Pile-up of 59 cars in Detroit serves as a cautionary tale

‘Tis the season to listen to the weather forecast and avoid snowy, icy roads if possible, at least in the north. A snow shower caused one yesterday afternoon A 59-car pileup on Interstate 75 in Detroit and made national news when motorists traveling well below highway speeds suddenly found themselves in a winter whiteout — unable to see, stop or steer.

A car crashed into an 18-wheel tractor-trailer and the driver walked away unscathed, as did all the other occupants, miraculously, in the long, chaotic chain of fender benders. The outcome could have been different if everyone drove faster.

I had my own wreck earlier this month, fairly close to yesterday’s site on the north side of Detroit and under similar conditions. It was dark and snowing when our cars hit a patch of black ice on Woodward Avenue while heading to a holiday media event, and then the driver of the other car simply drove away from the scene. It was snowing too much to see if the driver parked next to Woodward, and I couldn’t see any hazard lights flashing.

Other driver left the scene

I stood there for a few minutes with my hazard lights on, just in case the other driver wanted to meet me or explain why he abruptly changed lanes and caused the collision. Another motorist also checked me and there were no injuries. I have reported it to the police.

But damn, my 2016 Mazda6 The sedan was extensively damaged: the driver’s side headlight was broken, the dashboard was badly cracked and the fender was collapsed, causing the front driver’s side wheel to rub. Hood seemed fine and the car was able to limp home.

The value of defensive driving

Does anyone need a cautionary tale about driving defensively or paying attention to the weather or keeping your phone charged or having a blanket in your car in case the engine dies in the dead of winter and you have to wait for the police or a tow truck?

Overall, mine was a typical fender bender that reminded me of the crazy dodge cars we drove at the church fair, with occasional sparks flying as a steel pole attached to the car drew power from the ceiling. Have fun.

Floating on an air mattress

You may remember how poorly these bumper cars handled and how they wouldn’t move when the steering wheel was turned too hard to the left or right. But when you got the car moving almost in a straight line, you just wanted to hit someone. It didn’t matter who.

The base of each car was all thick, soft rubber and at times it felt like you were floating on an air mattress even when you finally made contact. You bounced back and shouted happily at the loser who stood in your way, and the loser shouted back something like, “Hey, I’m going to get you!”

Stay well below posted speeds

So that was the memory that came to me almost immediately after the collision. It was just before 6 p.m. in Detroit on one of the shortest days of the year, and I was taking it easy, as were several other motorists driving down four lanes of Woodward south of 8 Mile Road, going about 55 mph.

That’s below the posted speed limit, but the blowing snow and visible ice made most of us err on the side of caution.

How to Make a Left Turn Safely in Michigan

I was in the left lane of divided Woodward Avenue, and those of you familiar with the “Michigan Left Turn” know that you signal and turn left into a deceleration lane so you can go the opposite direction (like a nice, legal U-turn), or cross the northbound lanes. Sounds complicated, but it works quite well for those of us who grew up with it.

While several other vehicles were moving cautiously, a compact car accelerated in the lane to my right, went in front of me, and then changed lanes to make the left turn. But the driver inexplicably stayed in my lane and didn’t fully reach the deceleration lane to make a left turn.

Floating in a most special way

I braked and tried to steer around this car, but my Mazda6 was following Newton’s laws of motion: sliding straight while ice on the road meant there would be no change of direction and no traction to stop.

For those three seconds before impact, I felt perhaps what an astronaut feels like in zero gravity, just floating like Major Tom in a very peculiar way, bracing for impact with the rear passenger corner of the compact car.

Ice hinders and then helps

Because of the ice, both our vehicles swayed a bit after contact, like bumper cars. This could explain why no one was injured in yesterday’s 59-car pileup: the ice that caused this also dissipated the energy of the crash through slipping and sliding. A physics graduate student can certainly explain it in more academic terms.

I was without a car for almost three weeks, but the shop owner said the work could take up to a month, so I felt happy. The Mazda6 looks as good as new, and we’ll see if my insurance rates go up. Even with my clean record, what are the chances?

Source: Fox2 Detroit