Neighbor Tractor Accident

[ovrszd]

We,,, as humans,,,, are "herders". We tend to gather and stay in packs. This is very obvious on rural Interstate Hiways. Drives me crazy. The last thing I want is to be in a "pack" when things go bad. I adjust my speed and remove myself from the group. I've lost track of how many times I've had vehicles pass me, then slow down, I pass them, then they speed up and pass me again,,,, only way it stops is when I speed up and leave them or slow down until they drift ahead of me. What are they thinking?????

 

[KubotainNH]

Forget about driving in downtown Boston, not for the faint of heart...

Although only 45 mins from Boston I try to stay away from there. It's not good for my nerves.

 

[Industrial Toys]

THINKING really has unfortunately become quite unecessary for driving. And the technology is only supporting this. The inventor of the automobile never thought there would be a market for his invention as he figured so few would ever master the skill. Maybe, people were really always that stupid and this notion of the modern day "dumbed down population" isn't true.

 

[/pine]

....The inventor of the automobile never thought there would be a market for his invention...

There's an old adage about Henry Ford (I know he did not invent the automobile) that says he originally made cars and trucks to make money from selling parts...not from the cars and trucks specifically...his original idea was to create a market for something (parts) only he could provide...

 

[daugen]

I read today where one car maker is touting the ability to do online shopping while driving.
Just what we need, right? Let's make it easy for folks to be distracted.
Gosh officer, I was just trying to decide between the blue one or the red one and this tractor just jumped out and hit me.

 

[MHarryE]

Ovrszd mentioned I-35 between Drs Moines and KC as being bad as you near the cities. I drive the same route frequently, actually I-35 from Duluth to KC. In 49 years driving this route I've had one accident - very rural Iowa, driver in car in left lane blocking traffic beside a truck. Cars piling up behind, when one vehicle was finally able to move a car length the driver in the right side beside me thought he had an opening and pulled into the left lane. If I too wasn't frustrated by the "blocker" I would have been more alert and seen the move, gone into the median to avoid the crash. As it was he bumped me enough to twist the door on my car with his front tire stretching the metal enough where the door needed to be replaced. His vehicle was 5 days old and sustained more damage. We both pulled over and I got out mad as he'll but by the time I got to his door I had changed 180 degrees and apologized to him for his hitting me. The Iowa State Trooper who came to write up the accident told us the people who block other cars interrupting the traffic flow, possibly thinking they are blocking speeders, are some of their worst accident causes. I really felt bad for the other guy in his 5 day old vehicle. Minnesota proposed the pull right when not passing but our governor at the time, remember Jesse Ventura? blocked the bill saying our drivers are too stupid to understand so we instead got warning signs saying keep right except when passing but nothing enforcible.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Like the Ontario Provincial Police told me there is nothing they can do about "follow to close". To hard to prove in court. The constable I talked to, said he has seen 18 wheelers ride HIS azz! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

 

[ovrszd]

Ovrszd mentioned I-35 between Drs Moines and KC as being bad as you near the cities. I drive the same route frequently, actually I-35 from Duluth to KC. In 49 years driving this route I've had one accident - very rural Iowa, driver in car in left lane blocking traffic beside a truck. Cars piling up behind, when one vehicle was finally able to move a car length the driver in the right side beside me thought he had an opening and pulled into the left lane. If I too wasn't frustrated by the "blocker" I would have been more alert and seen the move, gone into the median to avoid the crash. As it was he bumped me enough to twist the door on my car with his front tire stretching the metal enough where the door needed to be replaced. His vehicle was 5 days old and sustained more damage. We both pulled over and I got out mad as he'll but by the time I got to his door I had changed 180 degrees and apologized to him for his hitting me. The Iowa State Trooper who came to write up the accident told us the people who block other cars interrupting the traffic flow, possibly thinking they are blocking speeders, are some of their worst accident causes. I really felt bad for the other guy in his 5 day old vehicle. Minnesota proposed the pull right when not passing but our governor at the time, remember Jesse Ventura? blocked the bill saying our drivers are too stupid to understand so we instead got warning signs saying keep right except when passing but nothing enforcible.

Good story. I plan ahead and try to avoid being trapped by traffic. In your situation you sometimes find yourself in the middle of it before any prevention action can be taken.

I'm sure you've noticed this also, but, notice how cars tend to run in packs??? Something about human nature triggers that I guess......

I'm 3 miles East of the Eagleville exit.

 

[3930dave]

I'm sure you've noticed this also, but, notice how cars tend to run in packs??? Something about human nature triggers that I guess......

I remember as a kid (late 60's), seeing my Dad shaking his head about this while driving.

Not new, but does seem to be worse..... advances in brakes, tires,,,,,, often just end up being "enablers" for more tailgating.... which should only be for stadium parking lots IMO

I was shaking my head on the road recently watching the tailgaters with sketchy road conditions...... as I'd recently read an article talking about how UPS pushes their drivers to have an 8 second cushion.

Some of the worst tailgaters I see on high-speed roads are tractor-trailer drivers.

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

Some of the worst tailgaters I see on high-speed roads are tractor-trailer drivers.

But also some of the best drivers out there. It's just now the bad drivers have huge dangerous machinery they
are risking a lot of folk's safety with. I usually try to find a semi who is leaving lots of room and get in front of him.
I'm sure the unprofessional tailgating semi drivers are also the mental midgets who clog up both lanes with semis.
Fifteen minutes to pass, no problem.

 

[/pine]

Like the Ontario Provincial Police told me there is nothing they can do about "follow to close". To hard to prove in court. The constable I talked to, said he has seen 18 wheelers ride HIS azz! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

Not sure about other US states...but in FL you can be cited for "following too close"...

 

[Rustyiron]

Some of the worst tailgaters I see on high-speed roads are tractor-trailer drivers.

Rgds, D.

Ever drive one?
There are a million scenarios, but not all tractors are 550/600hp monsters and the (car) guy "loping" along at the speed limit or just under that just passed you because of a minor grade slowed you down, now just pulled back in front of you (too close). Then there's the next grade just coming up and the trucker try's to gain a little momentum to crest the hill at a reasonable speed so this cycle does not repeat get's a little close to him, again.
I am not a t/t driver but have driven heavier truck/trlr combinations (privately) and until you've spent time in a heavier vehicle where a little "speed strategy" is important to weather you actually start to impede the normal flow of traffic or not. If all vehicles had the same hp per pound of vehicle weight things would be simple(er).
Then there's the guy on the phone................:laughing:

 

[Peter 315]

If there is any room a car will squeeze in front of the trucks or take the exit ramp from 2 or 3 lane over cutting everybody off

 

[daugen]

best thing I ever did was drive a semi, a sod boom truck, for my first summer job during college.
I was 18, no CDL (what's that?...) the owner said something like if you are smart enough to go to college, you are smart enough
to drive this truck. Quite the training lesson. V10 Ford with the red button on the shifter, sure learned how to grind that a few times.
Truck didn't accelerate, didn't stop for beans, and with a full load of wet sod on the back, pretty high CG. Learned how to constantly check my rear view mirrors,
neck seemed to be on a swivel all the time. The big thing I learned was to look far ahead and plan far ahead.

I really think car drivers are getting worse, not better. Driver Training seems to be non-existent,
no one around here uses their turn signals and so many left lane louises.
What happened to keep right except to pass?
But most importantly we don't seem to be paying attention to our driving as much.
We are nation of distracted drivers, which is why I turn every light on my Kubota, high power LED's, the works, lit up like a Christmas tree.
But they have to be looking first...

 

[3930dave]

Ever drive one?

Yes.

My comment comes from many years living near/commuting to the Greater Toronto area. By virtue of Canadian geography/economics, we have the highest concentration of heavy truck traffic in Canada here, and we surpass most areas of the USA too.... back to that overcrowding of animals deal.... :deer::groundhog::cow::goat::chihuahua::chicken:arrot::cat::ferret:

By "worst" I mean in terms of potential consequences. Plenty of car/light truck drivers tailgate, but are less likely to kill me than somebody driving a 50 ton+ combo. Many light vehicle drivers cut off TT combos on high speed roads - guess they are tired of living :confused3:

There are TT drivers on the road who do the best they can to maintain a proper space cushion - they aren't the problem, and I appreciate their professionalism.

I was thinking of the TT drivers I see who choose to sit 3' behind somebody's bumper at 70 mph when I made my "worst" comment. "Choose", as is the traffic volume and lane availability at the time is such that they could have easily made safer choices. And, it's not just the weight, though that is a big deal - one of the first things you learn in an air-brake course is that air brakes have a slower response/split second delay that pure hydraulic brakes don't have.

Not directly thread related (sorry MHE), but we've had a slew of horrendous TT "accidents" here in the last year that were driver error. Just one:

Fully loaded tanker trucks that exploded in Highway 4 pileup were 'bombs on wheels,' police say - Toronto - CBC News

As Ag tractor operators, it's well worth considering that the TT driver in this thread title was likely attentive to the road conditions, and it was still a very nearly fatal crash. Let's all have a safe 2018+ out there.

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Grandfather owned a trucking company. Hauled tractors out of Manheim among other things I guess.

My Dad taught me how to drive. He always stressed to look far ahead. It drives the stupid F#$#tards behind me crazy when I take my foot off the gas seeing a yellow light half a mile ahead. They go flying around me and speed up to the Red light. Often, I don't even have to come to a stop.

 

[3930dave]

My Grandfather owned a trucking company. Hauled tractors out of Manheim among other things I guess.

My Dad taught me how to drive. He always stressed to look far ahead. It drives the stupid F#$#tards behind me crazy when I take my foot off the gas seeing a yellow light half a mile ahead. They go flying around me and speed up to the Red light. Often, I don't even have to come to a stop.

I should dig around and see if I can find it, I could use the laugh..... this (and several others lately) discussion had me thinking of an episode of the olde radio show The Battling Bickersons....

He is trying to teach her to drive. She's busting his chops about taking a lesson that day because the hood ornament was recently broken off - Her line, "How am I supposed to aim this thing ?" from back then still nicely sums up how far down the road some people look.....

Rgds, D.

 

[aczlan]

And, it's not just the weight, though that is a big deal - one of the first things you learn in an air-brake course is that air brakes have a slower response/split second delay that pure hydraulic brakes don't have.

3-6 seconds of delay there as I recall.

Aaron Z

 

[ovrszd]

Ever drive one?
There are a million scenarios, but not all tractors are 550/600hp monsters and the (car) guy "loping" along at the speed limit or just under that just passed you because of a minor grade slowed you down, now just pulled back in front of you (too close). Then there's the next grade just coming up and the trucker try's to gain a little momentum to crest the hill at a reasonable speed so this cycle does not repeat get's a little close to him, again.
I am not a t/t driver but have driven heavier truck/trlr combinations (privately) and until you've spent time in a heavier vehicle where a little "speed strategy" is important to weather you actually start to impede the normal flow of traffic or not. If all vehicles had the same hp per pound of vehicle weight things would be simple(er).
Then there's the guy on the phone................:laughing:

I agree. I've driven a tractor-trailer several thousand miles. In addition to what you mentioned it must be understood that the truck is governed. So let's say I'm driving 67mph. Let's say the truck is governed at 68mph. Let's say we are in rolling hills. How long will it take this truck to finally pass me and stay ahead of me???? 20 miles minimum. Probably closer to 40 miles that the truck is going to be uncomfortably close to me.

The truck driver is trying to make a living. I'm just taking the wife to the big city for a shopping frenzy. Who should adjust their speed to get away from this situation??

I frequently adjust my speed to stay away from trucks. I'm just cruising. He's working.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Dad got caught between two semis in his Ford 67 Custom 500. Three lane one direction, (QEW) ,him in the middle, two semis on each side when one thinks of going into the center lane. My Dad, being shaken by the car on the wheels of the trucks, leaning on the horn. Then the offending diver tries to take off. The other semi stopped him.

I will try and get pics. It is the worst car damage I have ever seen where the car was driveable! My Mom and us kids freaked when he pulled that thing into the driveway like any normal day coming home! The police helped pry the metal away from the wheels. The tail light bulbs were hanging out the back as the lenses had been forced out. I guess times have changed, being able to drive that car home. But then my Dad can be quite persuasive! Especially if money is involved.