SUV goes in ditch !

[Zoso]

Really , ambulance was there but nobody was hurt, and the fire truck was there but there was no fire , and a reporter was there and there was no story. In sure everyone had something better to do on New Year's Eve .

[TreeGuy]

Here is the link: http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-105713-101-.htm#105713

It is funny how the police, fire and ambulance guys are all standing around and the driver is still sitting in the vehicle. The caption could read, "Sir, please unlock the door so we can rescue you or at least roll down the window so we can talk to you and calm you down, you are obviously going into shock"

[dogspoiler]

What makes you think that the person in the seat was the driver ?

[TreeGuy]

What makes you think that the person in the seat was the driver ?

Who do you suspect it is? Guess it could be a tow truck driver putting it into neutral so he could tow it out. I didn't really give it much thought, it was just my first impression of the image.

[dogspoiler]

The vehicle slid off the road and was laying on it's side, the three occupants got out uninjured. Responders pushed the vehicle back on it's wheels and tried to drive it out. A tow truck had to remove it.

[TreeGuy]

The vehicle slid off the road and was laying on it's side, the three occupants got out uninjured. Responders pushed the vehicle back on it's wheels and tried to drive it out. A tow truck had to remove it.

Is this your imagining of what happened or you know this to be fact?

[dogspoiler]

Fact.

[TreeGuy]

Thanks for the inside scoop!

[dogspoiler]

That little piece of road seems to have more than its fair share of incidents, it's fairly steep, crooked, and parts of it seem to remain shaded during the day. The sand truck was there after the incident, they can't be everywhere at once I guess. There were no injuries and very little damage, the occupants can remember this as a lucky New Years eve.

[dodgerdodge]

That's the third this last week or so. Just before Christmas one went off just further down the hill past Rose Valley turn. Two firetrucks were present i think to stop and direct traffic while recovery vehicle towed it out of ditch. The day after there was one in ditch almost opposite the Starlight turn, guy was standing next to it on his phone obviously calling for a tow. No emergency vehicles that time but that is a straight piece of road so how he ended up in there i don't know.
Westlake is a bad road at this time of year and people drive too fast. Interestingly if you drive down the hill slowly, keeping in a lower gear and gently braking before the corners you feel you are holding others up until you glance at your speedometer and realize that you are actually travelling at 50km/hr which is the limit.

[Steve-O]

Felt the rear of my truck slipping around just after Rosewood Dr on Saturday evening. Felt it breaking loose several more times on the way down. Only doing about 45 - 50k in low gear. Threw some more weight in the back when I got home. Glad I'm not driving that road on a regular basis this time of year.

Wasn't there talk about improvements coming this year? I imagine similar work through the gully as was done on Gellatly.

[aginger1]

That was actually my daughter and her girlfriends. They were coming down the road, and they were driving very very slow and hit black ice (or just ice) and did the slow motion turn on the road ended up on the other side of the road and tipped over Firetrucks and ambulance and police showed up which shocked the girls but they were happy to be helped out of their predicament. From what the girls tell me, the road was super slippery going up to rose valley and they took it super super slow and it still didn't help. Im just glad they are all ok and Thank the Fire Dept, Paramedics and Police for being there for them.

[dodgerdodge]

That was actually my daughter and her girlfriends. They were coming down the road, and they were driving very very slow and hit black ice (or just ice) and did the slow motion turn on the road ended up on the other side of the road and tipped over Firetrucks and ambulance and police showed up which shocked the girls but they were happy to be helped out of their predicament. From what the girls tell me, the road was super slippery going up to rose valley and they took it super super slow and it still didn't help. Im just glad they are all ok and Thank the Fire Dept, Paramedics and Police for being there for them.

But you have to wonder why they went into the ditch and countless other vehicles that went up and down that same stretch that night didn't. I went up and down that same evening and had no issue but it was definitely slick in parts so slow speed, gear down and good winter tires should have been enough.
I ended up in trouble years ago on the connector on black ice with all season tires, never used them since.

[aginger1]

Yes. The tires are all seasons. Not winters...that's being addressed. That stretch of road is famous for having slick conditions. I think it has something to do with how the snow melts on it and then it runs on it and refreezes at night. The accident happened at around 830. And it was below 0 Lesson Learned. The girls are ok. Car is ok. That's all that matters

[dodgerdodge]

Yes. The tires are all seasons. Not winters...that's being addressed. That stretch of road is famous for having slick conditions. I think it has something to do with how the snow melts on it and then it runs on it and refreezes at night. The accident happened at around 830. And it was below 0 Lesson Learned. The girls are ok. Car is ok. That's all that matters

I read some very interesting facts on tires that suggests all seasons lose their grip when it drop below 7 degrees, yes that's plus 7 and of course black ice is also a risk at temps above freezing, i think that it can occur around 3 degrees.
I travel the road regularly and there are bad sections that catch people out and good winters are certainly worth it without a doubt