Two die in three-car crash
Posted by
IB ContributorMarch 31, 2007 11:01 PMAs the song goes, 'it never rains in California', but that wasn't the case this last week when a Lake Elsinore couple died in an auto accident after the driver attempted to enter a rain-soaked, and slippery, northbound lane of the I-5 San Diego Freeway last week.
A commercial truck broadsided Domingo Chavez, 38, and his wife Martha, 45, after their car was left perpendicular to freeway lanes, causing their death, according to The California Highway Patrol report. The commercial truck was pushed into traffic lanes, where a Saturn was unable to avoid hitting the truck. Neither the truck driver, nor the driver of the Saturn was cited..
The California Department of Vehicles advises drivers to allow more time to pass another automobile or to make any lane changes when the roads are wet and/or slippery. The reasons for this is that accumulated oils and silt-like sand work together, when wet, to create a very slick and dangerous road surface. Like driving on ice!
Safe.com has the following advice if you do lose control of your car, and it starts skidding, because of wet conditions:
1. Don't slam on the brakes
2. Apply the brakes in a firm but steady manner
3. Steer in the direction of the skid
4. If your car has anti-lock brakes, apply more pressure to the brakes but do not pump them
Keep the speed down in wet conditions