Someone from the insurance company took a look at it today and gave us some numbers.
He assessed its value at about $3500.
He estimated that the cost of repairs would be just under $6000.
I’ll miss you, Explorer.
Reasons to buckle your seatbelt, Part 2
Clicking the “8 photos” link on this one will show you pictures of the Explorer the day after my rollover. I still won’t judge if you decide not to look at this batch. Continue reading “Reasons to buckle your seatbelt, Part 2”
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Reasons to buckle your seatbelt, Part 1
Don’t click on the “7 photos” link unless you want to see the pictures I took of the embankment the day after my rollover. Don’t worry, I won’t judge if you don’t look. Continue reading “Reasons to buckle your seatbelt, Part 1”
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Buckle up for safety! No, seriously, buckle up.
I’m lying in bed writing this feeling achy with a couple really sore muscles in my neck and left shoulder, but otherwise in pretty good shape. The Ford Explorer I was driving on Friday night didn’t fare quite so well.
I went to “Bad Movie Night” at a friend’s house (for the record, don’t waste your time watching “Troll 2”) and was driving home, looking forward to my warm, snuggly bed. The weather conditions at the time, however, were not conducive to driving. There was wet snow coming down from the sky, gusting wind and the temperature had dropped a few degrees below freezing. Very not conducive.
There were some people who were creeping along in the right lane of 35E southbound, but I figure I’ve got a stable vehicle and I’m confident in my mad driving skillz, so I was cruising along at the speed limit (70 mph). At one point, though, I hit a patch of ice and started twisting a little bit. I kept the wheels forward and they caught again after a split second, but that brief moment of lack of control was unnerving.
I think it was the wind that made me slow down to 60—SUVs aren’t known for being aerodynamic, so if they get hit in the side with a gust of wind, it will push them in that direction. That’s usually easily correctable, but not when you’re on another patch of ice. No, at that point, you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature and she wasn’t feeling terrible merciful at about midnight last night.
I was heading south on 35E and had just passed the exit ramp going down to Hwy 42. You’re driving into a lot of open space at that point, so there’s nothing to block gusts of wind that come at you from an angle on the driver’s side. I was moving along in the left lane, then the wind hit and pushed the front of the Explorer to the right. The wind stopped pushing; the Explorer didn’t stop turning.
That spot on 35E had become sheer ice. I kept the front wheels pointed down the road like before, but they didn’t catch this time. I kept spinning for a full 180 degrees, then rolled off the side of the road and down the embankment. Continue reading “Buckle up for safety! No, seriously, buckle up.”
