleaning up the trousers afterwards was messy...

[NickFitz]

here is the video , dont try at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhOElYhYajs

"After this I exited the car and wondered for 5 minutes what just happened."

At least there was a bench to sit on while you pondered

[cojak]

Bluddy hell - I'd have cacked meself...

[newblood]

here is the video , dont try at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhOElYhYajs

[threaded]

Tell yer, Mazda 6 MPS, ultimate contractor conveyance.

[Pogle]

I wont take my RX8 out in this - when I can see the tarmac I'll start driving again

[scooterscot]

Is this an MX5? Fill the boot with sand...

[pzz76077]

I had a similar experience in a hired Mazda a few years ago.

Driving down a motorway in Luxembourg at about 130Kph, I hit a patch of diesel that had been spilt by an overturned tanker. How I missed all of the 50 or so cars that had come to a halt in front of me and end up facing the right way on the hard shoulder, I will never know.

Ive never said a bad word about Mazdas ever since.


PZZ

[cojak]

[thunderlizard]

You probably ran over Mr Tumnus.

[Diver]

Basically imagine a snowy, icy right-turn whose snowy curb has a Lamp post on the road-facing edge of the curb. On the other-edge of the curb , towards the terrain there is a standard steel bench with a memorial plate on it. The lamp and bench are facing each other each positioned at each edge of the curb. This leaves 3 meters max between the two objects. The terrain side of the curb is a grassy downhill but inclined only perhaps 15 % .

Approaching this right-turn, as my Mazda skied towards the turn it became apparently clear that I wasn’t going to make the turn and the car was uncontrollably approaching the lamp described. Followed a bizarre moment in my life but basically I ended up passing through the 3-meter space between the lamp and the bench. The car basically managed this by itself since I had already lost control and was just curled up in the footwell screaming "This is It! This is It" while this was happening.

FTFY