First photos of 2017!

[Overread]

Not really what I ever expected or wanted to take pictures of (EVER!) but 2017 started with a bit of a bang and - well - also kind of scuppered my plans for taking more photos for a while too!


This also revealed to me that, for some reason, my old photobucket account no longer exists (The photos do but the account has vanished - who can tell why PB has had a messy interface for ages so who knows why it vanished - but eh no worries).

So yeah happened just over a week ago whilst heading to work (well volunteering work). Coming up to a right hand turn and just before I made my turn the car on the other side started making hers; only to discover that the road was sheet ice and her car slide into my drivers door. Thankfully the only harm done was to the cars themselves as it was a very slow collision. Sadly insurance considers its a write off even though the only damage is to the door (the other party claimed liability for the incident); so now we've got a car and a small pay out and have to find someone local to fix a new door.

I knew it was a bad road day - passed several others in ditches or crashed up on the way in. Figures the only day of actual proper icey weather on the roads this far south in the UK and I get hit! (and on a road where I typically see one or no cars in the morning - heck the other car was only there as she was taking a detour to get fuel).

So a bit of a pain! Thankfully no one hurt, no one harmed just shaken up drivers.

 

[Derrel]

Ohhhhh, sorry to see this. You are certainly not alone. I feel badly for your car's damage.

We've had a bit of a cold, snowy, icy stretch here for 8-10 days...plenty of autos in similar shape here due to bad roads, and just unfortunate consequences. As I was navigating an icy stretch of Interstate 5 Freeway this past Friday afternoon, I passed a rare double auto wrecker, with a snow-covered Subaru Forester on the bed, back end smashed to a fare-thee-well, and then on the tow hook was some type of small, silver-colored import car that had been rolled over 2,3 times.

We are bracing for freezing rains tonight, and then a MASSIVE rainstorm on Tuesday, warm, from the Pacific, the type called a "Pineapple Express" rain storm...

 

[Overread]

The day I went out I was surprised how icy it was considering that midnight the night before it was raining with nothing to suggest a strong freeze. Of course come morning that heavy rain plus the quick freeze was enough to turn roads to sheet ice.

Up the road from where I was hit a policeman pulled over to help at one incident - he promptly fell over as he got out of his car and not a few moments later two cars slammed into the back of his car!

Rain and freezing are certainly a nasty combination! Worse though I think is that most people are not really trained in bad condition driving nor to know when to call it quits and not go into work.

 

[zombiesniper]

Sucks that your car was damaged but the nobody was hurt and that's the most important thing.

Lets hope you're back on the road with minimal stress.

 

[Derrel]

Sheet ice AKA, black ice AKA freezing rain is a BIG problem here. In fact freezing rain is expected to drop heavily here tonight so the entire school district is closing classes and events. I am not looking forward to compacted snow-ice with freezinfg rain on top tomorrow...

I 480-degree spun a '67 Mustang on sheet ice back in 1982 on a rural two-lane highway. Sucks that you car got gashed up, that really,really does suck.

Good that you are alright though.

 

[SquarePeg]

Give me a foot or two of snow over black ice any day.

 

[robbins.photo]

The day I went out I was surprised how icy it was considering that midnight the night before it was raining with nothing to suggest a strong freeze. Of course come morning that heavy rain plus the quick freeze was enough to turn roads to sheet ice.

Up the road from where I was hit a policeman pulled over to help at one incident - he promptly fell over as he got out of his car and not a few moments later two cars slammed into the back of his car!

Rain and freezing are certainly a nasty combination! Worse though I think is that most people are not really trained in bad condition driving nor to know when to call it quits and not go into work.

Will it cost extra to have the steering wheel moved to the correct side of the car? Just curious...

 

[runnah]

Do folks in the Yookay put snow tires on their cars? I run studded snow tires on mine and have no trouble with sheet ice.

 

[limr]

Give me a foot or two of snow over black ice any day.

I'm with you. I can deal with snow. Black ice freaks me out. I've driven on it far too often and if I never have to deal with it again, it will be too soon.

My most notable experience was driving on local roads the day after a storm. It was sunny and the roads were mostly dry, but there were still apparently big patches of black ice. I hit one just as I was tapping my breaks to enter a left-hand curve. The back spun out and I was heading for a big rock on the opposite side of the road. I yanked the steering wheel to the right and ended up overcorrecting as the back end then spun out into the opposite direction, leaving me pointed 180 degrees from my original direction, sliding backwards onto my side of the road. It probably would have ended there as the snow slowed me to a stop, but alas, there was a mailbox post (no mailbox, though) and I hit it just behind my door. It stopped the bottom half quite abruptly but the top half kept going.

The only thing I could think of as my car tipped over was that my coffee was spilling all over the dash. Then I landed, took off my seatbelt, and climbed up out of the passenger side. I jumped out and tested to see if it was truly on its side or if I could tip it over. The woman who came from the nearby house to help thought I had seriously gotten the sense knocked out of me. I had to explain that no, I do not have a concussion, but am simply my father's daughter who believes that brute force can solve a lot of problems

So yeah. Black ice. No bueno.

These days, we salt the holy living hell out of the roads when ice is predicted.

 

[Overread]

Yeah its nasty stuff indeed!
Glad you made it out of a flip safe and sound!

Do folks in the Yookay put snow tires on their cars? I run studded snow tires on mine and have no trouble with sheet ice.

We do, but the thing is where we are we don't get heavy prolonged ice/snow periods. We haven't had any real winters for a long while now so we get the odd say of rain and then ice or a few days with a frosty start; but nothing that makes you need snow tyres - and its my understanding that running any kind of snow/studded tyre on regular roads just wears down the material thus making it useless on the one or two days of ice a year.

It's the one day in a few weeks of bad weather that catches everyone out here.

Robbins - its on the correct side of the car! It's you guys who have it on the wrong side.
That said I have driven in a left hand vehicle as we got a Gator at the place where i do volunteering (fantastic thing!) and driving that down the road at 20mph with the wheel on the wrong side and poor rear view is - interesting to say the least! (the mirrors do work but they are very low set rather than high set).

 

[zombiesniper]

Only allowed snow tires here. Studs are prohibited.

 

[limr]

Yup, no studs or chains allowed in NY, either. I still remember when they were allowed, though - the chains on the school bus always sounded sleigh bells. As a kid, you'd get all excited until you realized the "sleigh" was coming to bring you to school!

Huh...I stand corrected! I just checked and apparently as of 2015, studded tires are once again allowed in NY from Oct 16 - April 30. And chains are required when a snow emergency has been declared.

 

[pjaye]

Oh that just sucks. So glad you are ok though and the other driver too.

 

[runnah]

Yeah its nasty stuff indeed!
Glad you made it out of a flip safe and sound!

Do folks in the Yookay put snow tires on their cars? I run studded snow tires on mine and have no trouble with sheet ice.

We do, but the thing is where we are we don't get heavy prolonged ice/snow periods. We haven't had any real winters for a long while now so we get the odd say of rain and then ice or a few days with a frosty start; but nothing that makes you need snow tyres - and its my understanding that running any kind of snow/studded tyre on regular roads just wears down the material thus making it useless on the one or two days of ice a year.

It's the one day in a few weeks of bad weather that catches everyone out here.

Depends on the tire really. Snow tires are designed to come up to temperature quicker in lower temps than "summer" tires. The temps of the tires are more important than the tread pattern when it come to grip. Most tread patterns are designed to evacuate water/snow/dirt and actually don't aid in grip all that much. This is why racing car tires are slick. So driving a snow tire is sub 40F temps is fine and will not wear anymore than a regular tire.

 

[runnah]

Yup, no studs or chains allowed in NY, either.

Plenty of studs here in Maine.