I think i might have violated traffic code today by not stopping after witnessing somebody spin-out. At the time I thought I might have been in the clear but now I'm feeling kinda shitty about it. My memory is hazy but here's the story:
I commute to school everyday on a main highway. Driving conditions are very bad due to a snowstorm. Visibility is bad, the roads are covered in ice/snow. In good weather the limit is 70, but everybody is going about 45, including me. I'm not about to go wreck my e36 that i've owned for less than a month.
There is a tight spot in the highway that quickly dips into a valley. Both north and south bounds are squeezed together, separated by a tall concrete barrier; there is also a bridge spanning the lowest point, which blocks your view of the up slope.
I'm behind a few cars in the right lane at what I think is a good distance, about to enter the downslope into the valley. Suddenly I see the cars ahead of me brake. I hit my brakes and, though I feel myself slide at first, the ABS is doing it's job and I'm sure I can stop in time. However, the left lane is clear ahead of me and behind me, so instead of just braking I go to the left lane since I don't want to end up at a stand still and risk myself getting rear ended.
At this point everybody, including me, has really slowed down, and I can clearly see why. In the left lane on the ascending slope is a stalled semi, no brake lights, no hazards or anything. It's just sitting there. This is where my memory gets hazy because my mind went into overdrive. Suddenly I see in my rear view mirror a PT cruiser who is going too fast and will rear end me if I don't get out of the way. The stopped semi is a good distance off yet and by this point I've passed the slow cars in the right lane, so I accelerate and move back into the right lane as soon as I can. A second after I'd gotten out of the way the driver in the PT cruiser, who must have slammed on her brakes when she saw me, is spinning out of control right next to me. I heard a thud and saw that she'd smacked the barrier with her front bumper. She spins around and comes to a stop, and I can see that she's the only one in the car and that she's okay. I write her off as a terrible winter driver and I continue on my way since I'm late and there is literally no where for me to stop without congesting things even more, but now I'm not so sure. I'm afraid I may have accidently cut her off when I first switched to the left lane, and when I switched back i'm afraid it caused those behind me to slow down even more and make things worse. Due to the semi the left lane is completely blocked, and I wonder if she might have driven right into the back of the thing anway.
I wish I could remember better because this is bothering me. What should I have done? I can imagine right now the lady in the PT cruiser blaming the asshole in the black beamer who cut her off. But she was clearly going way to fast, especially on that part of the highway.
I commute to school everyday on a main highway. Driving conditions are very bad due to a snowstorm. Visibility is bad, the roads are covered in ice/snow. In good weather the limit is 70, but everybody is going about 45, including me. I'm not about to go wreck my e36 that i've owned for less than a month.
There is a tight spot in the highway that quickly dips into a valley. Both north and south bounds are squeezed together, separated by a tall concrete barrier; there is also a bridge spanning the lowest point, which blocks your view of the up slope.
I'm behind a few cars in the right lane at what I think is a good distance, about to enter the downslope into the valley. Suddenly I see the cars ahead of me brake. I hit my brakes and, though I feel myself slide at first, the ABS is doing it's job and I'm sure I can stop in time. However, the left lane is clear ahead of me and behind me, so instead of just braking I go to the left lane since I don't want to end up at a stand still and risk myself getting rear ended.
At this point everybody, including me, has really slowed down, and I can clearly see why. In the left lane on the ascending slope is a stalled semi, no brake lights, no hazards or anything. It's just sitting there. This is where my memory gets hazy because my mind went into overdrive. Suddenly I see in my rear view mirror a PT cruiser who is going too fast and will rear end me if I don't get out of the way. The stopped semi is a good distance off yet and by this point I've passed the slow cars in the right lane, so I accelerate and move back into the right lane as soon as I can. A second after I'd gotten out of the way the driver in the PT cruiser, who must have slammed on her brakes when she saw me, is spinning out of control right next to me. I heard a thud and saw that she'd smacked the barrier with her front bumper. She spins around and comes to a stop, and I can see that she's the only one in the car and that she's okay. I write her off as a terrible winter driver and I continue on my way since I'm late and there is literally no where for me to stop without congesting things even more, but now I'm not so sure. I'm afraid I may have accidently cut her off when I first switched to the left lane, and when I switched back i'm afraid it caused those behind me to slow down even more and make things worse. Due to the semi the left lane is completely blocked, and I wonder if she might have driven right into the back of the thing anway.
I wish I could remember better because this is bothering me. What should I have done? I can imagine right now the lady in the PT cruiser blaming the asshole in the black beamer who cut her off. But she was clearly going way to fast, especially on that part of the highway.
What about the turbo ones? Those are little sleepers. 
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