Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[bcp]

The car driver was "Florida woman."

Florida woman’s car sent flying over tow truck, video shows

It looks like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster. A sedan drives up the ramp of a flatbed tow truck and rockets into the air on a Georgia highway. And the whole crash is caught on video by an off…

www.orlandosentinel.com

Bruce

 

[ning]

Most of the news reports online say the truck's emergency lights were on.

Here's one:

https://kfor.com/news/dont-miss/video-car-launches-over-tow-truck-in-georgia/

The tow truck, described as a roll-back wrecker, was parked in the left lane with its emergency lights activated, the accident report said.

Bruce

It'll be interesting to find out if there were actually lights visible from behind - I don't see lights on top of the cab, and I can't tell in the video if there were lights at the top of the roll-back - it definitely doesn't look like it, and any "emergency lights" that may be active definitely aren't obvious in the video which leads me to believe that the "emergency lights" are just the normal turn signal blinkers, which probably aren't even visible from behind when the rollback is down.

There's also no flares, cones or warning triangles visible in the video.

Overall a really bad situation. The driver of the launched car obviously should've been paying closer attention, but there's little expectation in any of us that a truck will be parked in the fast lane and considering the roll-back was already down, it had been there long enough for someone to set out flares.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Yep.. No lights, no cones, no warnings.

No cones but according to the accident report, the truck lights were on to the rear. As fast as she was going any cones would have only caused her to look up as she hit the ramp.

 

[aczlan]

Yep.. No lights, no cones, no warnings.

What's missing, was flashing lights on the truck.

That we can see from the officers body cam.
Most of the news stories said that the truck had lights on, I would bet that one of 3 things caused that appearance:

1. You could not see them on camera due to the angle (most lights used in a modern bar like that are either a 40° or 60° light spread, outside of that range you won't see them very strongly)
2. The way that the camera is optimized (I would assume body camera would be set up to record most accurately that distances of up to 20 ft, it may or may not pickup detail). Note how the strobes in the back window of the police car at the beginning of the video for somewhat difficult to see and they were only a few feet away from the camera versus on the other side of the median.
3. The rollback had the rear light in "arrowstick" or "directional" mode where the lights repeatedly go from left to right (or vis versa) to signal cars to go around in that direction. That will generally shut off the other lights and just run the ones in the back, the front and side ones are not needed in that case because there is no traffic coming from that direction.

Here's an example of a light bar with that mode: Signal Vehicle Products Amber 50
Here is a strobes and more video showing how they can individually program the different heads and pick which one turns on at what time:

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

It'll be interesting to find out if there were actually lights visible from behind - I don't see lights on top of the cab, and I can't tell in the video if there were lights at the top of the roll-back - it definitely doesn't look like it, and any "emergency lights" that may be active definitely aren't obvious in the video which leads me to believe that the "emergency lights" are just the normal turn signal blinkers, which probably aren't even visible from behind when the rollback is down.

There's also no flares, cones or warning triangles visible in the video.

Overall a really bad situation. The driver of the launched car obviously should've been paying closer attention, but there's little expectation in any of us that a truck will be parked in the fast lane and considering the roll-back was already down, it had been there long enough for someone to set out flares.

My guess would be that it the truck only had rear strobes on, those are in the light bar which was mounted on top of the headache rack at the front of the bed.
Most rollbacks put their light bars in that location instead of on the cab roof because it is much easier to see when the bed is down and they're loading a vehicle.

Aaron Z

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

My guess would be that it the truck only had rear strobes on, those are in the light bar which was mounted on top of the headache rack at the front of the bed.
Most rollbacks put their light bars in that location instead of on the cab roof because it is much easier to see when the bed is down and they're loading a vehicle.

Aaron Z

You can see the light bar mounted on the deck headache rack being taken out by the car before she hits the back of the cab

 

[masseyrider]

Never matters in to the Duke boys. They just jump and keep going.
Good old General Lee and the Southern yell.
YEE HAW!

 

[BigBlue1]

Is that why they do that? It drives me nuts. They come up so that their right front corner is by my left wheel and ride there for miles... until I overtake a slower vehicle. At that point they will s-l-o-w-l-y speed up just enough to block me from pulling out.

That speed-matching thing is some type of odd but fairly common psychological condition. Drivers on multi-lane roads are OK going faster until they come upon someone in the right lane. Then they either match their speed or slow down to just barely faster. I've been driving for decades and I have not yet figured out the rationale. But I'm pretty certain most of the time it is subconcious for them. Those same folks are also ALWAYS oblivious to other cars on the road (behind them) and/or have zero care or respect to not impact others. Drives me nuts whether I'm the one behind them or in the right lane that they latch onto. 30 to 40% of drivers on the road really should not be allowed behind the wheel.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

That speed-matching thing is some type of odd but fairly common psychological condition. Drivers on multi-lane roads are OK going faster until they come upon someone in the right lane. Then they either match their speed or slow down to just barely faster. I've been driving for decades and I have not yet figured out the rationale. But I'm pretty certain most of the time it is subconcious for them. Those same folks are also ALWAYS oblivious to other cars on the road (behind them) and/or have zero care or respect to not impact others. Drives me nuts whether I'm the one behind them or in the right lane that they latch onto. 30 to 40% of drivers on the road really should not be allowed behind the wheel.

Where I live it's all two-lane roads with the occasional third passing lane for uphill traffic. Follow a vehicle on the flats that's doing 55-58 mph, until they get to the 3rd lane, then they accelerate to 65. Since I am pulling a trailer, I can't accelerate fast enough to pass them. But when the 3rd lane ends, it's back to 55 again.

 

[Rustyiron]

I did put a flag on it.

 

[Thomas]

View attachment 805052
View attachment 805053
I did put a flag on it.

Another means of smoothing.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

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View attachment 805053
I did put a flag on it.

That's great erasing your tracks so you can't be followed.

 

[Jstpssng]

Where I live it's all two-lane roads with the occasional third passing lane for uphill traffic. Follow a vehicle on the flats that's doing 55-58 mph, until they get to the 3rd lane, then they accelerate to 65. Since I am pulling a trailer, I can't accelerate fast enough to pass them. But when the 3rd lane ends, it's back to 55 again.

Here it's 45-50... 10-15 mph under the speed limit. Yet as you say, they speed up when somebody can get past them. I once got behind somebody playing that game...45 in a 55, slower when we were on a curve or hill. Yet when we came to a long 3 lane hill they sped up so quickly that I couldn't catch them. We did 75mph for over a mile... as soon as it went back to 2 lanes they dropped back to 45 so quickly that I had to hit the brakes.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^
Yesterday I had someone playing that game...doing the 55 mph speed limit when you could get by, but 40 on curves or when somebody was coming. I was third in line with 7 more behind me including a dump truck loaded with gravel. When we hit the 3 lane hill the lead car sped up; the two in front of me went side by side up the hill so that nobody could get by. I started thinking about a letter to the editor I may draft. It's against the law in most states to speed up when somebody is trying to pass you. That would be nearly impossible to enforce yet in this case the local PD could set a car up to see when people are doing just that. It might make people more aware of an obscure law, and less apt to play games.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Most of the news reports online say the truck's emergency lights were on.

Here's one:

https://kfor.com/news/dont-miss/video-car-launches-over-tow-truck-in-georgia/

The tow truck, described as a roll-back wrecker, was parked in the left lane with its emergency lights activated, the accident report said.

Bruce

We can see that they weren't.. Not even reflections from rear facing lights.

 

[Midniteoyl]

View attachment 805052
View attachment 805053
I did put a flag on it.

My BiL did that once. I was driving when I saw him coming the other way in a Ford Escort Hatchback @60mph with a new bought tree hanging out the back about 7' flailing around like a Inflatable Wacky Waving Tube Man

 

[Dftodd]

 

[dstig1]

I use CC on the interstate... and am rather anally aware of my speed when somebody is overtaking as I know how I hate it when somebody does it to me. Yet it happens often enough so that I can usually predict when they are going to speed up about 1/2 mph, just enough to cover me so that I have to brake for the vehicle we are overtaking before swinging in behind them. Inevitably they will slow to their old speed once they get beside the lowest car, leaving me growling about why the heck they are in the passing lane.

No matter what, when somebody is in the passing lane next to you for 3,4, 5 miles or more they need to either crap or get off the pot.

You sure you don't live in the upper Midwest? That is characteristic of drivers in this region. And letting someone merge is apparently an insult to your ancestors.

 

[Dftodd]

You sure you don't live in the upper Midwest? That is characteristic of drivers in this region. And letting someone merge is apparently an insult to your ancestors.

The side by side and under the speed limit is all over arkansas. Then the driver in the hammer lane gets offended when people are able to sneak around them start giving them the 1 finger salute.

There's been someone on the interstate the last week that's been camping in the hammer lane doing 5 under the speed limit. Then when someone starts creeping close to them, they lock up their brakes. About every 2 minutes the hammer lane has to suddenly brake stacking up traffic for a half a mile or more.

I'll also see idiots daily with their head so far up their butt in the slow lane not allowing people to merge onto the interstate. Is it really that difficult to change your speed up or down a little to give someone some room to merge safetly?????