driving adventures in snow and ice

This Friday I had plans at the Cobb Energy Center - dinner and the ballet. Despite the snow, cabin fever said, "Go. It's just weather." And it was lovely. Good company. Lovely dinner (beef braciole, pinot noir, tuscan soup and an apple pastry with vanilla bean ice cream). Charming ballet (Cinderella). Back at the car, as the windshield melted, I spoke briefly to my mother, assuring her that all was well. The parking lot was slushy, but it did not feel cold enough to freeze. When I got to the interstate, it was dry.
That lasted for 15 minutes.
I was traveling on a 4 lane interstate in the 3rd lane from the left when I noticed the tail lights. I could see the 2 cars that had spun out and hit the concrete barrier. I slowed to a crawl, trying to tell if either of them were in my lane. They were definitely in the lane to my left. And so was the truck that barreled up on me from the left. And he didn't see the car in his way.
How this car didn't hit me or the stalled car, I have no idea. He swerved. I swerved and laid on my horn. When he cleared the car, he stopped in the middle of the road as I passed him, clearly shook up. This incident slowed the entire pack of us to a crawl. Several cars turned on their caution lights. I put at least 5 car lengths between me and other cars.
Soon I saw new brake lights. I took my foot off the accelerator, but they were coming up quickly, so I touched the brakes too, which is when I realized that I was on black ice. The next thing I knew, I was driving sideways.
I was one of three cars that slid on that patch of ice. I went to the right and they went to the left. During my spin, I stared at the concrete barrier I knew I was going to hit, and there was nothing I could do about it. Fortunately for me, my car and my insurance premiums, when Pearly Lee landed on the shoulder, the wheels gained enough traction to stop. I landed on the shoulder, 180 degrees from how I'd started, staring at oncoming traffic.
That's where I sat for... some time. My heart was beating in my throat, happy to have escaped the spin unscathed. I could not decide if I was going to wait on the HERO emergency truck or try to move again. That is, until I watched oncoming traffic, unaware that they were approaching black ice. If they hit that ice just right and began spinning, there would be nothing to stop them from spinning into me, and hitting me head on.
So I put the car in D, and inched my way backwards, using the shoulder where there was traction. I drove past where I thought the black ice was, waited for a break in the traffic, then turned back onto the road.
The other two cars that spun out when I did weren't so lucky. When I turned around, I realized that they'd both hit the center concrete barrier. One lost his tail lights, and the other lost his front bumper. They weren't hurt, because they weren't going that fast, but they would be filling out an insurance report real soon.
I made it home, but I went 15-20 miles an hour the rest of the way. And I did not care who thought I was being silly. I almost crashed Pearly Lee. I wasn't going to chance it. And I've never been so happy to see the entrance to my subdivision.
Happy driving. Be careful out there.
--Laura