Some days, you may want to consider fitting your car with a pair of these.

Any sort of pileup is bad news for someone’s day. But a pileup on ice can get pretty hectic in a hurry. This video, shot by innocent bystander (and hilarious commentator) Ian Smith, then broadcast on CNN, shows an icy hill in Colorado Springs which claimed an incredible 20 cars in December. Watch the carnage, as it happens in slow motion:

Smith’s crash-by-crash commentary (“Not a good idea! Not a good idea at all!”) is the most entertaining thing we’ve seen on CNN in a long time – maybe he’s got a future as a weather correspondent?

There’s not much you can do when you find yourself sliding on ice, but here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t Slam On The Brakes

Use sparingly.

Pressing down firmly on your brakes in order to stop a skid on ice is not going to work. In the age of anti-lock brakes, you still might be better off trying to pump sporadically in order to gain traction.

Use Your Accelerator, Slightly

Be light on the foot!

Trying to control your vehicle in slick conditions sometimes requires you to accelerate in order to gain control. Your wheels will not go anywhere when confronted by a situation that has no grip. Slightly using some gas is what may work.

Get Some Practice

Get yourself comfortable.

Go out to a snowy parking lot and learn how to drive in slick conditions. This will teach you what to do in an untimely event. The more you know, the better off you will be should you be confronted with some really crappy conditions.

Don’t Panic!

You shouldn’t do this since it takes your hands off the wheel.

Panicking only makes the situation worse. Try to remain calm when you start to lose control. Use the steps above to try and regain control. Tensing up always makes a situation worse than it really is.

Pictures (Chronological)

http://community.livejournal.com/egl/14695507.html

http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~rsl/car/images/car_brake_pedal.jpg

http://www.driversedguru.com/drivers-ed-training-exercises/stage-1/stage-1-the-pivot-method/

http://www.sodahead.com/living/on-snowy-days-have-you-ever-drove-into-empty-parking-lots-to-intentionally-spin-out-of-control-and/question-790329/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://www.pulledover.com/National-DWI-News-Links/uploaded_images/dwi-doughnuts-779150.jpg&q=snowy%2Bdoughnuts%2Bcar

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f6vPFbisEsA/S-NabctHeRI/AAAAAAAACfY/BInLCBrkLWs/s1600/panic.jpg

“The Bimmer, by a nose!”

When you mix ice with pavement and then add a car into it, what do you get? CHAOS!

Icy road car accidents usually happen from a mixture of surprise and inexperience. In warmer states, especially, a sudden snowstorm can mean absolute mayhem, as drivers do not know how to navigate snowy roads, and the infrastructure is not in place to salt and plow the roads. But sometimes a wintertime accident goes from unfortunate to just plain crazy, like you’ll see below. One lesson to take from all this mayhem…accidents are crazier when set to techno music.

10. Georgia Icy Car Slam

Sounds like some sort of festival, doesn’t it? It is a festival every time this southern state gets down to freezing level on the streets – a festival of bedlam! We love the way the Weather Channel camera guys just sit there filming the craziness – how about throwing some salt down, Fellini?

9. The Downward Slide

In this video from Poland, various cars try to make it up (or down) a snowy hill with a steep 12% grade. It gets worse and worse, although the excited dialogue by the camera guys make it funnier and funnier. Couldn’t they stand at the top of the hill and warn people?

8. There’s No Escape!

You can’t go anywhere in a tunnel full of ice. It’s like fighting in a basement: where you gonna run to? Nowhere.

7. A Real Slick Corner

One word: SALT. Another word: SAND. Still another word: GLUE.

6. Tennessee Terror

This icy road in Tennessee is a double danger, as it has a stoplight in the middle of the intersection. After multiple cars pile up, things get worse when they bring out a yellow caution truck, pointing in the wrong direction.

5. “I’m Trying to Stop, It’s Pointless!”

What’s crazier: the people who hang out their doors trying to slow down a car, or the woman who sits down in the road right in front of a sliding car? Hopefully these folks have auto insurance (if not life insurance!).

4. Someone Should’ve Opted for “Second Day Air”

When this police cruiser stops to help a motorist on an icy road, the cruiser cam catches an insane accident at 1:00, when a FedEx truck jackknifes into both cars. (Fortunately, everyone was OK.)

3. Spun

This rollover crash would have been much worse if there wasn’t snow for a buffer. Then again, without slippery roads it never would have happened at all. Snow: You can’t live with it, you can’t live without it.

2. An SUV Doesn’t Solve the Problem

Do you feel protected by your SUV? Well, you’re not! This video shows that 4-wheel drive rendered completely useless by a long, icy hill. The only protection this driver has is supernatural, as he somehow manages to avoid running into anything during his long, perilous slide.

1. Ice Is Dangerous, Even In Portland

We think the first driver in this video has played a little too much Grand Theft Auto.

Pictures (Chronological)

http://www.auto-types.com/autonews/frequently-congestion-and-accidents-on-icy-road-6813.html

What do you get when you mix icy roads, Russian stop signs, and 12 lanes of oncoming traffic in one intersection devoid of traffic lights?  You guessed it, the need for a camera to record all the wacky fun that ensues. 

Thankfully, a YouTuber with access to the footage, a penchant for using the Avatar font, and a less-than-effective spell checker was able to edit and upload some of the wreckage going on at “Glory Avenue”.

While we don’t want to be the ones to tell the city formerly known as Leningrad how to run their roadways, it seems the good citizens can save a lot of money on their auto insurance bills by either avoiding this intersection, or by insisting that their comrades in the traffic department pony up some cash for a few stop lights.

[Source: YouTube]