How a Montreal taxi driver steered clear of bumper car chaos

Ascars, a bus, trucks and a police car all crashed into each other yesterday on Montreal's Beaver Hall Hill, a Kia Soul with a green hood sat in the middle of the street, intact.

The car is part of the To Taxi fleet, a relatively new company on the Montreal taxi scene. The man at the wheel was Abderrahim Sabir.

Sabir moved to Montreal less than a decade ago from Morocco. He's had a driver's licence since 2010.

• WATCH|Montreal buses, cars, police cruiser, and even salt truck slide down icy hill

In an interview on Radio-Canada's Gravel le matin, he explained that once he turned onto Beaver Hall yesterday, he saw that a bus had hit some cars up ahead.

He wasn't driving quickly but started to slide, he said. He knew he couldn't stay behind the bus, because there was a truck behind him and he didn't want to be sandwiched between them.

He did a quick analysis of his surroundings: It's a two-way street. There was oncoming traffic. But soon, he saw his chance.

"I tried to take control of my car and get myself in the middle of the road," he said, adding he thought he'd get more traction there.

He slowly swerved 90 degrees and came to a stop. The car was perpendicular to the street, but he hadn't hit anything. He watched as the truck behind him hurtled into the bus.

So what's his secret? Well, the To taxis have all had their snow tires installed for a few weeks now. But there's something else, too.

"You have to be prepared," he said.