Hello everyone,

Well I was coming on the highway today, a little fast maybe, I admit, when my car ran into a huge water puddle that had formed due to recent (heavy?) rain. Now I ran into puddles before, and even on snow and ice (last winter, my first one driving, I still rode at 90 km/h in a snowstorm, while there was at least an inch of freshly-fallen snow on the road), but that one was worse.

I went aquaplaning.

For those of you who don't have a car or live in desert countries (the latter I almost envy, as July 2009 was the rainiest in southwestern Quebec since they started keeping stats in 1947), aquaplaning (or hydroplaning) is the lost of control of a vehicle due to water buildup in front of the wheels. According to Wikipedia, "[i]t becomes in effect, an unpowered and unsteered sled."

The highway at that point (see Google Maps at [link] for the location) has three lanes. I was in the left-most. Most of the puddle was on the (level) shoulder (I almost argued with the police officer that I was not on the shoulder but still in my lane; as I told him, my car most likely made a lot of water splash away when I passed through, as most cars did since... and the Transports Quebec guy who came on the site told the cop that he saw such a puddle get almost empty after another car passed through it), but maybe two or three feet wide and at least an inch deep (more likely two inches) were in my lane.

There was quite a lot of trafic -- it was rush hour after all, just after work--, but not that bad, as most of said trafic was leaving Montreal island, and I was coming inwards (from Vaudreuil-Dorion where I work, which is about 15 to 20 km away from the accident site; I was going maybe 5 km further towards Montreal, to a shopping mall).

My car (Pontiac Wave 2008) went from the left lane, over the center lane, on to the right lane, then I ended up going backwards (but still heading in the same direction) on the grass on the side of the highway (just below the "t" of "Autoroute" on the Google Maps link above)... then, still following its own will, my car (that I was still not controlling) went --still backwards!-- back in the right lane, through the center lane, and in the left lane, where the trunk hit the concrete wall in the middle. Then I stopped.

By miracle, I am not hurt. Maybe a little shoulder tension, but it could have been cause by bad posture at the office; I don't remember it hurting or not before the accident. Nothing bad at worse.

By miracle still, I did not hit any other car! There was an 18-wheeler coming my way not too long after, and I seriously think that if I had gone any slower, it would have taken me more time to cross the three lanes in each way, and I would probably have hit or been hit by another vehicle, big or small.

By miracle again, the 80mm f/5 telescope (similar to that one [link] but not exactly the same) that I had in the trunk is not broken. A plastic case I use to pack up books and clothes I bring when stargazing broke, but it's maybe $10 at WalMart.

Pictures of my damaged car (I'm still waiting for news, tomorrow [Tuesday], from the insurance company as to where it will be fixed and how long it will take) are on my website at [link]

For the moment, I do not have a rental car (they were all closed at that time, except those at the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport in Dorval, who do not cover accident cases) and had to come back all the way to my place (in Les Coteaux, near Valleyfield, Québec, maybe 60 km away) by taxi cab ($80 Canadian), but the insurance will refund me. I'll get a car tomorrow morning from a local rental shop.

Drive safely, everyone!

By the way... I came that close --->||<--- to death... I guess... So let me tell you that I now appreciate every single second of my life!