DSM_guy Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 ok ok, well not MY pathy, but rather my moms 98 XE. i drive my mitsubishi because of gas mileage since i drive about 60 or so miles per day to school and back. so today it was a bit icy and i got to school ok, but the ride back was a bit different. it got quite a bit worse while i was in classes...much icier. now before anyone lectures me to the rules and precautions of driving in snow/ice...spare me. im well awre of them and have followed them religiosly in my 6+ years of driving. i was already doing about 30 on a decent streach of road. i peaked a hill and what i saw before me on the way down was just a solid sheet of ice. well i was already rolling and it was surley too late to back out. i did want to slow downa bit because i saw a car comming the other way (playing safe) so i eased her down into 2nd (no brake). well all went good till i was about halfway down. i hit a very slick patch of ice and then i lost it. turned 180*, slid across the road (this is a little farm to market country road mind you) and off into the opposing ditch. i did miss the other person with more than plenty of room (150 feet or so) and that was my greatest concern. now im no stranger to ice...and iv lost control and been taken for a short lil ride at times. as i spun aroudn i figured "no biggie" and counted on the ditch to slow me and stop. then id just give a lil wave and get back on the road and go home. ahah wrong. said ditch did nothing of the kind. it was actually sloped down a bit. well i quickly realize that its not gonna prevent me from hitting this bared wire fence broadside. so here we go...slide in sideways, wipe out one t post and i go over very slowly. the fence actually broke my fall quite nicley. but of course, they werent meant to take 6000lbs of metal leaning agasint them...so it then sat me down full on the passenger side. then the pass front window shattered everywhere. saftey glass my ass...talk about shrapnel! so anyways, long story short, cops arrive, friend arrives, friend pulls over pathy. change 2 flat tires on pathy, check fluids, and drive home the rest of the way. as far as damage...im gonna need a new front fender, a little dent reworking near the door (where i hit the T post), and some rather broad dents in both pass side doors, and some small dings in the rear quarter, new pass side door window (front) and at least one bent rim. all in all not too bad. sure, it sucks but it coulda been much worse. all doors function perfectly, drives fine..although an alignment is deffinatley in order im sure. of course i feel terrible, and everyone says it can be replace and i cant...and i know that. but i feel really bad for it all. state trooper was a ****...honestly. gave me a ticket for unsafe speed. um lets see...i was probably doing 20 or so when this whole thing entailed. i did everyting in my power to keep from losing it. i dont give a damn if i was doing 3mph or 300mph...the patch of ice was still there and was still slippery on a prety good downhill grade mind you. 2mph woulda been unsafe! and then he had the gall to consider him nice for only issuing me a warning for "imporper lane change" or some bs like that. oh yeah buddy...let me tell you, i had EVERY intention of going into that other lane! jackass! trust me, if i could had my way, i woulda stayed in my OWN DAMN LANE! but the laws of physics didnt quite ask me if thats what i wanted! hopefully the judge sees things my way and throws out teh case. i got pics on my camera phone (may post up later) of the whole area...so hopefully he will see and agree that no matter how fast i was going...the circumstances were not my fault. you know, id admit if i was in the wrong...and driving 90mph like every other moron out there. im an extremley safe driver..and it pisses me off to no end when im branded as being wreckless when i tried to do everything just the opposite! im a firm believer in if you do the crime you can pay or do the time. but in this case there was no crime committed..but they stil want a few hundred bux of my hard earned money. so yeah, yall be safe out there and keep a hande on things as best you can and good luck when the weather goes south! oh and by the way...im perfectly fine...absolutley no injuries at all. sure wish i could say the same thing for the pathy...but she will be running around lookin like new in no time. although i will say it will take a while for my snow driving nerves to mend. i was beside myself the whole way home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC88Pathy Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I am so glad it doesn't snow or get icy here in California. It gets a little icy sometimes in the morning but never really really cold, and any ice always melts during the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Glad you are OK DSM. I understand how you feel though, but self blame to a point is good. Helps you remember... Don't take it too far though. Down hill + ice= few options. Other than what sped you crest at, but I'm sure as hell not going to second guess you. I recommend moving to where it does not normally snow, it's much nicer... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Good to hear you did not injure yourself or others. I must admit, I would hate to drive on icy roads all of the time. It is fun every now and then though. I love to go around bends in the road with full opposite lock and know that I am not chewing out my tyres or thrashing my car to do so. Having said that, we all know you do not need to be going too hard to come unstuck. I once made an error in judgemnt and stopped on an icy stretch of road. I was going up a hill at the time. As soon as forward momentum was gone, the car, ever so slowly, started to slide down the hill. Foot on the brake and the hand brake on, sliding down the road. All I could do to save the situation was hope that noone else was coming up the hill, throw the car into reverse, get a bit of speed up, give it full lock to the right and hope that the front of the car would soon over take the rear and give me control back. It was good in theory, however in reality I only got the car turned about 140 degrees after sliding for what seemed to be a life time before I found a snow bank. No damage, no harm done. I was able to leave the car in gear (manual) with the wheels spinning while my mate and I got out and pushed the thing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 DSM glad you are safe Not sure what i would be more upset about, the fact it happend, and like you said nothing you could do but what you did. I know when I first got my 95 we were out goofing off and I hit a slick spot doing 20ish on some muddy logging roads with bald 31's and bang i was in the ditch. Or the cop trying to make his quota :X Contest the ticket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deej Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Glad you're OK. Sounds like you handled it like a pro. NOW WHERE'S THE PICS?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 ok ok, here are the pics silver on her side...baring her shame pics of the damage. mostly on the rear door. you can see where i plowed teh t-post right there at the antenna and across the door. thank god for the fence tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deej Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 I kinda did the same thing with my 720 in a blizzard but it went on it's roof in a "slow roll", and "no" I don't have pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Hmm, so thats how they route the exhaust on those... Get any work done on her when it was easy like that ?? Funny that they put the tank on the drivers side... DOH !! I'm just glad you are fine, metal is metal compared to that... Thanks for sharing though ! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Yowch! Well Sh*t happens dude -- sounds like you did the best you could do in that situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabod7 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 isn't there a way to fight the ticket? when i totaled my taurus i hit a patch of ice too and i slid about 100 feet into the back of someone and got a dang ticket for "to fast for conditions" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cash_n Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Ice is only good in the Capt. and Coke I'm drinking right now. I don't miss those days at all. That's why when people ask "how do you stand 114 deg in Phx" I say gladly. Just look at my man DSM. Hope Mom ain't too upset. Sounds like her boy is alright. Take it easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Never done that one before..... Again glad you are alright.... Time to make her a toy??? Ask any little boy if their toys brake????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 i plan to fight the ticket...i just dont want to go through a whole big mess of OFFICIALLY challanging it. hopefully the JP listens to my story, see's it as a totally bogus charge..and just lets it go w/o having to set up a court date and whatnot. no, mom isnt mad. like she said " id be mad if you were actin like an idiot...but its not your fault" as far as ice...we only get it a few times a year down here...but when we do get its its usually pretty nasty. as far as toys...none for mom. im payin the deductable and everything but were taking it all right back to stock. shes not an aftermarket sorta person lol too bad...i think a lift or something with some 33's would look bitchin! but alas..no. its her lil DD so...no fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 ok well just a lil update. silver is getting towed to the body shop on monday...will get appraised and work will start. went down to clear up my ticket and it wasnt EXACTLY what id hoped for...but it was better than what i was facing. the judge (actually JP) took a look at the ticket...heard a few words from me...and knew it was a bull@!*% charge. he came right out and said it. i had THOUGHT they had teh ability to just dismiss tickets right there on the spot if they didnt agree...but i guess he dosent. he said i could of course contest it and all...but if i ended up convicted id be payin for court costs as well as the fine...as well as either extra on insurance or paying all out to take DD. so if i woulda decided to contest i would be taking a 300-500+ dollar crap shoot. and if the cop was asshole enough to write me up for that...who knows what he'd say to the judge..and pull out some back-of-the-book BS on me..then id be screwed facing a big fine. it was already a 175 ticket...then some new laws stated theyd add an extra 100 bux. but he felt bad about the whole deal so he is letting me take DD to dismiss everything and keep my record clean...i dont even get any points! so all total thats gonna be $150 with the course included...but its a helluva lot better than any other choice...and more predictable than fighting it. im sure the judge woulda ruled in my favor...but i dont have $500 to gamble with to be honest. and my deductable is only $250...so all told its gonna cost me $400 to get EVERYTHING cleared up. not too bad..but the stress and financial strain has DEFFINATLEY come at a bad time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Like you said, definitely better than nothing. I'd just take it as it is, and call it good. $400 is actually pretty cheap if you consider it.... Hope they do a good job with the Pathy and you get it back soon. Next time roll your own damn truck !! JK Bud... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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