Winter has returned to South Germany. I got up at 5:30 this morning to be confronted by yet more heavy snow, and the temperature is back down to -5C. Headed off to Stuttgart but 6km from the autobahn there was a traffic jam and I assumed (probably correctly) that the traffic stretched at least to the autobahn, if not further. So, took a detour and headed off under GPS guidance to unfamiliar territory.
I was in a bit of a hurry, so with relief I finally drove onto the autobahn approach ramp. The snow was really thick by this time, but there was no traffic, so I hit the gas. The entry ramp bent sharply to the right, actually considerably more sharply than expected. All of a sudden, and rather unexpectedly, I realized I was going sideways. I’m sure the ESP light was blinking like hell and all sorts of clever electronics were doing their stuff, but my mind was concentrating on other things. Foot off the accelerator and opposite lock and the car 4 wheel drifted from the right lane into the left. The crash barrier and an encounter with the airbags beckoned, I held on and, OMFG, I made it round. No idea how by much I missed the crash barrier.
All that in a car with every safety device known to man and winter tyres. Definitely a lesson in the supremacy of the laws of physics. If I were a smoker I would have stopped for a cigarette.
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Wow – that was close new
Wow - that was close new