kezabelle
09-11-2007, 02:16 PM
Just had one of those experiences...
Decided to meet hubby at work for lunch. The kids get car sick so I usually take the new highway, but as I had none with me today, I thought I'd take the old Pacific Highway through the ranges. Anyone who has ever travelled a stretch of that old highway will get the picture... lots of windy bits and cliffs.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a stream of cars doing 50 km/h in a 90 km/h zone. :headh: Yes it has been raining, but that seemed a bit of excessive caution to me. As we came to the overtaking lane, and a small part of my brain wondered why no-one else was overtaking, I began to accelerate (only a bit as I was wondering why no-one else was). I would have been doing 60 km/h at the most and the bend was very slight, but my tail slipped out from under me.
It's amazing how many thoughts can go through your head at times like that! Part of my brain was glad the kids weren't there, but another part was worried about the one in my tummy! So, as I fish tailed along the road, I first worried that I would hit the car I had been passing. Then, as it accelerated, I changed to worrying that I would go over the cliff... and as I finally started sliding sideways into the cliff wall, I worried that I would hit too hard or roll the 4WD. Thankfully, the wall was quite muddy and didn't collapse and the car is only scratched.
I next worried that someone would come tearing around the bend as I got the car out of the ditch and back the right way. A car did come along behind me and when I pulled over a few metres up the road, he stopped and checked I was okay. Apparently that stretch of road is notoriously dangerous as there is a lot of oil on it. Hubby was surprised I didn't know this! :blink: I was so grateful this guy stopped as I was shaking so much I could hardly stand. The cars that had been ahead of me (including the one I nearly hit that I was passing) all kept driving even though I had ploughed into the wall before they were out of site!
So, all is well and I continued to drive to meet hubby (crying for the first part) and then returned the same way (extremely slowly and cautiously) so I have 'hopped back on the horse'. Still feeling a bit shaken and still can't believe the other cars didn't stop! But, hubby swears that it's good to have that sort of adrenaline rush at least once a day! :blink:
Decided to meet hubby at work for lunch. The kids get car sick so I usually take the new highway, but as I had none with me today, I thought I'd take the old Pacific Highway through the ranges. Anyone who has ever travelled a stretch of that old highway will get the picture... lots of windy bits and cliffs.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a stream of cars doing 50 km/h in a 90 km/h zone. :headh: Yes it has been raining, but that seemed a bit of excessive caution to me. As we came to the overtaking lane, and a small part of my brain wondered why no-one else was overtaking, I began to accelerate (only a bit as I was wondering why no-one else was). I would have been doing 60 km/h at the most and the bend was very slight, but my tail slipped out from under me.
It's amazing how many thoughts can go through your head at times like that! Part of my brain was glad the kids weren't there, but another part was worried about the one in my tummy! So, as I fish tailed along the road, I first worried that I would hit the car I had been passing. Then, as it accelerated, I changed to worrying that I would go over the cliff... and as I finally started sliding sideways into the cliff wall, I worried that I would hit too hard or roll the 4WD. Thankfully, the wall was quite muddy and didn't collapse and the car is only scratched.
I next worried that someone would come tearing around the bend as I got the car out of the ditch and back the right way. A car did come along behind me and when I pulled over a few metres up the road, he stopped and checked I was okay. Apparently that stretch of road is notoriously dangerous as there is a lot of oil on it. Hubby was surprised I didn't know this! :blink: I was so grateful this guy stopped as I was shaking so much I could hardly stand. The cars that had been ahead of me (including the one I nearly hit that I was passing) all kept driving even though I had ploughed into the wall before they were out of site!
So, all is well and I continued to drive to meet hubby (crying for the first part) and then returned the same way (extremely slowly and cautiously) so I have 'hopped back on the horse'. Still feeling a bit shaken and still can't believe the other cars didn't stop! But, hubby swears that it's good to have that sort of adrenaline rush at least once a day! :blink: