I am a big weeny about winter driving.
If the roads are anything but bare, I am white knuckled, scared shitless, tense from tip to tail. I’ve had two winter accidents. Both times driving a vehicle with winter tires, in 4 wheel drive.
The first accident, the roads were slushy. It was early in the morning, pre-plows. I was doing a little under 80km/hour, drivin’ along no problem. I came up over a hill and a farmer’s flock of geese were out in the middle of my road, most in my lane. I’m not talking about small little Canada geese, but tall white geese, mondo-turkey sized. I knew if I hit them head on, I would probably lose control of my vehicle and it would be a big mess, so I took my foot off of the gas, moved SLIGHTLY right, out of the slush tracks I was driving in. I still clipped a couple but instantly lost control of my truck. Spun several times, shot between two telephone poles, and rolled. Landing upside down. My only injury was to my neck, sustained from undoing my seat belt without thinking and landing on my head. The truck crumpled like tinfoil, write off.
The second accident was Christmas Eve last year. The roads were bare and dry. We were all coming home from our annual “Child’s Christmas in Wales” Xmas eve tradition at a close friends house (been doing this Dylan Thomas reading tradition since I was wee). Came up over a hill, hit a patch of black ice, steered into the skid, thought I had control of the vehicle and then the ice patch ended and I was no longer pointing down the road. I was pointing into the ditch, where we landed, upside down on top of a neighbours mailbox. It was a nice slow landing thankfully and we were able to right it and drive it away.
Both times, when the vehicle was moving completely out of my control, I had ‘that moment’. The first time was intense, but the second was truly terrifying. Are we all going to die? Am I going to kill my husband? My son? Leave my family mother-less? Absolutely SICKENING thoughts.
I’ve learned that accidents can happen at any time. That they don’t give you warning. There are always tragic winter traffic fatalities here and I have been extremely blessed to not be one of them. And I am scared shitless about winter driving now. I’m scared about other drivers, particularly those tail-gating S.O.B.s coming or going to the power plant at speeds faster than I am ever going to go, even on a summer’s day. I’m almost dizzy with fear whenever I drive over anything shiny. This can’t be safe either. I don’t know what to do. I’m hoping to take a skid-school driving class next spring or summer…. or something.
All I know is that I need to get a little bit of confidence back, because right now I am at ZERO.