Got Lucky (56K, tread lightly)
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:26 am
Heading home from work Saturday night, I decided to test out the understeer/oversteer techniques I just learned; on a dark, unlit, wet road that was surrounded by 13 foot cornstalks and telephone poles. Needless to say, not my brightest moment 
.
I took the 90+ degree turn at about 50MPH and when I felt the tires start losing grip, it was already too late as I tried frivously to stop the car. The brakes locked up and I skidded a good 40 feet right into an Amish tobacco field, eventually landing in a 2 foot deep ditch. I wish I had the camera there, but both back wheels were in the air about 2 feet, and it looked like I had snapped the front left axle in half ( it was dark, my whole wheel is black, it looked bad).
Some Amish men (about 10) must have heard the noise and helped me push get the car out of the ditch. So, after thoroughly thanking everybody and regaining composure, I drove home, only to start playing out the other possible scenarios in my head. There was a telephone pole only 10 feet away from where my car came to a stop, I could have taken out another car, my airbags might have gone off, I could have been hurt. Luckily though, I got away with a damaged front bumper, a fairly one sided "discussion" with my parents, and a need for a serious alignment. I probably flat-spotted my tires too, but I was already in the market for wider tires.
Here are the pictures of the car, I will take pictures of the scene/damage when I get back from out of town.
These pictres do not do the situation any justice, you have to see the bumper under light to see all the scuff marks.
Please dont 'flame' guys, and dont let this speak for all teenage drivers.
.I took the 90+ degree turn at about 50MPH and when I felt the tires start losing grip, it was already too late as I tried frivously to stop the car. The brakes locked up and I skidded a good 40 feet right into an Amish tobacco field, eventually landing in a 2 foot deep ditch. I wish I had the camera there, but both back wheels were in the air about 2 feet, and it looked like I had snapped the front left axle in half ( it was dark, my whole wheel is black, it looked bad).
Some Amish men (about 10) must have heard the noise and helped me push get the car out of the ditch. So, after thoroughly thanking everybody and regaining composure, I drove home, only to start playing out the other possible scenarios in my head. There was a telephone pole only 10 feet away from where my car came to a stop, I could have taken out another car, my airbags might have gone off, I could have been hurt. Luckily though, I got away with a damaged front bumper, a fairly one sided "discussion" with my parents, and a need for a serious alignment. I probably flat-spotted my tires too, but I was already in the market for wider tires.
Here are the pictures of the car, I will take pictures of the scene/damage when I get back from out of town.
These pictres do not do the situation any justice, you have to see the bumper under light to see all the scuff marks.
Please dont 'flame' guys, and dont let this speak for all teenage drivers.
.
Just send me your wheels before you damage them haha.
