Wild ride on icy bridge. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

GTStinger · #1 12-16-2010, 11:24 PM

Either I'm extremely lucky or got some divine intervention driving home today in the Trooper.

The highway is wet but doesn't appear icy yet at 6:30 pm. I'm driving 45-50 letting the handful of other cars pass me at 60. Then I hit the ice on the bridge that they all missed. In an instant, the truck is sliding down the road with the body at a 45 deg angle. I fishtail three times trying to straighten up then run into the grassy median. I only regain full control after going about 20 yards down into the center depression and up the other side. The truck stops less than 2 feet from the steep incline for the service vehicle U-Turn.

Get out of the truck and wave to the guy that pulls over to check me out. No damage....haven't even popped a tire.

I put it in 4wd and finish driving home.

That's the first time I've ever lost control of a vehicle. Somehow my shorts are still clean, but I clenched so tight that I might find a diamond tomorrow.

Skid Row Joe · #2 12-17-2010, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTStinger

Either I'm extremely lucky or got some divine intervention driving home today in the Trooper.

The highway is wet but doesn't appear icy yet at 6:30 pm. I'm driving 45-50 letting the handful of other cars pass me at 60. Then I hit the ice on the bridge that they all missed. In an instant, the truck is sliding down the road with the body at a 45 deg angle. I fishtail three times trying to straighten up then run into the grassy median. I only regain full control after going about 20 yards down into the center depression and up the other side. The truck stops less than 2 feet from the steep incline for the service vehicle U-Turn.

Get out of the truck and wave to the guy that pulls over to check me out. No damage....haven't even popped a tire.

I put it in 4wd and finish driving home.

That's the first time I've ever lost control of a vehicle. Somehow my shorts are still clean, but I clenched so tight that I might find a diamond tomorrow.

4X4 SUVs and/or their drivers are notorious for losing it easily on ice. They drive with supreme confidence, not realizing their SUVs are some of the least stable on ice.

4-door FWD and RWD sedans are quite easy to drive straight and true on ice.

LandYaghtLover · #3 12-17-2010, 01:05 AM

Wow. Lucky you!

True though that most vehicles I see in ditches up north here are SUVs. Oddly.

Nate · #4 12-17-2010, 01:52 AM

Good job not hitting anything. How much fuel do you save keeping the truck in 2wd during the winter? (serious question, never kept track when I had a 4wd truck) My uncle told me that if you put a car in the ditch during a snowstorm, may as well drop the hammer and try to keep momentum to get out, if you can manage. 4wd is cheating

Glad you were able to lift yourself from the seat after your pucker factor moment.

I was driving my friends 92 S10 2wd (5 speed, 2.5l no nuts V6) between OshKosh and Sun Prairie last weekend (first good blizzard). had 350lbs of sand in the back. Watched an early 90's mazda b2600 truck loose it across 4 lanes of traffic, and slide into the ditch, without hitting anything or anyone. Unfortunately, her truck was 2wd. I stopped, and once she calmed down, we tried pulling her out with my pickup. It was rather pathetic, but, after a bunch of trys, we got it out. She was cute, so, i figured my friend wouldnt mind the extra wear and tear on the clutch, and tires

Her tires looked new, but, there was no weight in the bed. I gave her 2 of the 5 bags, and said she'd need more if she wanted to even think about driving it in weather like this. Apparently she didn't have very far to go, but she was very appreciative. Couldnt take any money, so, I asked for a cigarette. She gave me one, and we left.

Winter driving is fun.
Oh, and later I realized I didnt have a lighter anymore, because I said I quit when I left Kuwait. SO I did that for nadda!

Hope to not drive through snow like that again. Roads here are still narrowed because of all the snow build up. It's tough to see above the drifts when driving.
~Nate

layback40 · #5 12-17-2010, 02:00 AM

Nate,
Did you get her name & number?

Kuan · #6 12-17-2010, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

Couldnt take any money, so, I asked for a cigarette. She gave me one, and we left.

Sounds like a line from a Simon and Garfunkel song.

t walgamuth · #7 12-17-2010, 06:01 AM

Driving on snow and ice requires weight over the drive wheels first and decent tires so if you don't have front wheel drive some extra weight in the back is usually helpful, even if you have four wheel drive.

Then supreme concentration is required to correct any little slip before it becomes a big slip and you become a passenger.

Ara T. · #8 12-17-2010, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuan

Sounds like a line from a Simon and Garfunkel song.

GTStinger · #9 12-17-2010, 07:16 AM

The Trooper is the wife's car. I didn't want to take the Benz on salted roads. I had put maybe 200lb of kitty litter, grass seed and other random garage stuff over the rear axle.

I was doing my normal winter driving method: driving slow and letting the other cars be canaries ahead of me.

Half of the other vehicles on the road that night were pickups with no weight in the back, all going 5-10 mph faster than me.

BobK · #10 12-17-2010, 07:22 AM

Kid called me Sunday night. He was driving his (my) SDL back to Bowling Green, Ky. across the Bluegrass Parkway (nice drive on a spring day). Was going along fine when suddenly car was sliding sideways. He went across both of his lanes, the median, the two opposing lanes plus their right shoulder lane and off into the grass some 10 feet or so before coming to a stop. He managed to collect nothing and even dodged a tree somehow. With the help of some fellow travelers and a rope one had (he is now getting a chain for Christmas) he was out of the white stuff and back on the road. The Lord protects children and fools, so he got double protection that night (and needed it!). I'm sure he was going a bit fast and found a patch of ice without realizing it. Thankfully no hurt, no damage and quite an education. I have four killer snow tires mounted on MB 126 wheels for my 560SEL. Looks like they are going on his car instead of mine when he comes home from college this weekend. Winter driving can really be bad and we all need to be careful asnd slow down (me especially).

SwampYankee · #11 12-17-2010, 08:21 AM

Holy shnikeys, Greg!

Glad to hear you, and your Trooper, survived unscathed!

I'm like you, I'm content to let the conditions dictate my driving. Unfortunately there's always the potential for the "perfect storm" of conditions to cause exactly what happened. I'm never surprised by the dum basses cruising along at 65-70+ when snow covers the highway. And yes, you see the occasional vehicle (not exclusively 4x4, but more often than not) off in the ditch. What surprises me is how the majority of these dum basses avoid the ditch, speeding along completely oblivious to the potential dangers.

Brian Carlton · #12 12-17-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Then supreme concentration is required to correct any little slip before it becomes a big slip and you become a passenger.

Exactly.

However, along with the concentration comes the skill. The OP froze and the result was as you read.

If you can't respond instantly without freezing-up..........the vehicle will get the better of you in a hurry. With a $hitbox, the problem is magnified by the high CG.............very difficult to catch via steering.............which is why so many of them are found upside down in the winter.

I lost a '72 Mustang (way too much power and no weight in the back) on a snowy route 17 between NYC and Binghamton in heavy snow. Typical college kid with the wrong car, the wrong tires, and the wrong skills. I stopped it from spinning but the 45 degree angle held all the way to the left guardrail and curb...........which took out the lower control arm. It was a PITA coordinating that repair from Rochester...........done improperly, of course.

Never again............on snow, I make the presumption that the vehicle is going to slide at any moment. The RWD sedans are quite forgiving and respond well to the wheel if you're on the game.

On ice...........depending how long the sheet is...........it's anybody's guess whether it can be corrected. There is so little traction to work with that many times it's impossible. The only possible way out of ice is not to touch any of the controls when you might be approaching a sheet. The vehicle cannot spin on ice unless the driver creates the loss of traction via the throttle, wheel, or brakes.

Nate · #13 12-17-2010, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by layback40

Nate,
Did you get her name & number?

Yes, to make sure she made it home save, obviously. My girlfriend wasn't exactly thrilled

~Nate

Skid Row Joe · #14 12-17-2010, 01:36 PM

Growing up and learning to drive in the Winter snowbelt before SUVs and FWD vehicles helped make better Winter drivers out of many from/in the North country. Get skilled at it or perish.....and of course luck.

At the time, my Dad reported his new 1969 Benz was not as forgiving to drive at highway speed on glare, packed snow/ice as a full-sized Pontiac sedan of the same era. Prolly because the American brand steering was not as minute as the Benz'.

I noticed my Dad would set the idle of the AT '69, and '74, and '77? up a bit on the dashboard so as not to drag the rear tires on glare ice at idle, and downhill when your foot was off the fuel feed pedal. That might be a tip the younger owners of the older diesel Benzes could benefit from.

LUVMBDiesels · #15 12-17-2010, 02:56 PM

I am glad you are safe and there was no damage to you or anybody else!

Scary thing happened last week in the Jeep.
We were in Romney, WV - where they do NOTHING for the roads in the winter.
I was two cars behind an 18 wheeler on Rt340 - one lane each way, narrow and hilly.

Well on a slight decline the rig lost it! He was going sideways down the hill! He got out of it once, twice, and a third time before reaching the bottom. I was sure he would either jack-knife completely,roll over, or just keep going until he hit the cars that were stopped in the opposing lane staring up at him in shock! He got out of it and made it to the first wide spot and stopped.

I crawled down in 4-Hi and 1st, keeping one set of wheels in the shoulder snow and off the slick road. When I got to him I stopped and asked if he was alright.
He said He was fine, but his shorts took a beating!

I drive like Grandma Moses in the snow, especially in WV where the snow removal philosophy is "She'll Melt" That is where I rolled the Suburban on black ice a couple years ago - 1st gear in 4-Lo!