I’m finding it difficult to buy into the idea that you were such an accomplished driver at the age of 17 that you can give us an accurate accounting of what was and was not happening in that moment. The reason is that you slammed on your pedal and held it there. That was the wrong thing to do. That’s panicking. That’s also human nature and I don’t blame you for it.
But after admitting you didn’t react as the calm, capable driver, please don’t dismiss theories based solely on your expertise of being a calm, capable driver.
It could be that your car naturally fish tailed to one side as you locked the front brakes, and then, as your car turned, you (unconsiously?) let go of the brakes and drove off to the side. After all, once the lateral forces started, you may not have held the brakes as tightly as you think. Occam thinks so.
OTOH, if this were an act of God saving you, why did God allow you to get in the dangerous situation in the first place? This means that not only was this an act of God, but also a message from God. So, what do you think God was saying to you?
Peace.
“Insolent teenagers thinking they’re immortal, I’ll teach them a thing or two…”
Ok, as I said in the OP, yes, it was wrong to panic & slam on the brakes. I knew how to modulate them properly, but I panicked, so I didn’t.
I learned how to drive in snowy & abandoned parking lots. I practiced hundreds of bootleg turns & a few dozen 360’s, as well as endless donuts & constant control of oversteer in the turns. At 17, I could spin the car around & end up between the lines in a parking spot. To me, that’s pretty good…especially when I see how much trouble the average american seems to have parallel parking, or even negotiating a rotary or a 4-way stop.
I will repeat, once again, that I don’t think God had anything to do with it.
>It could be that your car naturally fish tailed to one side as you ?>locked the front brakes, and then, as your car turned, you >(unconsiously?) let go of the brakes and drove off to the side.
Yes, it could be. But it wasn’t. I didn’t let off of the brakes until I came to a complete stop on the lawn. Any buildup of twisting motion occurred in under half a second.
Just looking for rational explanations, is all. I’ve already found an acceptable answer for another, more important & disturbing question than this one. I’ve appreciated all of the comments.
Umm, dude? You still haven’t said why you don’t think it was the axle.
Secondly, you also seem to be ignoring that–unless you were travelling perfectly straight forward–there’s no reason your front tire has to hit anything before your rear.
Finally, by your own numbers, your car was travelling 36 feet per second towards the car, which was 4 feet away, giving you .1 seconds to clear your car’s broadside (I’ll say 5 feet), which means you had to have moved sideways at at least 35 miles per hour instantly, starting from no sideways motion. To me, this suggests that you probably shouldn’t trust your memory of this near-accident.