If your accelerator got stuck, would you know what to do?
Last July, the rear tire tread came off my van at 65 miles per hour on the Florida turnpike. Although the urge was there, I know instinctively, that using the brakes would send us into an irrecoverable roll. Many years of driving on snowy Canadian roads, gave me the manual practice that still left its imprint after 15 years in America. We skidded down the highway sideways while I continued to try to steer us out of the skid and ease to the shoulder and out of traffic. By the time we impacted the soft shoulder, we were less than half speed. Although we rolled, I think it might have ended much worse.
Anyone that has dived rebreathers for a long time will share that they have had bad days when either the equipment failed or they made stupid mistakes. If your skills are well practiced and manual responses are instinctual, then your chances of survival will be far greater. Practice doesn’t always make perfect, but survival doesn’t have to be pretty… just effective. Jill Heinerth
The news these days is filled with horror stories of people on cell phones with a 911 operator, panicking as they speed down the highway, out of control. Unfortunately, some of these cases ended in fiery crashes when neither the driver, the passengers nor the operator thought to switch the car into neutral.
Last July, the rear tire tread came off my van at 65 miles per hour on the Florida turnpike. Although the urge was there, I know instinctively, that using the brakes would send us into an irrecoverable roll. Many years of driving on snowy Canadian roads, gave me the manual practice that still left its imprint after 15 years in America. We skidded down the highway sideways while I continued to try to steer us out of the skid and ease to the shoulder and out of traffic. By the time we impacted the soft shoulder, we were less than half speed. Although we rolled, I think it might have ended much worse.
Anyone that has dived rebreathers for a long time will share that they have had bad days when either the equipment failed or they made stupid mistakes. If your skills are well practiced and manual responses are instinctual, then your chances of survival will be far greater. Practice doesn’t always make perfect, but survival doesn’t have to be pretty… just effective. Jill Heinerth
Great tie between what's in the news, your incident and the what-ifs we face diving CCRs. All require thinking about -- and practicing, if possible (don't roll your van) -- what to do BEFORE it happens.
Posted by: Karl Shreeves | 01 March 2010 at 10:39 AM