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wildkat
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 559
Location: Somewhere on the Alaska Highway, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:01 pm Post subject: Scariest Night of My Life |
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As most regulars know I've been at this nearly 30 years and have had many hair raising experiences over the years, but the absolute worst was 2 winters ago....
I'd left Edmonton bound for Yellowknife in December 2 winters ago... was a nice balmy night, not too cold, bout -15 or so, no wind, it was 1 am or there abouts when I left Edmonton heading north, one of those quiet, clear winter nights nights we love up here.
Going though Peace River, 5 hours north of Edmonton, something odd happened...it started to warm up...considerablely...it was now +2. By the time I got to Manning, another hour north it was +4... oh oh I'm thinking...
By the time Twin Lakes came it was RAINING...really raining & the temp had fallen to +1...not good... by High Level 8 hours north of Edmonton it had quit raining & turned to snow...temp -1
Fuel & coffee stop...the last one on this trip... got out of the truck & nearly landed on my butt! OMG! Major icy. Skated to the store & asked the girls inside how the roads were heading north..."Little slippery, sanding trucks out", OK not so bad. WRONG!
10 klick out of High Level is the airport, I'm doing 80K (50mph), it's slushy, but not too bad...all of the sudden there's NO sand...ZERO, nadda, zip... Roads are glare ice...not traction, no steering, zip!
Here I am doin 80k totally out of control...I'm in freefall! OMG I'm gonna die today was all I could think. I was totally along for the ride, no hope of stopping, thinkining if I hit a bump, a curve, anything I AM dead!
So what to do? What to do?
Well thankfully the road is arrow straight for about 15k (10 miles), so I snugged my seatbelt really tight & s l o w l y...painfully slowly, eased in my clutch & slipped her into neutral...figgering at least if I hit the ditch I could hopefully keep her on her wheels & plow some snow. Recall I have ZERO steering...GOD I'm scared...
It took at least 6-8 miles to coast to a stop...YES I kept it somehow on the road that day, how? don't ask me, I still don't know!...Much more good luck than good management that's for sure! bad case of "noodle legs" I think it took 1/2 hour for my legs to stop shaking, but it took nearly 2 hours for the sanding truck to get to me.
This is not something I EVER want to repeat. And in nearly 30 years of driving I have never been so scared in all my life! |
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solo379
Joined: 14 Feb 2004
Posts: 3156
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| Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: Scaries Night of My Life |
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wildkat wrote: Recall I have ZERO steering...
I don't quite understand why? :roll: |
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wildkat
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 559
Location: Somewhere on the Alaska Highway, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:20 pm Post subject: Re: Scaries Night of My Life |
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solo379 wrote: wildkat wrote: Recall I have ZERO steering...
I don't quite understand why? :roll:
ICE! GLARE ICE! Try steering on a skating rink at 50mph...nuthin there |
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solo379
Joined: 14 Feb 2004
Posts: 3156
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| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:37 am Post subject: Re: Scaries Night of My Life |
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wildkat wrote:
ICE! GLARE ICE!
Yeah, i got it, but as long as your wheels rolling, you should have some ability to steer. Not that it will help you much, at 50mph! :shock:
Glad you made it! 8) |
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wildkat
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 559
Location: Somewhere on the Alaska Highway, Canada
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| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:42 am Post subject: Re: Scaries Night of My Life |
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solo379 wrote: wildkat wrote:
ICE! GLARE ICE!
Yeah, i got it, but as long as your wheels rolling, you should have some ability to steer. Not that it will help you much, at 50mph! :shock:
Glad you made it! 8)
not on that stuff...believe me I tried, all the way right, all the way left....nada, zip, zero.... flyin down the road...literally along for the ride!
ME too believe me :D :D |
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Raafi
Joined: 31 Aug 2007
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| you skidded 6-8 miles with NO steering? downhill? |
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wildkat
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 559
Location: Somewhere on the Alaska Highway, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:56 am Post subject: |
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Raafi wrote: you skidded 6-8 miles with NO steering? downhill?
This is what I said:
Well thankfully the road is arrow straight for about 15k (10 miles), so I snugged my seatbelt really tight & s l o w l y...painfully slowly, eased in my clutch & slipped her into neutral...figgering at least if I hit the ditch I could hopefully keep her on her wheels & plow some snow. Recall I have ZERO steering...GOD I'm scared... |
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Wild Bill Pete
Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 22
Location: Full time driving a Pete RV
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| I hear you - sometimes winter plays real bad tricks on drivers. I hate Wyoming in the cold, they don't seem to do anything to get rid of ice there. Been sideways on I25 once, and on sheet ice into Utah, on the 80. I don't know what I would do with no grip at all.. probably just up an die. That sideways trip on the 25 was bad - a jeep had spun out, and lost his rear on the median, and come to rest on the southbound. I couldn't stop - just slid on by, and by the time I could stop, the jeep had been hit by a flatbed. Nasty business. |
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lucky2
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 32
Location: Northern Michigan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Maybe you should go by Lucky2 instead of me. What a ride you had. Hope you remembered to thank your lucky stars for that one. Sounds like you might have had a little extra help from above on that ride. |
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b00m
Joined: 07 Apr 2008
Posts: 23
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| JESUS SAVED YOU !!ALELUYAHHH!!! |
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marylandkw
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 509
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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Ahhh your story brings back memories.
This past winter I woke one morning to an outside air temp of 14f. That's fourteen degrees Fahrenheit. I went back to bed :lol:
My hat is off to you crazy Canucks, I could never stand running in extreme cold and fortunately now I don't have too. I guess I am getting soft in my old age or something :D |
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chubyboy
Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 82
Location: Appleton, MN
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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14F isnt that cold...oh ur marylandic...not minnesotan lol... :P
well, i had a scare...i just got my class a last dec...well the real snow didnt come til i was out of school...first a side note...the passenger side mirror on my truck was off a bit, so it made the trailer look as though it was angled to the right a bit...ok moving on. i was running i think soy beans(grain hopper) and i have just got done dumping when i had to visit the shop(i cant remember for what) well down the road beforehand visibility was at half a mile, mirrors icing, slushy, etc. well i got to the shop empty and had to disconnect my trailer to pull the tractor in. the work gets done and i open the door to pull out and the storm caught up to me. i get most of the snow out of the trailer glad hands and couple up.i dispatcher calls and says i can go home for the day...which involves me driving a good 9 miles just to get back to the yard. well im driving along freaking out because the storm had worsened and i look in my passenger mirror and i thought my trailer was drifting...i start chitting bricks and begin CAREFULLY, SLOWLY, to slow down...no effect, i turn my hazards on and creep just over centerline. not until i was oh a mile away from the yard do i remember the mirror is messed up...i wonder what the people behind me were thinking :| |
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