He said, “Buckle your seat belts…”
December 26, 2004
My friend Darren and his family had a terrifying experience while travelling. Just click on the picture to read his account…
They’re OK, and he has an important message for everyone:
“Buckle up every time and tell your family you love them every day!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”
Categories: Uncategorized
Wow….
that was one crazy accident.
Its amazing that they are all okay.
Wow. Not only a testimony to the use of seatbelts, but to “luck”.
Actually, I am amazed that there are (are there?) people who still don’t use their seatbelts; Darren’s admonition would seem to indicate that he knows people who don’t. I just don’t get that. It’s the law nearly everywhere I’ve been, and this shows why.
What is frightening, though, is that had Jen not reacted to Darren’s exclamation (not to mention had he not reacted to her lane-change), there may not have been any accident at all.
Without knowing the type and condition of the tires on the vehicle, this was, after all, an all-wheel/4-wheel drive car. Unless you hit ice underneath, it would take a pretty hefty patch of snow to have caused an accident had Jen not stepped on the brakes. Which brings me to the two suggestions, assuming you are a good, defensive driver:
1. If you have drive in ANY snowy conditions, BUY SNOW TIRES. A set of 4 Nokian Hakkepeliitas (arguably the best around) cost me $400 installed plus tax. I’ll probably get two seasons out of them, maybe three if there’s a lot of snow and I don’t have to drive on a a lot of bare pavement. Let’s see, $200/year, is my life and that of my passengers worth that? If I had to, I could cut off those $1.25 cups of coffee I often buy in the morning to pay for them. I drive a small, fairly fuel-efficient SUV, a Honda CRV to be exact. I went all the way with winter tires because 4WD does NOT insure safety in winter conditions as well as do winter tires. All season radials, with maybe one or two exceptions, are NOT winter rated. The term “all season” is a lie. Again, BUY WINTER TIRES!
2. If you’re not the driver, DON’T COMMUNICATE PANIC in these situations. I’m not trying to be judgmental, but I think everyone gets my drift. Driving in adverse conditions is stressful enough…