White knuckler Drive From Hell

[furrydogs]

I experienced my first white knuckler coming home this weekend from the Mountains on I-70 heading back to Denver. If anybody has driven on I-70 heading East into the Eisenhower Tunnel they'll know what I'm talking about. Traffic was backed up about 3 miles and it was a dead crawl into the tunnel. The bad part was that the road was a sheet of ice and and the grade is about 6%. A lot of 2 wheel drive cars had lost their traction and couldn't make it up the mountain and semis that didn't chain up were stuck in their tracks. Using my manual I was able to finally get traction using 2nd gear but the tires still spinned quite a bit before they finally got some grip. That was the worst part but the whole 120 mile trip was miserable and snow packed. I did feel pretty confident in the Vibe and never felt that it was sliding out of control. Unfortunately the great handling was overshadowed by the incessant rattles that are getting worse as the weather gets colder (I can only turn up my radio so loud!)Anybody else have some drives from Hell?

[millster]

Yikes! Nothing good can come of snow and I-70. I've had several drives like that in the Vibe though. I used to do a lot of driving around the state for work. The winter time between Butte and Helena, MT always made for some interesting drives. I-90 from Anaconda to Missoula was always a thrill as well.

[pmh013]

Trans-Canada highway from Grenfell to Whitewood, Saskatchewan. It was the Friday before Christmas, 2002. The highway was closed overnight, so I met up with the convoy at Grenfell. Why they reopened it, I have no idea, as it was like a sheet of curling ice. I had to go to work to pick up my paycheque ... otherwise no money for my Christmas vacation.I did maximum 40 km/h (25 mph) the entire way, which is about 50 km (31 miles) bumper to bumper with semi's. Oh, and this is not a divided (twinned) highway. It was so slippery that you'd be stopped, and all of a sudden, the semi in front of you would just start to slide sideways. And the highway was only crowned to let the water run off ... it wasn't like it was a race track!I was very happy to have the AWD that day!

[AKLGT]

driving up Arctic Valley on Sunday, i told phil he would actually get to see me drive SLOW! man, the hills were so narrow, snowy and icy. i hate heighths so i don't like driving up or down mountains. we had to slow down twice and then i couldn't get back up the mountain! so we had to slowly back down until it was a flatter area to start again, meanwhile other cars coming down the mountain are watching me drive in their lane! i didn't care cause i didn't want to slide over the edge! phil was getting nervous a couple places i'm sure! (so was i!)

[kostby]

Not exactly white knuckles, but definitely a drive from Hell:Christmas Day 1988, my wife and I were at her parents in northwest Indiana and it began snowing. The overnight forecast had been for 1-2 inches of snow. By 9 a.m. there was already about 3 inches on the ground, so we packed the car and began the 125 mile trip back to Lebanon in I-65 about 10:30 with about 5-inches of lake-effect snow on the ground. I-65 was plowed, but slippery and cars were moving at 45-50 mph. About 11:30 a.m., and just AFTER we passed the last exit for almost 10 miles, we noticed traffic beginning to slow in front of us. Within another 1/2 mile, traffic came to a crawl, then it was completely stopped. There was so much snow already in the median that it was impossible to do a U-turn without getting stuck. Traffic was bumper to bumper, and there was no possibility of backing up back to the last on-ramp either.We had a CB radio, and heard that icy conditions in front of a rest area about 15 miles ahead had lead to a huge accident involving several semi's, a motorhome and a number of cars. It completely blocked both sides of the interstate. It was so icy, that rescue crews had to WALK the last mile to the scene. After 3 or 4 hours, we saw one of those front-wheel-drive GM motorhomes involved in the accident being towed northbound by a wrecker. The front end was completely gone.For 6 hours, we sat in the car without moving. It stopped snowing after about 8-9 inches had fallen. Eventually, traffic began crawling to the next exit, and by 6:00 p.m., we were able to exit the highway. We'd used 1/2 tank of gas, idling for over 6 hours. The scene at the ONLY gas station/restaurant there was something from the Twilight Zone. Everyone had been sitting in their cars, slowly turning into complete ZOMBIES! There was a 30 minute wait just to use the restroom! The restaurant waiting line was over 2 hours. We topped off the gas tank, and decided to get back on the road. Flashing lights stopped us. By this time police had closed all access back on to I-65. We headed west over to US 41 and head south that way. 41 was wet, with a few icy patches, but there was lots of traffic, since the interstate was closed. We made it the rest of the way home in 90 minutes at an average of 65 mph. Total travel time was around 9.5 hours, for a drive that normally takes only 2 hours!

[5lbsofswisscheese]

Reading these, I'm thinking "Thank God I don't live up north where it gets all snowy and crap!" My most frightening driving experience pales in comparison: trying to do the speed limit in a 9 year old Tacoma pickup with a bad master brake cylinder along unfamiliar canyon roads in central Washington state.