Skill, coolness, and huge luck

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I came very close to death or serious injury this morning.  It snowed about 1/4 inch during the start of the commute, and the temp was perfect for patches of black ice.
I was in a group of cars travelling about 30 mph on a 4 lane street.  There were 4 cars in front of me, two in each northbound lane.  I was the third car in line in the left lane, and had a clear spot to my right.  A similar group of cars was headed towards us in the southbound lanes, accelerating away from a traffic light that was now green.  I saw the look of the pavement change, and knew.... just KNEW, what was going to happen next.
I began pumping my brakes.  There was no traction, and the car went slightly out of shape with each tap of the pedal.  Ahead of me, it was a three count before anyone else realized how much trouble we were in.  Their first clue was when the four cars in front of me spun simultaniously.
I'd already shed some speed, so I had a moment to watch and think.  The two cars on the right spun over the curb and into a parking lot.  The lead car on the left spun into the path of oncoming traffic.  The second car on the left spun right down the middle of our two lanes.  The lead two oncoming vehicles struck the lead car in a double T-bone.  One was a pickup, and it veered towards a head on colision with me.  I nudged the steering right, but the car wouldn't turn.  My hand was on the stick, so I reached down and nudged the E-brake momentarily to point the car right, then tapped the gas.  My front wheel drive urged the car into the right lane as the pickup's smashed grill wizzed by 6 inches from my face.
Next problem.  One of the spinners into the parking lot had ricochetted off a light pole, and was sliding backwards down the curb into my path.  I did the same little dance at the controls and urged the car left, just avoiding the spinner.  My eyes went to the mirror to see what clearence I had available, and I'll never be able to forget the sight of the pickup going head on with the car that had been behind me.  It lifted the pickup's rear tires off the ground!  
One more spinning car in front of me.  Gravity was sucking him down the road crown toward the curb.  There was a slight gap in the oncoming traffic, so I dropped 2 wheels over the center line as I slipped by the last spinner, tucking in just in time to avoid a second head on collision.
The entire time I'd been weaving, the world around me was filled with the sound of BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! as cars piled into each other in all four lanes.  Breaking free of the scene, now down to about 15mph, I looked in the mirror once more.  Pieces and parts were flying in all directions, parts were falling from the sky, and cars were still sliding into the pile.
Three things amaze me about this incident.  First, that I had the skill both to forsee this situation, and also to drive through it.  Second, that my heart rate didn't even rise during or after the event.  I stayed perfectly calm throughout.  For me, it was just business.  I thank racing for this.  Six years of competition have honed me to a level that put me way ahead of the other drivers involved this morning.  I was alert, prepared, and I did not panic.
Third, and most important, that God was looking out for me.  He had provided me with the skills and mindset to survive, but also with the luck that one must have in such a situation.
That was just bloody scary!

[EX#996]

Holy crap!!!!

Thank God, you made it through OK.  

For me I'm totaly calm during the 'stressful event'....  it's after everything ends that I get that HUGE adrenaline rush.

Dawn  

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

I Did a 360 on teh Beltline in Madison with my old sonoma. Even waved to the guy behind me when I was facing him at 60 mph in reverse. ;D And to top it off I even stayed mainly in my lane, straightened it back out and kept going like nothing happened. ;D
Why I couldnt had a passenger when this happened? ;D

[Jeff]

Good on ya K3...  Glad you made it through and gave credit where due...

[251am]

  I'm nowhere near the K3 level on a track, but I have experienced that same phenomenon; fast riding/racing skills are definitely a part of driving reaction and intuition at the wheel. Saved my butt a couple times.  Sounded like you were doing the Menage e Tuono dance on Black Ice today. I liked that Tuono piece you wrote-where's that there book you've written? Got a publisher?  

[secularist]

great job saving it those are some mad skills!  at least now you know what kind of racing you'll do when you're done with motorcycling...you're a born rally car driver!!!

[OmniGLH]

That is awesome. (not the crashes... but that you avoided them like that.)

I totally think racing is to blame (positively) for your ability to stay calm and collected in those kinds of situations.  I've been in a few potentially scary situations myself (though nothing like you've described) and I thank my racing reflexes for being able to correctly predict what was about to happen, and react to keep myself out of trouble - all while staying calm and thinking clearly.

People who don't know, call us racers "adrenaline junkies" or just plain "crazy."  I think we're just smarter than the rest.  :)

[gma]

go on witchyo bad self! mad squabbles, you got, k3.

i can totally relate. been in many similar situations and i as well have to thank God and racing. i firmly believe that racers make better drivers. i'd love to do and publish a study.

but ...

the thing that scares me the most, is my job. i now feel it's threatened.

anyone who can observe, record and replay a multitude of simultanious events as well as you did, has what it takes to be a motorsports broadcaster. my only saving grace is my good looks ...

whew!

that was a close one!!!

;)

[grasshopper]

Was this in Kankakee? Where at?

The Lord Is With You!

WOW! You can thank god for the racing skillz, luck, and everything!

[dylanfan53]

I woulda just hit the SOB for getting in the way. :P

Nah really...I could have driven like that too...if I really wanted to.

 ;D

[secularist]

just out of curiousity...if God was looking out for K3, then the logical conclusion is that God wasn't looking out for the people who plowed into each other.  how does that work, exactly?  wouldn't God be looking out for all?

it isn't that K3 just happens to be skilled and used good judgement where others didn't?

[Speedballer347]

Geeze....talk about a coincedence!

Here I am driving my pickup to work today in oncoming traffic and some jerk w/ ChiTown Hustler stickers on his ride tries to tag me w/ an E-brake check.  Lucky for me, I was able to put my pickup into a spin and miss the fool 8)




 :D