Accidents Happen

So tonight driving home to NY from MA, I was in my first serious accident. And it couldn't have the courtesy to happen on a normal road, no, I hit black ice at 50mph on the highway. And not just any highway, the Northway. It was right after I crossed the bridge over the Hudson. Like, right after. I hadn't been off the bridge two seconds and I lost control of my vehicle. It was snowing (yup, snow in the end of March. >.<) so the roads were wet and covered with a dusting of white, but seriously that's something you drive through often. I spun though, and kissed the guard rail before weaving back and forth across three lanes of traffic and making a 180, kissing the guard rail again with my back bumper and stopping. I forgot everything I had learned in defensive driving about not using my brakes, and just held that pedal flat to the floor. In reality it only makes things worse. Once you start sliding on ice though, there's no stopping. The only thing I did remember was to point my wheels in the direction I wanted to go. I pulled over, and called my Dad right after. I was definitely shaken up, but unhurt. And I limped it down to the rest area two miles away, where a kind gentleman helped me tie my bumper back together so I wasn't dragging it, and I proceeded to drive home.

The damage isn't too bad, but because everything was pushed back I cannot open the driver's door. I lost the front directional on the driver's side, and smashed that light up pretty bad, but the headlight still works. The bumper is definitely broken, and the corner is beat up on the driver's side. All that's wrong with the back is that part of the bumper is loose. I'm sure I have a lot of paint scraped off too, but it was too dark to see since this was at about 10:30pm.

I wasn't the only one who spun, either. The guy behind me spun out as well, but he must have been going slower at seeing me take my spin or something, because he was stopped a good 200ft behind me. About an hour later, when I got off the Northway, and made my way home and such, Dad said that an ambulance and fire crew were called to that exact spot for a vehicle crash with injuries. And we know the time because I called him when I got off the highway to let him know where I was. So it looks like that is definitely a trouble spot that needs to be watched carefully.

I'm definitely thankful though, because the air bag didn't deploy, and I wasn't hit by other traffic. I remember thinking to myself as I was trying to control my car "Oh shit someone is going to T-bone me for sure!", but no one did. I was very, very lucky.

And the hell I'm reporting this, since it's illegal to hit the guardrail (stupid law or what?), because I'll get ticketed for "imprudent speed for weather conditions". Bull shit I was going too fast. Let me review this accident one more time:

I'm going straight at 50mph in a 55mph zone. I hit black ice, while going straight, and I either tapped the brakes before or after I started spinning, I can't remember. But either way, I spun out while going straight. Which means that I must have turned just a little bit, because the highway was going straight, and there was enough of an ice buildup to send me and the guy behind me spinning. While going straight!!!

Of course tough, the state will never take liability for it. Stupid government. Imprudent speed my ass.

But like I said, I'm fine. I expect I'll be sore tomorrow since I was probably stiff-limbed when I connected with the guardrail and might have jammed my joints a bit, but I didn't bounce a lot and I didn't kiss the steering wheel, so I'm good. The big question now is, how the hell do I get back to MA for class on Monday? I'm either going to be stuck in NY, or I might have to steal my Dad's truck. Oy...

We shall see. >.<