UNCUT: Ice Rink On Spokane's South Hill; Vehicles Pile-up Crashing Down The Hill

[Mojoe12321]

I'm terrified of going up this hill in the summer. It should be closed during the winter, even if its a big inconvenience, so is a smashed up car!

[Sanosuke004]

Its nice to know these drivers are doing a piss poor job of driving on black ice.. Oh well. Another day at work for towing companies! :D

[swedishiron]

MAGNETO at work!

[jackotatty]

So funny

Watched with my family and we all were laughing

Lol

[kris1379tina]

such ignorance in the comments. were any of you there? do any of you know the conditions? instead of calling them all idiots maybe you should have learned that you should walk a mile in someone's shoes before you judge.

of course there's the "oh I would have done this..." or "I would never have done that..." how do any of you know that none of that happened???

I really don't know the conditions, I really wouldn't want to find out either. I just hope that nobody was hurt.

[scatpack01]

well if you live at the top and the only way is down, and it's icy, and you come down knowing your gonna slide like these idiots, then plan on crashing at the bottom.

[lorenzvc]

the black car at 0:48 ... that driver 's got some balls , and is i think the smartest of em all. dont try to break , it just doesnt work. just calm down and go down in neutral

[mmccul3797]

Ask anyone that has lost a loved one in a fatal accident if Studs are worth it. There are countless fatal accidents that could have been prevented if studded tires were on the vehicles that caused the accident or is involved in a accident. There are many accidents that would never have happened with the extra traction from studs. Guess some people would say road repair cost are more important than traffic deaths. You will think differently when it directly effects you with a death or a disabilty

[ruthven78]

@mmccul3797 - that is a pretty damn big stretch if you ask me...if they lost a loved one, how are they do know if studs would have made any difference at all? Stop talking out the wrong in as if what you say about studs is gospel. What you say is anecdotal at best.

[ruthven78]

Respond to this video...  and again I say, you dont know if any of those drivers had studs or not, Im pretty sure you were paying more attention to not ending up in the pile up or being hit from behind to look intently at every vehicles tiles to see if they had studs. I could say that chains or cables would have helped go down that hill just as much as studs would have but I dont because I dont have any proof...the best thing to avoid sliding down the hill is to not take the hill atall

[mmccul3797]

@ruthven78 Unfortunaly when you live on the hill you have to come down. The city hasn't installed elevators yet so we have to prepare our selves for these conditions when you have hills like this. Chains may work but most people only use them in last resort situations since they have driving limitations and are hard on tires and can risk serous body damage if they break. I had to almost stop to wait for the drivers coming up the hill. I needed to use the uphill lane to get around the pile up.

[mmccul3797]

@mmccul3797 I own 3 Toyota 4x4 trucks and this one is the only one with studded tires and I can tell a night and day difference going from one truck to the other in very slick conditions. The video can't be disputed. Out of control in a pile up or in control and steer around the mess and be on your way without injury or insurance claims. Many accidents are blamed on loss of traction or control in poor conditions. Studs can be difference in arriving safe or having a serious accident.

[mournlight]

Oh jeez, I feel sorry for them and hope no one got hurt. But damn, when warned to not drive, please don't! That's such a helpless feeling and vehicles (studs or not) just aren't compatible with ice in most instances. Matt, even you are lucky, because it isn't just your own vehicle's capabilities that matter. The others on the roads and walkways matter. Bottom line is that it truly just is not worth it so often. Our here-now-me-first society just doesn't have much patience anymore.

[mmccul3797]

I'm the one driving the White Toyota Tacoma truck in the last 30 seconds of the video. I had just put 4 new studded tires on my truck the week before. Its pretty obvious the studs were the only thing working for this condition. The state is considering banning or restricting studded tires and many people are going to non studded winter tires. You judge, 4 wheel drive, non studded snow tires or even some with just all season tires. They paid the price. I made it down the hill just fine :)

Matt

[ruthven78]

@mmccul3797 - hmm allow studded tires or save big money on road repairs....damn, such a hard decision to make! I know let's just increase taxes to pay for road repairs so people can continue to use studs....yeah, good plan!

[darkedgex]

@ruthven78 Studded tires are proven to perform better in icy conditions. Let me be 100% clear here: ICY CONDITIONS. Not dry conditions. Not on bare pavement. Not on compact snow or slush. ON ICE. And on this particular instance, I'd bet studded tires would have kept most of those drivers out of trouble. Outlawing them would be like outlawing airbags: senseless. We live in a portion of the country that has regular snow every year, and we need to budget for road repairs because of it.

[ruthven78]

@mmccul3797 btw, we dont know if any of those other drivers had studs or not, it is plausible that some of them might have had studs too.

[mmccul3797]

@ruthven78 If any of those vehicles would have had at least two studded tires on in good shape. They would not slide and spin like they did in slow motion. I was able to stop just fine. None of those cars were able to stop let alone anything else to gain any control what so ever. Even the 4x4 vehicles were no match for the conditions. That black 4x4 that almost hit me was struggling to keep control from the top of the hill which was about 6 blocks up the hill from where he finally lost it.

[ruthven78]

slick roads....yeah lets drive up and down a steep hill...that sounds smart

[BarbChamberlain]

@darkedgex You're putting words in my mouth. I'm not saying they shouldn't do the best they can and I didn't say they shouldn't deice. I'm just saying it's reasonable to think that we as drivers need to learn these hills become skating rinks and avoid them on our own.

I also didn't point and laugh at the drivers. I was in a very similar situation several years ago on Monroe near Shriners' Hospital and got a nice gouge in the side of my car to show for it.

[darkedgex]

@BarbChamberlain Sorry Barb, the general tone of responses has been of the "point and laugh" variety, I wasn't specifically referring to you. As for reasonable, I think it's reasonable for the City to be on the ball and either close these streets or deice them, but leaving people to just come across them on their own is ridiculous.

[Ranchgirl1000]

i'm afraid to go down that hill anyways.

[Sorcoral]

Looks like a pretty nasty hill. I'm wondering if 4 wheel drive and winter tires are common in Spokane.

[kris1379tina]

@Sorcoral we have 4/all-wheel drive, and most people drive with studs. it's not just snow on the hill. the varying conditions make for a pretty treacherous drive on that hill. snow at night, then it warms up during the day and melts, then rain, then it freezes again followed by more snow.

most people should know not to take that hill in the winter. I stick to grand blvd to go down, it's a little out of the way but they keep it clear since it goes around the hospital, it's always de-iced.

[ruthven78]

@Sorcoral 4 wheel drive only helps in getting going, doesnt help when you slide or for stopping

[BarbChamberlain]

No public budget anywhere has a "surplus" of any kind. Larger budget allocation for snowplowing than in last year's mild winter, perhaps, but no true surplus. It's only December w/plenty of weather left to come & a big city to cover; we can't afford for them to be everywhere, every time. Drivers do have responsibility to pay attention to road conditions & drive accordingly in all types of weather.

[darkedgex]

@BarbChamberlain Sorry, wrong. City representatives came on television weeks ago claiming to have a surplus budget for snow maintenance/removal due to last winters exceedingly light snow season. And again, I challenge you to come to a downhill street and know, in advance, that the road conditions are unsafe. Short of stopping, getting out, and physically inspecting the hill in advance, there's not much anyone can expect when deicer isn't put down and police aren't blocking the street...

[BarbChamberlain]

All the info any driver needs is available right outside your window & within 1-2 blocks of your house. When snow falls roads get slippery. We have steep hills. Snow+Steep Grade=Slippery Hills. Every. Single. Year.

[darkedgex]

@BarbChamberlain So you're taking the position that the tax dollars that we all pay shouldn't be put in to deicing these hills that are slippery. Every. Single. Year? If it's as predictable as you say, then it's even more ridiculous to think the city wouldn't be proactive and either a) shut down these major streets or b) deice them.

But I guess I'm expecting too much from the local government. It's easier to point and laugh at the unfortunate drivers who come across these traps..

[rogerwaller]

I live in Spokane and for some reason people in Spokane think that even with icy and snow, they can still drive like it's July!

[SuperZP2000]

and about the roads not being plowed spokane now has a great polacy that if there isnt 3inches of snow on the ground they wont plow......great idea right?

[darkedgex]

@SuperZP2000 I can understand not plowing in situations where there's less than 3 inches, but putting down deicer, ESPECIALLY ON HILLS, should be done in all snow situations (especially in advance of an impending storm).

[ruthven78]

@darkedgex yep and deicer comes out of the ground for free from deicer springs, and people volunteer to drive around spraying it all over 24 hours a day 7 days a week and stand at the ready waiting for snow storms. The city wizards peer into crystal balls and can predict with 100% accuracy how bad a storm will be and be able to, through mathematical geniuses to compute the exact minute their fleet of 1000 deicer rigs needs to go out to spray and respray and respray to keep everyone safe

[darkedgex]

@ruthven78 Er, nobody said deicer was free. The local government did, however, say that they had a surplus budget because of last years light snow season. Further, on a hill like this it's downright irresponsible of the government not to be ready. And hey, as for the crystal balls, they can throw those out; they could have watched KHQ and seen that snow was coming... stop making excuses for the City.

Blaming drivers for something they can't see until it's too late is downright ridiculous.

[ruthven78]

@darkedgex - and let us burn up that surplus in the first 3 weeks of winter! They didnt say how much, just that there was. It is not the government's job to treat people like sheeple, people should be smart enough to use some common sense (I know, Im asking for way too much). .how many times has weatherman said "SNOW!" and we get none or they say 1 inch and we get 6 inches? Im not making excuses, Im saying stop blaming the city for bad and stupid drivers. Cant see = didnt use brain first

[darkedgex]

@ruthven78 You're an idiot. They DID say how much was left, and it was *substantial*. They only used maybe 30% of their entire budget last season (I can't quote an exact figure, but remembered them saying it wasn't just a few nickles and a dime they found floating around the cab of a deicer truck).

The roads are the CITIES RESPONSIBILITY. It is their JOB to maintain them or block them off if they're unsafe. STOP TRYING TO DEFEND THE CITY AND BLAME THE DRIVERS.

[SuperZP2000]

I know guy lets drive down an icy fucking hill that would be such a great idea i mean snow on the south hill? thats new shit i can see why these guys didnt know that the roads up there are icy

[BrownLabRanch]

Wow, that's some serious ice conditions.

[skipper0802]

@darkedgex I'm not coddling any organization or anyone. My point was that people are responsible for their own decisions. You have your opinion, and I have mine.

[darkedgex]

@skipper0802 How does one make a reasonable decision without the information needed? Most of the people in this video are coming *down* the hill. How do you know, in advance, that the hill is icy? And why, with the City saying to news outlets that there's a budget surplus this year for snow maintenance, would you assume the roads to be dangerous when deicer would have been totally effective here?

You can have an opinion, but you can still be wrong. Laying the blame at the drivers is just that.

[angryscottishrocker]

Stuff I do not miss about Spocompton. Where are the cops to cordon off this hazard? Where's the plow trucks putting out sand? They don't and this stuff happens.

[krims0n70]

Tacoma FTW

[skipper0802]

Really bad conditions to drive in, limited traction, plenty of variables. The city cannot babysit people. People must be responsible for their own decisions.

Yes, this happens every year, and it is unfortunate.

[darkedgex]

@skipper0802 Don't coddle the City of Spokane. This snow storm wasn't unexpected, and they didn't put down deicer in advance of the storm *anywhere*. They talked on the news about how they had a *huge* budget this year because of last years nearly non-existent snow storms, and yet things like this are allowed to happen.

The incompetence is all on the cities side, for allowing conditions like this to occur, and for not, at the VERY LEAST, closing down dangerous streets like this.

[mookeystinks22]

If it weren't so True I'd say funny. But this is a few streets away.... Wow

[coolbrezzeus]

this is a yearly thing you'd think people would know how to drive in it by now...

[AleroR]

I live around this area and had to drive around to rebecca and cuba just to get to my house. Those are not paved streets. This is extremely pathetic. If the car at 0:47 can do it, why can't anyone else?

[RedVoxVulpes]

You know...call me kooky, but if I were there, the first thing I would have done is get to the top of the hill and prevent any more people from trying to come down. Prevention, prevention, prevention. But nah, that's just good ol' common sense, isn't it? We can't have that, it keeps great stuff like this from happening.

You would THINK that a large clusterf*ck of vehicles at the bottom of the hill would dissuade anyone else from attempting it, but again, that requires thinkies, huh?

[sarac007]

Yeah I feel bad for these people. It is true though. The city should have this hill under control. De-icer, dirt, anything that'll help. Not all drivers are bad, shit just happens. And this was very unfortunate.

[Jeremy8703]

Why are there so many morons in this world?

[friedaflute]

which street was this? Monroe?

[Nextel025]

@friedaflute

This is Freya and 12th, I live less than a block from there

[nightslayer1]

The guy at 49 seconds in knows what the hell he is actually doing

[angryflower1]

That's why the city suppose to have de-icers as soon as the snow hits. They have to wait until there's accidents like this to show up.

[leandrosfilm]

I am from Spokane and grew up there so driving in the snow was an annual thing for a long time.

Regardless of how well you can handle your car in the snow and ice, all of these people should have known not to go down a hill like that. Regardless of the vehicle you are driving.

[ihatetwinkies]

you dont have to be a bad driver to slide down a ice hill, if you have no traction you have no control

[hoewacker1]

it's not the Spokanites that are the dumbass drivers it's all the stupid dumbass Californians that dont know how to drive up here

[hdmfba]

Were have the retard gene that comes out of now where when it snows up here. It's amazing how awful drivers people are around here. Spokanites suck at driving.

[leandrosfilm]

@hdmfba Come to Seattle or Portland when it snows/ices over.

[blackpontiac99]

@Spunkied32 REALLLLY wow why dont you go up there and try it yourself dumbass ive done it before there no way to learn anything dumbshit