On December 29, a driver in Niagara County, New York ended up upside down in a water-filled ditch, pinned in place as police rushed to help. A local bystander reportedly tried breaking the window, but was unable to get the driver out. “Responding deputies arrived on scene and observed a 2009 Honda Fit overturned in the ditch, with the passenger compartment filling with water,” the local police’s statement reads. “The driver and sole occupant, [a] 40 year old… was pinned in the vehicle.”
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office media release continues, saying “Deputy Virk and Deputy Kennedy entered the ditch and were able to use their department issued rescue tool to break the rear passenger side window, open the door, and pull [the driver] to safety.”
The report states that there were no life-threatening injuries, and that the driver — whom the police say was found to be under the influence of drugs — was then sent to the hospital. He was “charged with a traffic violation and Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs…[and] released on appearance tickets and remains at the hospital for further treatment.”
Here’s the video of the incident in Wheatfield, NY — an incident that is, to me, total nightmare fuel:
This has been a recurring nightmare for me for years: ending up in an overturned car, underwater. There’s just a terror associated with water rushing in, not knowing how to get out or which way is up or down, and it doesn’t help that I’m a weak swimmer.
Starting today, I’ll be putting that ^hammer into my and my wife’s daily-drivers. I just need to figure out how to fasten it so that, in the event of such a situation, the hammer is easily accessible. I’m all ears if you have a strategy on that.
Anyway, today’s post isn’t about your biggest car fears (ok, it was initially until I found out we’ve already asked that). It’s about your own scariest automobile moment. One of mine is the crash you see above, in which an uninsured motorist in a Chevy Tahoe pulled out in front of me, totaling my beloved 1992 Jeep Cherokee — a vehicle that I later fixed with a fraction of the ~$1,600 payout.
Another one of my scariest moments happened when I was 17 and driving home from my high school girlfriend’s house in the dark. This was in a rural part of Kansas, where a raccoon ran right into the road. I, in my 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (shown below) made what I thought was a slight swerve, but what was, in reality, a huge swerve in that top-heavy machine. I lost complete control at about 65 mph, drifting into the oncoming lane, then back to the far right of the road, then back to the far left shoulder; back and forth I hacked away at that steering wheel trying to keep that nose pointing straight, and luckily — thanks in part to lots of practice drifting in snow, mud, and in parking lots, I was able to recover. That would have been catastrophic, without question.
I often remind myself how lucky many of us Americans are to have made it out of our teens. So many of my friends have also had close calls between the age of 16 and 18 (this might make you wonder if we should raise the driving age, but that’s a topic for another day).
Topshot: everett225/depositphotos
Teenage, new licence. Stopped to pick up two hitch-hikers in Mum and Dad’s DS 21, Sped away, turned head to talk, then forward to find file of stoped traffic. Slammed on the very good brakes (mushroom pedal — it was a Citroën) and skidded to a halt in a cloud of rubber smoke, just 10 cm or so from the bumper of the car in front.
Hitchhikers said, thanks and left… Still gives me the heebie jeebies, more than the actual accident I had, in a company car, when hit by a BMW driven by a quiffed salesman reeking of cologne.
Scariest car moment….
Me?
1978.
The following was *not* very intelligent…..
I was racing someone in a Trans Am on an extremely twisty road…..I was driving my 1968 Beetle.
And I was beating the pants off of them.
Go ahead and laugh…..I had a *seriously* breathed on motor, probably making over 100 HP.
In a car that weighs less then a ton- 100 HP ain’t bad and remember, in 1978, a Trans-Am had less then 200 horsepower and weighed twice as much as my car.
Ya’ll know what “lift-off oversteer” is….that’s what happens when you run out of brains in the middle of a corner and lift off the gas pedal. In a VW Beetle, the engine hangs off the back. so when you take your foot off the gas in the middle of a sharp corner….the rear end *instantly* changes places with the front of the car and you get to drive in reverse until you hit something.
So……on of the sharper corners….I seriously underestimated the amount I needed to slow down in a straight line before turning into the corner.
The car swapped ends, I managed not to hit any trees or shrubbery and I stopped in someones driveway facing out just like backed in there on purpose.
I didn’t even stall it, just popped the clutch and got the hell outta there.
Scared my 17 year old self sh*tless.
allow me to share. https://youtu.be/8pT3N3mijSo?si=3q4CDiMs8-PuYAJ8&t=351 Starts at 5:50. I’ve had some scary moments, but this was butt pucker factor 8 at least.
Ooh, I forgot about one.
I was unloading groceries from my gf-at-the-time’s-mom’s car (she let me drive it, very trusting lady).
The car was in the driveway, one of those “garage in the basement” townhouses with a retaining wall next to the driveway, with steps leading to the door.
I grabbed all the bags, went up the steps, through the door. Then after slamming the door with my foot, I heard this loud thrumming sound.
I opened the front door again to see a lifted Ford Excursion with a ranch bumper, impaled into the back half passenger side of the car, flooring it in reverse trying to get unstuck from the car she just pancaked into the retaining wall.
The townhouse was just after a curve on a greasy winter day. The mud tires didn’t give her grip and she plowed into the car.
The scary part was I was standing in the crush zone about 60 seconds earlier.
I would’ve been killed instantly if I’d been any slower unloading groceries.
Did several 360 degrees spins in black ice before at 70 mph.
First time was on a bridge in Miss. on I-10. In a new Plymouth Arrow, which girlfriend (1978) was driving. Hit both sides of the bridge concrete barriers but she only tore off the rubber bumper end caps. We had just left Mobile for Colorado to ski. I got stuck driving the next 1,400 miles though.
Spun my wife’s 1980 Impala in front of a semi on I-65 in 1985. Going uphill. Black ice strikes again.
I think that may have bought me some time to stay alive as the semi was slowed by the incline somewhat. Managed to do a 360 and keep it on the road.
When we stopped at next gas station to let wife pee, (some more) the semi driver pulled in and said it was unbelievable to watch and he was in awe of my saving it.
And that at one point we were less than 100 feet ahead of him during the spin.
I remember my wife started to make me drive everywhere after that little shit show though. And said I missed my calling to be a NASCAR driver for the next 37 years.
She was right about that…
I posted my scariest car experience below, but I’ve got to share my motorcycle close call. My wife was my passenger on our 2006 Dyna Wide Glide. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, back in 2010. We were cruising down one of Kentucky’s perfect back roads. It was a great day to go riding!
We caught a red light and as we were sitting there waiting, I looked in the mirror and saw a huge, 1970s Cadillac slowly pull up behind us. Driving it was a man who appeared to be a good 90 years old. Short fella too, I could barely see his cap over the steering wheel. The light turned green and we were off, leaving the old Caddy in our dust.
About 5 miles up the two lane road, it gets very curvy. As we rounded one sharp curve, suddenly there were two cars stopped in front of us. The guy up front was waiting to turn left into his driveway. I had to really get on the brakes hard to get us stopped, but we had about 6 inches to spare from the car in front of us.
Suddenly, I remember…. The old man and the Cadillac are coming! There is simply no way he will get that land yacht stopped. We were in a BAD spot! I had to back up RIGHT NOW to get around the car ahead of us. So I’m obviously panicking and dog paddling this bike backwards. My wife is yelling in my ear, asking what I’m doing. There was a strip of grass about two feet wide on the right side of the car up ahead and that’s where I went. I remember pulling up on the right of this car, about 6 inches from their door…. I looked inside and saw a young girl in the passenger seat. She looked right at me, puzzled by my actions.
Suddenly, the world seemed to explode! The old man rear ended that car at a good 45mph. The car flew forward and smashed into the guy turning left, which knocked him into oncoming traffic, causing a minor head on collision. Parts of cars and broken glass were suddenly everywhere! Dust, the noise of the crashes, adrenaline..
I looked down. I looked around. I moved my toes and fingers….I asked my wife if she was okay.. she was! We were still on the bike. Still sitting on the small grass shoulder. We were perfectly fine! God was watching out for us that day! Had we not got pulled over, we would have been smashed in between the Caddy and the car he hit!
I dont know how, but everyone was okay. I parked the bike, called 911 and checked on everyone. My wife still, to this day, asks me how I knew to get out of the way. I’ve got no answer to that question. God is my only explanation. I no longer ride. I’ve been fighting cancer for awhile, and my legs are too weak to hold up the bike. This was my closest call ever.
James! great job amigo…I hope you are doing as well as possible. Lost my wife of 39 years to cancer two years ago. And really feel for you man, and your wife of course.
I pray you beat this brother.
God bless, and do your best to make the best of things if possible.
Life is too short already to deal with such crap as cancer.
Prayers for a better new year to you and family.
Thank you very much for the kind words.
My scariest experience in a car? Well, I was a passenger, which is probably why it was frightening. I was 16. My best buddy, Rob, was also 16. This was around 1977, so 1960s muscle was extremely cheap. No one wanted to be seen in “a gas hog”.. Rob had a 1969 Javelin SST with the 390 and side pipes. It had a little rust, but it was very nice. He paid $400 for it.
We were out fooling around one day and ended up in big, abandoned gravel pit doing donuts and driving like Bo Duke. Suddenly a pickup truck appeared. The driver looked to be a cop, so Rob floors it, laughing that he’ll never catch us. We exited the gravel pit sideways, and hit the two lane country road wide open. So far, not scary.
About a mile up the road, there’s a stop sign and you go to the right, which leads to railroad tracks. These tracks sit up on a berm that’s about 3 feet high. In other words, the perfect launch ramp for a Javelin. Remember that I mentioned Bo Duke? We hit that berm doing every bit of 60mph. The Javelin launched into the air, and I remember looking down on the roof of a VW sitting in traffic going the other way. This is the scary part. We landed like a rock and both side pipes went flying off the car! The Javelin did a slow 360 spin out, never leaving our lane, and somehow we were still running and pointed in the right direction!
Up ahead was a big problem! Traffic. No where to go. We were stuck. We sat there waiting, and then we could see the pickup about 1/8 mile back. The officer simply walked up to our car and arrested both of us. We both claimed ignorance, we didn’t know it was the police! (He had no light or siren and was an off duty officer working security at the pit.) We got lucky and found a judge who took mercy on us. All charges were dismissed, as long as we promised to stay out of that little town.
I dont know what part was the most frightening.. The jump or my first time, and only time, getting arrested.
In ’10 or ’11 we were coming from ice climbing trip in my Alfa 159 wagon. My passengers were sleep and we were driving in quite nasty blizzard (4 hour drive) on curvy b-road about 90km/h.
Suddenly I saw a moose jump on the road just ahead of me and had nothing I could do, the road was full on ice with new snow on top and I was sure we were dead. Even with best studded tyres in the market there was no way of stopping in time. I’ve done quite dangerous stuff, but that’s been the nearest I’ve been to death for sure. The moose sprinted across the road and I managed marginally to steer to left and there must have been mere millimeters between the moose ass and the car. I kept on braking and guys woke up wondering what’s going on. And they were greeted by moose running beside the car and me shaking from the adrenaline.
About 7 months into our around the US+Canada honeymoon adventure in out ’76 VW ASI camper we were in Manitoba in a blizzard. Stupidly not stopping and getting a motel, we ventured on. Black ice and a significant crosswind blew the front end around about 180 degrees pushing us off the road onto the shoulder. My words at the time were “Well here we go!”. The bus rolled 1 1/4 times landing on the sliding door. The water tank was leaking significantly, so I slid open the sliding window on the sliding door to let the water go into the snow. Grabbed our camera gear and we climbed out the driver’s door. Got to the pavement and my spouse got a ride in a passing RCMP vehicle, I thumbed a ride and we met up at a cafe hours later. Phoned for a tow with no luck. Some tow folks were there, overheard us, and rallied to our rescue. Righted the bus, and without the weight of the bus, the tow truck would not have made it back to the road. Towed it to a local Buick dealer and left it in the repair bay. Got a motel room, went to the dealer the next morning. All they had to do was put the right front tire back on the rim and off we went. The only injury was when a box between the seats crashed into my spouses thigh, leaving a bruise. We drove that bus 1000 miles back to Seattle where insurance totalled it.
My very first experience driving in snow (spring 2006) knocked my arrogant ass down to earth right quick-like (23 y.o. California kid who just learned how to drive stick and therefore thought I knew everything there ever was to know about driving). Hit a patch of black ice in Vermont in a rental Solara and slid under an 18-wheeler. Thankfully, rather than drag me with it for a few miles and then roll me over with the trailer’s rear wheels, all it did was spit me out into the soft median. Damage was about six grand, all covered by MasterCard’s rental insurance.