This is an amateur video recorded off a rooftop/balcony in Portland. The first car keeps smacking into everything and while it's sad for the driver, it doesn't look like anyone was too seriously hurt (aside from all the cars!).

I ended up laughing at it.

And tomorrow I head out to a client in somewhat icy/snowy conditions - I'm so glad I have snow tires!

Each and every one of those morons doesn't deserve to have a license. Oh, and what happened to the firetruck?

A solitary killer, the firetruck stalks its prey... the firetruck can consume eight times its body weight ... the ambulances will have to wait their turn.

Ah, driving in Portland. You shouldn't be so hard on them, blankman. It can get really slick here.

Idea for a viral car commercial; amateur footage of cars bouncing around like this, then my car company employer's car driving threw without a problem as people who dove out of the way slowly get up and admire it.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

I don't understand why they keep trying to drive. A couple of them look to have been parked, and decided it was a good time to go for a drive.

CHAINS ON YOUR TIRES PEOPLE. Two words black ice. In my opinion black ice is worse than this because one minute you are driving fine, and then bam. Pinball! I know most places chains are illegal, but even the fuzz puts chains on their tires. When you spin out, you don't accelerate on ICE. That first guy hit the gas every time he thought he had a chance to save the spin. In ice, there is no chance, you just have to let your car go.

So we don't drive in it, or we put chains on our tires. I know it seems like a redneck thing to do but if you have to drive then its better than sliding all over the place.

Hence the reason i don't drive in this crap, ill call my work and say "boss, i just looked out side and there where about 5 cars sliding around and hitting every thing in site. I think I'm gonna be late, because I'm gonna walk it."

It sounded like the first guy/gal kept pounding the gas instead of the brakes, ending up with much worse damage than if he or she had calmly held the brakes and waited for the slide to end.

A few words on living in Portland:

Portland is 100' over sea level. It has very mild winters with the temperature rarely dropping under freezing. It tends to snow here about three times a year, and the snow actually sticks maybe once, maybe not.

Because of the relative rarity of real snow - and ice for that matter - few people in Portland buy chains or snow tires. It's a different matter when you head east, out toward Mt. Hood (view from Portland), where traction devices are required during the winter on various roads. Here, in the city, though, people just don't bother.

Driving in rain is something Portlanders understand. Driving on snow is an alien concept. They just don't get the amount of time necessary to build experience at it.

Me, I grew up in Massachusetts. I keep chains, a shovel, a tow rope, and a few bags of sand in my pickup every winter. Well... every winter except this one. See, I have a new vehicle, and haven't fitted it for chains yet. Frankly, it doesn't really matter. When it snows here, they only plow the major roads. If you don't live on one of them, you're SOL for driving. The public transit is one option - they do chain those beasts up - but that still requires walking a decent distance through the snow to get out to a bus. Most people in the city don't do that, and if you're commuting from a suburb, that might mean walking a few miles.

I suppose the questions are:

* How much money does the city lose each year by having so many businesses shut down?

* How much would it cost to outfit a larger fleet of plows and pay the hourly wages necessary?

* How much does the insurance company lose by having to pay out for all that damage? How much do they stand to make in the long run with increased premiums?

Ill, but enjoying my snow day anyway,
oohahh

Well no matter what thats pretty horrible driving, they all LOCK their wheels while moving, worst move ever, when its that slippery, either dont drive, or drive SLOWLY, and keep the wheels spinning at the speed they are supposed to go, that way you'll have some control, brakes are no good in conditions like this.

Hot off yesterday's presses:

Snowball fight ends in stabbing in SE Portland

05:32 PM PST on Tuesday, January 16, 2007

By ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff

An errant snowball led to a stabbing in southeast Portland Tuesday afternoon, police said.

About 1 p.m., officers arriving at the 4800 block of SEWoodstock Boulevard found 17-year-old Timothy Ray Garcia with a stab wound to his upper body.

Police arrested 36-year-old John Preston Grant for assault.

Witnesses told officers that the victim and a group of friends were throwing snowballs at each other when one of the snowballs struck a moving vehicle driven by the suspect.

The suspect got out of his vehicle and started a fight with the group, which escalated to a stabbing. He then drove off but returned a short time later and turned himself in to officers at the scene.

Garcia was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

snow is totally metal

The angle doesn't do it justice. That is a really steep hill.
I work 2 blocks from that intersection. Some of those cars are still there till the tow trucks can safely move them.

looks like someone might have been watching a little too much Metalocalypse...I know, so have I Every other thing I say has a Toki accent now

zamnight: what intersection is that? I don't recognize it.

SW 20th and Salmon.
Where the first car rests you can see the arches of PGE Park in the background.

We need someone else to visit Portland for a larger Siftup.

That is too funny! When the vehicle started sliding sideways I nearly hurt myself laughing. Why, oh why, did they continue to try driving on that after seeing what happened to the other drivers?

I've taught winter driving for 20 years, and you just can't give advice on how to drive in these conditions. If your car is slowly sliding down the street SIDEWAYS -- from gravity alone -- it doesn't really matter if you're braking or accelerating or turning the wheel this way or that. All of those things require traction, and if it's just not there, it's just not there. Chains help, sure, but the best thing you can do is leave your car parked.

Im not sure that is SW 20th and Salmon. I walk down 19th every day to work, including that most amazing Snow Day. If it is, yes, that part of Salmon is really steep. You cant tell from the video.
People kept driving because Portland isnt used to snow, and because other roads were safe. Burnside was running almost like normal, even without snow plows.
Snow Day was one of the best days of my life. I never in my life, never, have found humans to be so nice and friendly to each other.
Everywhere I went it was a party. People were running around in the streets, offering me sled rides, or skiing past, or trying to get me to drink with them, or just wanting to hang out with some strange guy walking down the street (me).
I wish every day people acted like they did on Snow Day. It was euphoric (sp?).
Um, Does everyone on videosift live in Portland?

News coverage with commentary and aftermath footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ratn_Wl8XU&NR
Yes, they mention it's on 20th and Salmon.

I love how many people get pulled out of the woodwork by top 15 vids - welcome to all the new members.

Looks like the new videosift meetup may be in Portland after all...

Ok, Wolfie has come out of his snow den... LET ME TELL YA... It took me 3 hours to drive 30 miles home from INTEL (Hillsboro to Gresham). I drove along Hwy 26, over the 405 to 84 and I had people fish tailing, crashing, and going out of control all around me! Talk about shock! In July, I decided it might be a good idea to invest in a 4x4 so I got a Ford Escape and I'm glad I did! I've driven in Alaska during one of its worst winters in 40 years. I know a thing or two about snow and this event was the second scariest experience I ever had!

As far as the comments about staying home, etc... The weathermen didn't forcast the ice part of the snow. We had been under freezing conditions for several days prior and also, the snow didn't start until after 4am in the morning. A lot of people, including myself were stuck at work, heading home around 7am when things started getting UGLY! Again, it took me 3 hours to get home and normally its a 30 min drive. This was scary. I've got a video I'll upload for you guys to see. Since I can't self promote, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1z32aQWDjo

Krupo wrote: "Looks like the new videosift meetup may be in Portland after all..."

Party at my place.

Just brutal.

As a Texan who has lived in PDX for a year in the past, I can tell you-The town is a catch-all for the morons and developmentally disabled- of the U.S.....they gravitate there as if called by some siren song sung by clowns, midgets, and carnies......
Portland.Give us your poor, tired, wretched teeming flotsam of human wreckage......we'll take em, they are safer here on the edge of nowhere.

*promote the stupidity.

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 2:34am PST - promote requested by MarineGunrock.