By Susan Brody
Nobody
plans for an accident. Hear how one young driver thought she had done
everything right—and still totaled her car. Also, learn how to avoid
accidents in bad weather.
Casey had her provisional license for
five months and everything had been great for the 17-year-old New
Jersey native. (That's redundant—what could be bad once you have your
license, right?) But as the saying goes, you never know what's coming
around the bend.
Weather Worries
It was
December and the forecast called for snow. But the weatherman was
wrong—again—and instead of a snow day, not one flake was on the ground
in the morning. In anticipation of the snow, Casey's mom had instructed
her to drive the family's heavier, sturdier SUV to school. But the
roads were clear, so Casey drove the car she was more comfortable
with—a hand-me-down with 4-wheel drive.
Small Detour
Instead
of driving straight to school, Casey went in the opposite direction to
pick up a friend (if you must know, her ex; how's that for a kind
ex-girlfriend?). But while she took a detour, she wasn't skimping on
safety. "Even though there was no snow, I put the car in a lower gear
and was driving very, very slowly down my curvy street," she said. "But
as I was coming around a bend to the right, the car just started
shifting to the left. I had no control over it."
Trying to Stay Calm
Casey's
mind raced—she remembered hearing that you shouldn't turn your wheel
the opposite way, so she opted to let the car slide. She figured she
was going so slowly, nothing too bad would happen. But as the car kept
sliding closer to the curb, she panicked and slammed on the brakes. Bad
choice. (See sidebar for tips for driving in icy conditions.)
The
car picked up speed, hit the curb and kept on sliding. Now it was
perpendicular to the street—luckily, no cars were coming up the
hill—and headed straight for a telephone poll. Casey braced herself for
the impact...
(I know, cruel to end the story right there isn't it? You have to head to Studio 2B to read the rest and to get great tips on driving safely.)