Icy Roads

We need signs like this on the UK roads today!

Driving Yorkie to work this morning I was a little suprised to see Debs parked at a very odd angle just up the road from the Garden Centre car park. It was just on the down slope of a little humpy hill type bit of the road. The kind you always have to slow down on because it's a bit of a blind spot. She had just got out of the car and was walking towards the house she was out side.

I slowed down a little more than ususal thinking she's say something about why she was stopped there.... and I found out all on my own! Although I had applied the brake the car just kept on going! With Debs right between my car and hers and no traction on her feet to get out of the way!

Luckily I did get the car to stop in time and she guestured to the small van parked infron of her, which I suspect she had just slid into herself. There was no damage and Debs looked ok talking to the (I guess) owner of the van and as we were all but blocking the road I moved on and dropped Yorkie off at work. As I pulled away again thinking I would stop by Debs and see if she needed a hand, she drove into the car park herself and grinned at me, so I guess she's ok.

Yorkie had said to me to be careful driving home, and I assured him I would be, and was until the last half mile or so.

The majority of the journey to and from Yorkie's work I do on the main road, but for the last bit where I go down a couple of side streets to avoid the worst of the one way traffic system in Lancaster. You can only drive slowly down these bits thank god, as there are speed bumps and so on. One bit has a 90 degree turn on it, which is always surrounded by parked cars. it's a nice wide bit of road, but all the same I was only doing about 15 mph.

The car started to slide side ways and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I took my foot off the accelerator and took it out of gear and hoped for the best.

Some one must be smiling down on me today, and I skidded into the curb.... in the only couple of metres that weren't a line of parked cars! I still hit it with a hell of a bump though. If I HAD hit a car there woud have been some panel beating and re-painting required on both cars! So I consider myself to be VERY lucky indeed!

The stupid thing is this though, ok, in my case I didn't need to be on that bit of road, I skidded on. I could have used the main road which had been gritted. I just didn't think it wouldbe icy on that bit. But the road to the garden centre is used by the people who live on the housing estate there, as well as the garden centre and furnature shop. People NEED to use that road. OK, so the gritters can't get down it, but there is a grit-bin on the end. Does no one who lives or works there care enough to get off their arses to use it? Help out the community around them and spread some grit about? We live on the top of a monster hill, and gritters can't get down our road either, but people who live there use the grit bin and help each other out! It makes sence doesn't it? Even if you are not community minded it would make sence to use the grit bin to stop other people in cars slidding into your car, or garden, or house..... or KIDS!

I was a little shaken, but after a moment I pulled myself together and drove home - slowly and safely - and checked for any damage. None! Yay! And then I spread some grit about on our road, just to make sure!