An Edinburgh woman who wrote off her car when it crashed going at just 35 miles per hour is looking to warn others.
Maria Smith said her car had to be scrapped after the brakes failed to stop her from hitting the motor in front. The incident happened on Thursday morning when road conditions were worsened by ice.
Thankfully, all involved walked away from the crash with no injuries. Now, Maria is hoping others can avoid getting into similar accidents as the cold spell persists.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Maria said: “I was on the A904 near Abercorn old school at about 9.30am on Thursday.
“I was driving from my home in Edinburgh to Stirling. I was the only one in the car, and crashed into another vehicle with two people in it. Luckily they were fine too. Either my brakes failed, or it was ice, either way they didn’t work.
“We all had a lucky escape. I was only going about 35 mph and had well over the stopping distance with the vehicle in front. I think if I hadn’t done either of those things the outcome would have been very different.
“Everyone who stopped to help, I really appreciate it. The people that I crashed into, thank you for being so lovely to me and sorry for the horrible start to the day.”
Traffic Scotland issued advice for drivers, suggesting keeping well back from the road user in front, as stopping distances can be ten times greater than on dry roads. They added: “Be prepared for the road conditions to change over relatively short distances.
“Drive particularly slowly on bends where loss of control is more likely - brake progressively on the straight before you reach a bend. Having slowed down, steer smoothly round the bend, avoiding sudden actions.
“Check your grip on the road surface where there is snow or ice by choosing a safe place to brake gently. If the string feels unresponsive this may indicate ice and your vehicle losing its grip on the road.
“When travelling on ice, tyres make virtually no noise.”
You can listen to Traffic Scotland Radio to keep up with information about weather, road and traffic conditions.
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