Driving on Ice

Jonah's had his learners permit for a month now and I have to admit that he has been an excellent driver from the very first day. He seems completely natural behind the wheel and is eager to learn more.

Just like city kids learn to drive in traffic, mountain kids learn to drive by cliffs on ice. This morning was his first opportunity to do that. While we were still sitting in the driveway I told him that he just needed to know two things. Drive much slower and leave a lot of room between you and the car in front.

"Ya, Dad, I know."

At the first stop sign I told him he approached it too fast for driving on ice.
He said that he didn't see any ice so I told him about black ice and that you can't always see it.

"Ya Dad, I know."

Swan Mountain is between my house and the high school. It's curvy, steep, narrow, and often icy. (even in June) The top speed limit is 35mph. Jonah was doing about 30mph on a downhill curve when he started fish tailing on black ice.

Into oncoming traffic.

For a few seconds our van pivoted back and forth and couldn't decide if it was going to go left into the Jeep or right off the embankment. (I was hoping for the embankment)

To my credit, I didn't scream, yell instructions, or grab the wheel. To his credit he didn't scream, over correct, or slam on the brakes. I'm not sure if there was screaming in the Jeep or not. Although Jonah got us into the mess he very expertly got us out of it as the oncoming cars went wide around us.

I smiled at him. "That was scary."

"Yes it was." he calmly admitted.

When we got to the high school I told him that other than almost getting us killed he did a very nice job. I asked him if he knew now why he needs to go slow on ice.

"Ya, Dad."

Now I know he knows.