Close call on ice today

I was making my way back from the Home Depot today (to get spray paint to paint my engine cover) and it started raining. It was cold, somewhere in the 30s I think, but I have never seen what I am about to explain happen.

As I came over a hill I saw a line of cars in front of me sliding down a hill. It is not a steep hill, probably around 3 or 4 % grade. Next I saw a car slide off the road, hit the snow and do a 360 and almost flip. Obviously I hit the brakes and sure enough my tires locked up. The entire road was a sheet of ice. As I began my endless slide, I realized I was sliding faster than the other cars and to avoid rear ending someone I pulled into the opposite lane. Luckily since it was so icy cars were not able to get up the hill so no one was coming towards me. I continued to slide for about a 1/4 mile down the hill on the wrong side of the road. At the bottom I some how managed to squeeze the truck between 2 cars stuck on the road. Once my slide ended I pulled off the road and caught my breath for a second.

When I got out to check on the other people I immediately ate it lol. The road was more slick than an ice rink which was weird because literally 20 minutes before I had driven on it and it was fine, not to mention it was raining so i didn't really think there would be any ice. Upon reflection I should have thrown it in 4 wheel drive but its hard to take a hand off the wheel when your sliding down a hill in the wrong lane. I tried downshifting at one point and started fish tailing so I just put the truck in neutral.

Luckily everyone was ok. Now I have some questions. What should I do in the future? I've experienced slides before but nothing like this. Should I have put it in 4 and then down shifted? I think I may have had my foot on the brakes the whole time. Should I have been pumping the brakes instead?

I am getting Revo2s this week so that should help and luckily I had weight in the bed (240 lbs of sand over the wheels).

 

Holy.shit.

 

well said lol...yeah I won't lie it was scary and I'm a pretty experienced winter driver. In 4 years of driving up in Maine I've never seen anything this bad.

 

Move down south...problem solved

 

how did you manage the squeeze between two cars part lol

 

Glad you had that open lane to head down the hill!!

 

Four wheel drive is not going to do much of anything for you on black ice.

You did about all you can do in such a situation.

 

dont pump the breaks. thats why they invented abs

 

Next time don't have your foot on the brake. Take it off and obviously do not gas it. You want to gain what traction you can and holding onto the brake is the worst part. There probably is no way to stop so you just want to get as much traction as possible and ride it out. Luckly, my first reaction when I start slipping and losing traction is that I immediatly take my foot off the gas and brake. It saved me from losing my truck to an idiot who decided to pull out in front of me.

 

its a technique my driver instructor called "threshold braking"

where you brake just enough so your not sliding but not so light as to where your not doing enough.

 

Black ice all you can do is ride it out, hope for the best and pray nobody t-bones you once you stop.

30+ yrs in the northeast & upper midwest for me & those conditions are scary just as the OP described it and happens in a blink of an eye.
Glad you made it out ok

 

glad your ok. it happened to me to this mornin in jersey. i went out grab something to eat and it started raining and on my home 15 minutes later every time i touched the gas it went sideways. i ended up puttin it in 4wd. luckily their was no one else on the road.

 

The best thing you can do is prepare in advance. That's why I put winter tires on our winter vehicles. There aren't many days when they make a difference, but all I need is one situation like yours and I'm happy with the money spent.

Steel wheels - $300 (At Discount Tire)
TPM Sensors - $100 (eBay)
Hankook W300 Icebears - $550 (mounting and balancing at Discount Tire)
Not being a helpless passenger as my vehicle slides toward other vehicles - priceless.

 

haha yeah but i do not do well in the heat...i do love chicks with southern accents though so ill consider it lol...

 

to be honest im not really sure lol. it was like driving a wave runner after you let off the gas, your still going but with minimal control.

 

yeah my dad said he went outside saw the raindrops freezing as they hit the ground...never thought that was possible but that must be what happened.

 

thanks everyone for the advice. To sum it up for other drivers who might experience this, when you hit ice do the following...
•don't slam the brakes (or gas obviously)
•lightly touch the brakes but if you feel the wheels lock up let go of the brakes.
•stay calm

The last one is the most important. As I mentioned in the story I saw a driver slam on their brakes and almost flip their car. If I had not maintained my cool I may have done the same thing or something worse. Don't let me fool you guys tho because I was shaking when I finally came to a stop. Nothing like a good crash after an adrenaline boost.

 

Pittsburgh Pa got hit with this early this morning. They closed a lot of roadways until about 11 am. I luckily didn't have to work today so I did not leave the house. Glad to hear you are ok, and so is your truck

 

yeah I've never seen something like that happen. during my long slide all i could think was "how do I avoid hitting someone or something so I don't mess up my truck lol"

 

yea what a day, im on the westchester/putnam border and it was a mess outside accidents eveywhere and many roads were closed for a while.