well, not quite that coldNevertheless, it's enough snow to cause trafffic difficulties, and tonight I witnessed a very minor traffic accident. Much as we have extremely little snow, we have extremely little traffic accidents. In anticipation of the day when blog entries are admissible as evidence, here's a note written close to the time so that I might stand a fighting shot at remembering the details if the insurance companies ask me.
It snowed in Middlesbrough on Thursday 26th February 2004 between approximately 4pm and 5:30pm and from approximately 9:30pm onwards. The air temperature was slightly below freezing. The first snowfall did lay on the pavements without immediately melting and was sufficient to make the roads slippery. The second snowfall was heavier still and again lay on the ground without melting. The depth of the covering was between half an inch and one inch by 10:30pm.
At approximately 10:30pm on Thursday 26th February 2004, I was witness to a traffic accident. A medium blue (modern) Y-registration Vauxhall Corsa turned right from Roman Road into Green Lane and hit the opposite kerb. It was not clear or not whether the car had mounted the pavement and also hit the stone-walled flowerbed. It was clear from the tyre patterns on the road that there was some element of skidding on the icy road. A midnight blue 03-registration Peugeot 307 was following and hit the back of the Vauxhall Corsa when making an identical turn.
Despite the cloudy night sky, the area was well-lit by street lamps. Both drivers were travelling at a prudent speed due to the adverse conditions, cornering at no greater than 10 or 15 miles per hour. There was little other traffic. The following Peugeot 307 was safely distant from the Vauxhall Corsa. Both cars' tyres appeared to be in good condition. The two drivers appeared to be unhurt, got out of their cars and swapped details with each other in a calm fashion.
There appeared to be only very minor damage to the Vauxhall Corsa and no damage to the Peugeot 307. Specifically, the front left hubcap of the Vauxhall was partially bent and partially dislocated from the rest of the wheel. It was not clear whether this was due to the initial impact with the kerb or the subsequent impact from the Peugeot. The rear number plate of the Vauxhall was shattered due to the impact with the Peugeot.
*note to self: scan and paste in pencil diagram*
Yes, I was OK - I witnessed the accident from about 10-15 metres away. All the people involved were OK too, which is the main thing, and I don't think any of them are going to turn into phantom ambulance-chasers.
Other reasons why today was better than the two previous days: a nice long chat with
dezzikitty, the prospect of a silly old video games night tomorrow evening and a visit to the local student cinema to see Spirited Away. (For the third time since either last March or last September.) Almost certainly the first time I've been to the cinema see a film a third time; the first viewing was with subtitles, the latter two were of the dubbed version. Today's audience was, at a guess, 70 +/- 20, which is a very positive sign. Next planned cinema trip: after a hot tip from the cool cats in Lewisham, addedentry, Spellbound next Thursday! 