Thirty years ago, I was being driven in my CUCV from Camp Page (Chuncheon) to a meeting in Yongsan (Seoul). It was overcast, cold and rainy that morning. We were on a concrete section of two-lane road just outside of Gapyeong when a ROK Army jeep and a civilian motorcycle both passed by us (way too fast) on the left. When the jeep cut back into our lane, it went into a spin but continued its forward momentum on the road. I told my driver: “Take your foot off the gas, but don’t stomp on the brake.” He did what I asked, and just at that moment, the motorcycle had pulled in behind the jeep and slid out from under its rider. Like the jeep, the motorcycle spun on the black ice but continued its forward momentum, so now two vehicles were spinning in front of us. To make it even more interesting, the rider of the motorcycle had managed to land on his feet and was sliding in the same direction. The diesel CUCV slowed down enough that we were able to navigate around everyone without hitting them, and no one was hurt. In fact, other than laying the motorcycle over, there was no damage to the other vehicles. That little section of road passed through an open, flat agricultural area that had dropped just below freezing at dawn. Out of the whole trip between Chuncheon and Seoul, it was the only stretch of road that was black ice instead of just wet. There had been no freeze warnings, and no one else had reported issues anywhere else. Just in the right place at the right time, I guess.
Thirty years ago, I was being driven in my CUCV from Camp Page (Chuncheon) to a meeting in Yongsan (Seoul). It was overcast, cold and rainy that morning. We were on a concrete section of two-lane road just outside of Gapyeong when a ROK Army jeep and a civilian motorcycle both passed by us (way too fast) on the left. When the jeep cut back into our lane, it went into a spin but continued its forward momentum on the road. I told my driver: “Take your foot off the gas, but don’t stomp on the brake.” He did what I asked, and just at that moment, the motorcycle had pulled in behind the jeep and slid out from under its rider. Like the jeep, the motorcycle spun on the black ice but continued its forward momentum, so now two vehicles were spinning in front of us. To make it even more interesting, the rider of the motorcycle had managed to land on his feet and was sliding in the same direction. The diesel CUCV slowed down enough that we were able to navigate around everyone without hitting them, and no one was hurt. In fact, other than laying the motorcycle over, there was no damage to the other vehicles. That little section of road passed through an open, flat agricultural area that had dropped just below freezing at dawn. Out of the whole trip between Chuncheon and Seoul, it was the only stretch of road that was black ice instead of just wet. There had been no freeze warnings, and no one else had reported issues anywhere else. Just in the right place at the right time, I guess.