Perspective...

[biglar155]

So I sit here today with a small chunk taken out of the passenger-side running-board of my Expedition.



To give you an idea of the size, my hand can cover it completely.

Kinda sucks right?

Now for the perspective part: This is the ONLY damage from being run into the median on the expressway at about 60 mph. Oh, NOW it's not so bad is it? Yeah, I don't think it's so bad either.

The guy next to me lost control on an icy bridge. I swerved to avoid hitting him and found myself in the (rather deep) ditch in the median trying to regain control.

When all was said and done, I was able to drive it back onto the road. Holy crap.

The other guy went off the road on the other side, but was also unscathed.

I didn't see the above damage in the quick walk-around (along side a slippery expressway, truck now covered in mud and cat-tails). Everyone was O.K. and we didn't think we made contact with each other so we didn't bother to exchange info - we just wanted to get out of that spot. I BELIEVE the damage was caused by his utility trailer swinging into me. The front of the vehicle is to the right in the pic so it's the only explanation for the direction of the "peel" - even though we didn't feel it hit.

The scariest part is that I was fully loaded: All 4 kids, wife, and dog. We were coming home from my Mom's in the U.P. of Michigan after our Christmas visit. This was about 4 hours into the 6 hour trip.

So many bad things could have happened that it pains me to think about it. Lots of "what ifs" that could have gone really bad for us if things had happened differently. (I'm thinking a more narrow median, a culvert, another vehicle stuck down there...)

So great news! As of right now we don't have to spend the Christmas Season in the hospital or the funeral home. That was kind of the plan, but it suddenly sounds SO good.

I'll be honest: This one rattled me a bit. I haven't had an "almost" like this since I was in my 20's and back then there was a lot less precious cargo to lose if things went south.

So let's keep things in perspective this Christmas gang. Those little dings and dents that life throws at us all are just that: Little. Don't let 'em get you bent out of shape.

 

[captras]

Glad you are safe.....there is something to say about driving a big SUV.....regardless of what the global warming idiots say Anyway, moments like that always make you reflect and appreciate the life you have.....Not that any of us need those scare the crap out of you moments, but they do serve to remind us how fortunate we are!!!!

 

[SCSTWG]

Glad you are safe. Certainly could have been much worse. I have taken a much more cautious approach to driving as I have gotten a little older, but you still can;t control what the other people do.

 

[PEARCE]

Damn you got lucky @biglar155 ! Glad you came out with ONLY a scratch.

We have two 4 door Nissan cars that we drive daily for commuting economical reasons and our big truck for traveling and towing needs. If we are taking a road trip farther than a hour from home we generally take the truck. It's not only safer and much larger then our two cars, there's just more room for us to spread out a little. I'm a slim 6'4" and our two kids who are 12 and 8 y.o. appear to be following my form. My wife is only 5'3" and our daughter has already passed her in height and our son isn't far behind. I'm hoping that our next vehicle purchase will either be a 1\2 ton crew cab pickup or a midsized or larger suv to replace one of our cars.

 

[rkluck]

Wow glad you and your family are safe!

 

[McMark]

The mojo was definitely working in your favor. Glad everyone is ok. We also use a smaller commuter for daily work shuttling but traveling is alway in the truck. It's better to be the bat than the ball.

 

[biglar155]

Thanks guys.

There's no question in my mind that a big SUV was a large part of what saved us. The "perfect spot" was another thing.

As we went in, I knew I could keep it in the ditch (as opposed to heading into oncoming traffic), and keep her "on her feet." What I didn't know was what was IN that ditch. There could have been anything from culverts to cables to God-Knows-What. We hit a HUGE water puddle as we got to the bottom of the ditch. That helped slow us down to a manageable speed, but it also shot a tidal wave of water, mud and cat-tails over the windshield. All I could think of was "Great. Any chance I had at avoiding obstacles in this stupid ditch just went out the window." That's when the automatic wipers kicked on and cleared my view. (THERE's a feature I never thought I'd "need" for ANY reason.)

The Lord was watching over us because there were no obstacles, no barrier cables (which have become pretty common around here), no culverts, no other cars, no nothing. If it had to happen, that was the ideal spot for it to happen.

A short while later we found a safe spot to pull off and check things out. That's when I saw my radiator packed full of dried grass and weeds. I mean it was PACKED. (Thinking about it, I'm wondering if I didn't hit the remnants of a hay-bale. They put them in the ditches to reduce erosion.) I cleaned it out the best I could by hand but ultimately had to pull out the shop-vac when I got home. I'm still pulling straw and grass out of various cracks and crevasses between body panels and light assemblies.

 

[itsdgm]

Wow. Glad you guys came out ok.

 

[Evildwarf]

Any crash you can walk away from is a good one....
Over my career on a fire truck I've seen many wrecks that didn't turn out so well for folks involved.
I think you have the correct perspective on this experience.

 

[Ilmmct]

@biglar155, no religious affiliation and taking nothing from your driving prowess, but the big guy came to my mind when I read your 1st post

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I think we all take to many things for granted, for that reason I would leave that running board just the way it is as a reminder that at any time things can go terribly wrong and how you managed to avoid a possible disaster for everyone involved.
You know your life is in peril when everything goes into SUPER SLOW MOTION as you analyze all the input and make decisions in a nano second. Glad you and your family came out of this ok , that is all the really matters.