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I was driving back from snowshoeing at Rattlesnake point with my g/f at the time. As you come to the road that snakes down the escarpment, there is a 90 degree turn at the crest of the ridge...followed by a 200' drop.
I was driving carefully, given the snowy conditions, doing maybe 50 in a 60 zone. During the day it was warm and sunny, followed by a cold snap at dusk. I guess the snow had melted and flash frozen because when I applied my brakes about 100' from the turn nothing happened. I felt the ABS try to get a grip and watched the guardrail getting closer and closer. It wasn't so much a guardrail as a collection of wooden stakes, I would have gone right through them.
So, the cliff is getting closer and closer, I'm still doing 50 - only sliding. Once within 50-80' of the edge, I tried to steer into a skid...nothing happened. With my wheels hard over, one tyre finally caught a grip and I started a slow rotation clockwise. The car is now sliding sideways towards the cliff and it entered my mind to just bail out of the car, but there would have been no time to get the g/f moving out as well. Luckily, there was a bare patch of road right at the top of the hill and when I slid onto it I started to slow down, finally hitting the posts with my driver's side rear-quarter panel - just hard enough to dent it.
Had I not slid sideways and hit the bare patch, I'm convinced I would have been riding a 2000lb toboggan down the side of the cliff.
My g/f and I sat there, stunned for a few seconds before regaining composure and driving home...carefully.
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