bendy hood and smashed windshield
0
comments
|
Sunday, March 04, 2007
After filling up with gas and the attendant replenishing my washer fluid I made my way down Deerfoot Trail (affectionately known to some Calgarians as the Deerfoot 500). Deerfoot Trail is always littered with all types of vehicles, drivers and attitudes, so you have to be quite AWARE and vigilant while on this particular freeway. At the time, I was in the second most right lane of four, at a speed of approximately 100 km/h.
WHAM!
I thought I hit someone...but I was still flowing with the traffic. I couldn't see anything. What the eff?!!!
I realized in a fraction of a second that I was in BIG trouble, the hood of my car had been thrown up by the wind and smashed into the windshield. There was such force that the hood actually bent up and over my roof (completely anatomically incorrect for my wee car). I threw on the hazards, flicked my signal light to the right, stuck my arm out the window and tried to make my way over to the right shoulder.
Holy freakin' heck was that scary!!! Drivers did not realize I was driving waaaaaaay slower than everyone else until they were a few metres away. All I saw in the rearview mirror were cars parting from the lane I was in, either to the left or to the right. Two cars almost collided, because I think the idiot in my lane behind me just skootched over a lane without looking first. I saw two (TWO) big semi-trucks (one in my lane and one in the far right lane) trying to compensate a slower speed and avoiding me. I was flapping my arm, trying to dodge traffic and trying to maintain at least a decent speed so I wouldn't get schmucked. The only way I knew I was going straight was by the lines on the road, that's all I could follow.
When I finally made it to the right shoulder I was shaking so bad I dropped my cell twice before I could dial a number. I don't remember EVER being that shaken up by something and I've been in far worse situations.
Here's what I think prevented collision and injuries:
a/ I didn't slam on my brakes.
b/ There was no ice/snow in the road. Had there been, the impact from the hood to the windshield would have surely sent my car into even a slight enough jolt to cause it to go into another lane or something. And people on Deerfoot follow so DAMN CLOSE there would have been no doubt a multi-vehicle collision would have occurred.
c/ Hazard lights were on immediately, maintained a decent speed and the flapping of the arm (hahahaha wasn't that the cue in Team America indication 'trouble'?)
Lesson learned:
Make sure the gas monkeys close hood properly or do it yourself.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home