I Hate Winter!

[Harpoon]

So the other night I had to drive up to Buffalo, NY to shoot a girls high school basketball playoff game at Erie County Community College for the newspaper....

No problem, been there a dozen times over for similar games over the past five years. It's an easy drive, almost the same one I take to shoot the Buffalo Sabres and it's one of the routes I can take to get to my cardiologist's office and/or the hospitals that I've been to up there....


Roads were slick, somewhere between a slushy rain/sleet mixture and really wet snow. Very poor. I got the the game no sweat. Shot my shots and headed back out on the road.

Not less than 7 miles from my exit on I-90 and the car gets out from under me. Spun around a few times and ALMOST regained control before the left front end met up with the lefthand guardrail... I moved the car back onto the road and drove for a bit as I called 911 and they said to pull over at the next mile marker and read it off to them which I did then I got to wait and wait and wait.

I had a deadline to make....

Finally the state trooper comes up and checks things out then a tow truck arrives and loads up the car then takes it and me back to his garage which happened to be at the exit where I was hoping to get off anyways.


Kinda pissed at myself right now. really should have pulled it out of the spin without hitting anything. I'm REALLY good at driving in hazardous conditions and this is my first official (not counting the two times drivers ran redlights and collided with me in an intersection) "wreck" in over 15 years of being on the road.

Always the photographer, I have a photo:

 

[geebee]

Ouch

Ouch

I am with you - I hate winter. I think it is harder for me this year than any other since I moved back to Ohio from California last May so this is my first winter in over 5 years.
Anyway, have a similar story but no pics - boo. Three days before Christmas we had a major snow storm here in Ohio. It started mid-afternoon and, since it was the first snow of the season, no one was prepared.
My SO went to the mall to buy a Christmas present for me (actually took "notes" when he saw me admiring a necklace a few weeks prior). He had left the mall and was waiting at a light when an idiot in a huge SUV plowed smack into the back of MY car. My almost brand new, always wanted, Sebring convertible.
It knocked the car about 10 feet (mind you he had his foot hard on the brake) into the intersection (thank God there was no one coming the other way).
When my SO asked what had happened the guy said he was on the phone, didn't realize it was slippery (HELLO - it had been snowing for over an hour). Then the guy got a call from his wife who started yelling at him because he was driving HER car - LOL.
Anyway, no one was hurt (althought the other guy would have been if I had been there ) and my car was fixed by his insurance company without any hassle.
I will hope the same for you. Due to your description, I take it you weren't hurt?
You car's condition makes me sad because my beloved car looked like it only on the other end.
[size=+3]I REALLY HATE WINTER !!![/size]

 

[Harrybaby666]

The Important Thing Is

The Important Thing Is

Your Ok. Harpoon. Cars can be fixed. I know what you mean though, as I had two bad truck accidents in 1990 and from then on I don't like driving in winter. I hope you were not hurt. Take Care, Harrybaby666

 

[Harpoon]

I'm quite fine. Pride might be a little dinged up but beyond that I'm quite alright.

I shouldn't have pride anyways, that's not a very "buddhist" trait...


I think my dad was going to try and get over to take a look at the car today but I don't know if he did it or not. He was on his way out of town for some science conference and was hoping to have time to stop and take a look.


It's just frustrating because it was my car and while I didn't like it much, it was "outfitted" for me, had an antenna for my police scanner and some other odds and ends like a pair of knee high waterproof boots and a step ladder that I like to have close by when shooting for the paper should the need arise.

Also had a parking sticker for the fire department since they get a LOT of college students parking in the fire department only lot and those cars get towed...

Eh... Inconvieniences. Money to pay for repairs and or a new car plus hikes in innsurance rates when I'm trying to work out getting finances in order to buy a house don't help.


Guess the downside is I could be laying in a hospital on life support (again, though for different reasons) right now.

The crash wouldn't have killed me. We've established through my last stay in a hospital that I'm damned near invincible now.


Nope, no pride there...


Just don't care for the extra strains in my life. Got enough crap to deal with thankyouverymuch.

As we all do.

 

[Guest]

He had left the mall and was waiting at a light when an idiot in a huge SUV plowed smack into the back of MY car. My almost brand new, always wanted, Sebring convertible.

*raises eyebrow*

This is almost exactly what happened to a buddy of mine about 2 years ago now. He and his wife were sitting at a stoplight in their Sebring convertible (it was the wine/tan color...beautiful car) when someone in a Ford Explorer rear ended them. They were fine, except a few bumps/bruises, but the car was totaled out.

With the insurance money, they bought a new Nissan Altima...which has since been sold for a new Jeep.

*pauses*

And, for the record...I hate winter, too.

Harpoon...that's a late 80s/early 90s vintage Oldsmobile, isn't it? Glad YOU are OK .


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What's it like to buy your favorite car brand new? Wish I knew...

 

[gadgetman]

Sorry to hear about your mishap. I had enough of snow in my 19 years in Washington, DC. Of course, I had a four wheel drive vehicle and drove nurses and doctors to and from the hospital during bad snowstorms. I found out driving in snow is very simular to driving in the Georgia red clay roads we have down here. Keep it moving in a straight line and don't try to make sudden stops.

I just sold Mom's 84 Olds. Looks about that same style.

Hope you can find someone to fix it right but remember, cheap prices usually mean cheap repairs. Its hard to find "used" (or as we called it "junk") parts for older vehicle because they can make more money crushing them for scrap.

Hope I don't see anymore snow down here in middle Georgia. Unfortunately, in 1976 they got over 17 inches right here where I'm at. No one had any snow removal equipment and it was days before everyone was able to get around.

Good luck.

Danny

 

[Marguerite53]

Hey there.

Hey there.

So GLAD that you are okay!! What's with this week? My car decided to sputter and gurgle and suddenly I'm leaking half my gas tank! Towed it off, 2001, to the tune of a $700 repair!! Turned out it was a failed clip to the fuel pump. Of course, nowadays you can't just replace the clip! It has to be the whole fuel pump! My husband decided to call the dealership since they replaced it with a newly designed (which won't fail) part. I mean, sounded like they knew it was bad and it probably should be a recall. They're reimbursing us $450. I think it should have been free

We can't complain about winter here in Oregon, except that it's kinda scary. It's downright tropical. Weeks of sunshine. Weeks of high temperatures. The tulip festival is going to be a wash because they figure the flowers will already be spent once the "festival" begins. Odd comparison to last year when we were in such a deep freeze they had to close PDX for 3 days!

Harpoon. We're all really glad that you're fine! My husband had a very Chinese boss for years. He always said that the small things were payments to the spirits to keep away the big things!!

Get that Macro button working and send us some snowflake pictures!!

Marguerite