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Ten Tips for Avoiding an Interstate Pileup

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Guest Bloggers

Jan 23, 2015 (Archives)

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safe driving tips, winter

Guest Post by Jim Graham

Editor’s note: No matter what state you live in, it’s always the drivers from next door who are worse, right? In this guest blog post, New Hampshire writer Jim Graham shares his tale of near-impalement-by-SUV, as he had the misfortune of being an involuntary participant in a 35-car Interstate pileup that made national news recently. Here’s his tale—and a few great tips, to boot.

New Hampshire residents try to give Massachusetts drivers a break. It’s the least we can do when you consider all the dough they spend every weekend when they hightail it north out of there to vacation here in the Granite State. 

But if it weren’t for four measly inches, my son, his buddy and I could have been toast thanks to a couple of those SUV-driving knuckleheads.

Here’s the scoop. A few weeks ago, Northern New England featured a snow squall that coated the highway in a sheet of ice, causing 35 vehicles to crash and sending 13 people to the hospital.

My 13-year-old son, his friend and I were about four inches away from being patients 14, 15 and 16.

Talk about close! We were at the tail end of the big pileup and able to slow down just in time to avoid it – and then, escaped being rammed from behind by two SUVs traveling far, far too fast for the conditions. Seeing those land yachts fish-tailing and bearing down on us in the rearview mirror was, as we New Englanders say, “Dang scary.” 

Luckily, each of them skidded right past us on either side, narrowly missing my car by inches.

Car Talk blogger not pictured.

It was easily the closest I’ve come to being in a major crash.

If you live in a place like New Hampshire, Minnesota, or Montana, you already know what I’m about to say next. For all of you, consider this a refresher because, well, we all could use it. For everyone else, here are my 10 tips that just might save your life. Or mine.

• When a sudden snow squall hits, SLOW DOWN! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the snow coming down and the ice building up (and in my case it was still hard to stop even when I reacted early and with caution). Slowing down in just a few flurries is always a good idea.
• Tailgating is never cool. But it is exceedingly asinine and dangerous in snow and ice.

• Four-wheel-/all-wheel-drive is great for helping you move forward through snow. It does NOT help you make emergency stops on ice!
• Repeat: Four-wheel drive does NOT help you stop fast in ice and snow. Nothing does. And because of their bulky weight, SUVs take even longer to stop. Remember that basic law of physics: Mass x inertia x snow squall = SLOW the *&%*  DOWN.

A winter wonderland? Slow down, enjoy the scenery! (Andrew Prickett/Flickr)

• "All-season" tires work just as crappy on ice and snow on a four-wheel-drive SUV as they do on any other car.
• Man, it must cost a boatload to buy a fancy new SUV. If you’ve got that kind of dough, spend a little more and get really good snow tires. I swear by Blizzaks – and, indeed, my son says I was swearing quite vociferously during the incident.
• Replace your snow tires when the ice-gripping tread wears out. (They have these great little wear indicators built right into the tread, so it’s easy to tell.)
• With decent snow tires, my two-wheel-drive Honda Fit did way better than those SUVs in stopping and maintaining control.
• For God's sake, pay attention when you're driving. We could see the snow starting to fall, then fall thicker, and thicker… And quickly building up. I had already slowed down from 65mph to about 50mph or less, but when I tapped my brakes to test things out – whoa! The slight hint of slipperiness told me it was time to slow down even more. 

Here's an idea! (B.C. Ministry of Transport/flickr)

• When you kill someone because you're driving like a dumbass in terrible road conditions, there's no taking it back.

You can see more winter driving tips from Car Talk, right here.
 

• 2 comments
• Car Talk

Henry J Kaiser III • a month ago

This is all great advice on winter driving by Jim! Let me add rule number 11. If driving in heavy fog leave the radio turned off, keep the windows open a little, and listen carefully. I have oft repeated the story of a fellow civil servant who was then inspecting ammo loads on ships in the north Germany sea-port of Bremerhaven. Mike M. often followed that rule while driving his AWD Subaru driving the Autobahn in near zero visibility. He was carefully driving when he heard crashing noises up ahead. He immediately turned right and intentionally drove off the road some distance. He witnessed something like a 100 vehicle pile up. Thx to his AWD Subaru he was able to continue driving to his critical job inspecting that ammo was properly shipped. I have often reminded my wife and told others this story saying even if you do not have AWD or 4WD it is far safer to be stuck in the dirt somewhere off the road than to be hit in a crash. JH

Impaaked • 14 hours ago

Excellent advice on listening. I never really thought about it until now, but I do it naturally when road conditions are slick here in the mountainous interior of British Columbia. I would turn off the radio and crack the windows to hear if the wheels are slipping while climbing a mountain in our Fit. Never thought about doing it in low viz conditions too. Makes sense, thanks.