I love my Hyundai Sonota, say what you will about Hyundais, but this thing is great. Manual transmission, 6 speaker CD, sunroof, and i like to drive it. It was 2:45 in the morning and i was on my way back from taking a friend home, just going a couple exits on I-75 in Tampa. It was raining, not a cloud burst or anything but enough to make the roads bad. In the right lane going probably 65 or so i saw a semi up ahead on the right. As there were cars in the left lane and i was going relatively slowly i didnt feel the need to switch lanes, instead i just slowed down to 55-60, but then something happened.
My steering had no effect and neither did my brakes. I realized oh sh*t, im hydroplaning and have no control and theres a huge f*cking semi on the shoulder a foot or less from the white line. But then i realized, wait, even though my wheel is turned left i'm still going pretty much straight, i may not go off the road and rear end the semi and die after all! The second realization that hit me was, i'm not going straight, i'm going slightly to the right, and so by this time i had hydroplaned almost to the semi, still going relatively fast. As it sunk in i was not going to avoid the semi I consoled myself with the thought, at least its not much of an angle, it'll just take a little paint off. Then came the impact. Sure enough no hard stop or anything, no airbags, i just seem to slide into the semi and move back into the lane.
I of course stalled the car, but when it started and i tried to move off the road it wouldnt budge. I got out as the semi drivers came running up. Turns out they had been helping a girl who had spun off the road after locking up at teh same point i did, so they had stopped for her. We saw my car, the wheel was bent, there was no moving it. After several just-in-time lane changes by other semis and vehicles the drivers got some warning triangles up and the FHP showed up, originally intended for the girl who had spun off. The semi drivers kept telling me, man stay away from your car, its gonna get hit. The officer took me into his car where he started getting my info and proceeded to tell me someone was gonna hit my car. As if i didn't feel bad enough already.
The story ends for now with no one hitting my car and me having to pay $160 cash to a tow truck, a ticket for failing to maintain control of my car (i guess i can't argue), and an insurance premium thats gonna rocket up. The moral is never face your hyundai off against a semi... the results aren't good... trust me... but better alive and complaining than dead so you gotta look at the bright side.
My steering had no effect and neither did my brakes. I realized oh sh*t, im hydroplaning and have no control and theres a huge f*cking semi on the shoulder a foot or less from the white line. But then i realized, wait, even though my wheel is turned left i'm still going pretty much straight, i may not go off the road and rear end the semi and die after all! The second realization that hit me was, i'm not going straight, i'm going slightly to the right, and so by this time i had hydroplaned almost to the semi, still going relatively fast. As it sunk in i was not going to avoid the semi I consoled myself with the thought, at least its not much of an angle, it'll just take a little paint off. Then came the impact. Sure enough no hard stop or anything, no airbags, i just seem to slide into the semi and move back into the lane.
I of course stalled the car, but when it started and i tried to move off the road it wouldnt budge. I got out as the semi drivers came running up. Turns out they had been helping a girl who had spun off the road after locking up at teh same point i did, so they had stopped for her. We saw my car, the wheel was bent, there was no moving it. After several just-in-time lane changes by other semis and vehicles the drivers got some warning triangles up and the FHP showed up, originally intended for the girl who had spun off. The semi drivers kept telling me, man stay away from your car, its gonna get hit. The officer took me into his car where he started getting my info and proceeded to tell me someone was gonna hit my car. As if i didn't feel bad enough already.
The story ends for now with no one hitting my car and me having to pay $160 cash to a tow truck, a ticket for failing to maintain control of my car (i guess i can't argue), and an insurance premium thats gonna rocket up. The moral is never face your hyundai off against a semi... the results aren't good... trust me... but better alive and complaining than dead so you gotta look at the bright side.
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