I had to post this....Really Bad Accident...Wake up call to all of us.

[turnkey4099]

Years ago I witnessed the extended-cab PU in front of me cross the median and go head-on into a tractor-trailer carrying an 80k lb load at 70 mph on the Interstate. The PU exploded as in the video, and took out the front axle on the big rig. The only recognizable PU truck part left was the engine block.

It occurred in daylight, 7:00 am, perfect weather and road conditions, but a tire blew out on the PU. No survivors in the PU, and the big rig driver couldn't let his 7-year old daughter come out of the tractor because of the visible carnage. It happened as he was approaching an overpass so there was nowhere the big rig driver could go to avoid the collision.

Similar to one that happened a 1/4 mile up the highway from my house. Gal southbound went to sleep, crossed onto N-bound shoulder, semi at around 65 came around corner. Gal woke up and pulled to cross back to S-bound lane. Semi took her crosswise and the uproar stopped on the S-bound shoulder. Semi front wheels missing, trailer in cab, couldn't even identify what was under the tractor as having been a car. Driver badlyshook, told me. " I was hoping she would stay on the N-bound shoulder". All but crying.

I haven't figured out just what is the problem with my location. It is a major 2-lane N/S highway up the easst side of Washingto state (SR 195). I am on a 1 mile straight away about 1/4 mile from an easy curve on the south end. I have had. SIX cars into a deep ditch on my side of the hightway right in front of the house in the time I have been here. 4 of them within 50 ft of each other. Nothing at all to explain it, almost all involved "asleep at the wheel". The last one said as he crawled out 'I woke up just in time to see it happen". Oddly the first one was right after the state built new guard rails over the big culvert. The new rails weren't there more than two weeks when a guy "asleep at the wheel" took out the first 4 posts. Withing a 1/4 mile either way from my house the count is around 10. I lost count at 7. It is a standing joke with the deputies and State Patrol (I used to dispatch).

Harry K

 

[Sigarms]

I have a phrase when driving in sketchy conditions. I say " I'm shuttin it down" Meaning I'm dropping my speed way down and sticking to the right lane and not moving out of that lane or going even the speed limit in bad conditions.

And some people NEVER learn that.

Down south, people say southerners don't know how to drive in the snow. Well, I've seen just as many accidents in bad weather up north as I have down south.

I still remember one guy at the gym in Syracuse tell me how well his new 4x4 jeep handles on the ICE.

I've come to the conclusion it's not all speed, but what happens when you tap the breaks. I'm still amazed at the amount of people who will hit the breaks on a sub freezing wet day on a bridge.

 

[kiotiken]

Being from Ottawa, I wouldn't consider winter driving without snow tires. All season tires mean all the seasons in Florida. Winter tires make an enormous difference in snow and ice and are now the law in the province of Quebec (Ottawa is in Ontario for some of my geographically challenged friends ). Watching that horrific video makes me think that the accident was caused by poor tires for the conditions and poor driver training for the conditions. When my kids turn 16, daddy will be finding a huge snow covered parking lot and teaching the fine art of doughnuts, drifting and skidding out of control. Being able to handle a vehicle under those conditions are lessons that are too late to learn when you're crossing the path of a semi headed 65 in the opposite direction.

I also have an AWD Sienna that my wife drives and is the primary kid mover. AWD is MUCH safer in the snow and ice, there's no doubt, especially with the stability control and traction control systems. One thing all AWD and 4X4 drivers need to learn in a hurry is that AWD/4X4 let's you go like snot in the snow, but it doesn't help you stop, you still have the same amount of rubber on the road/snow.

 

[dmccarty]

...

I haven't figured out just what is the problem with my location. It is a major 2-lane N/S highway up the easst side of Washingto state (SR 195). I am on a 1 mile straight away about 1/4 mile from an easy curve on the south end...

There is a section of road I drive that runs north south and is mostly straight with a few gentle curves. People are crashing in those curves all of the time. I saw one lady who simply drove off the road at evening rush hour. She had to be playing with the phone or radio.

In another section of this road there is a very slight jog in the road with a group of six or so houses on the west side. I have seen several accidents where the cars have simply driven straight when the road went left. One accident they had to cut the driver out of the car when the vehicle hit a small tree. These accidents have been in the morning, with the drivers heading south. I am guessing the fell asleep.

There are skid marks all over this road as well. If you follow the skid marks you can see where people have gone off the road into fields and sometimes the trees. There is a property that has young pines growing where you can see where cars have driven off the road into the tree. At this point the trees are small and cushioning the cars. In a few more years the accidents are going to be more serious.

Some of the accidents might be from people avoiding deer but most of them seem to be from people driving straight off the road or maybe driving too fast in the curves and loosing control. It really is odd. There is not other road where I have seen this happen.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Down south, people say southerners don't know how to drive in the snow. Well, I've seen just as many accidents in bad weather up north as I have down south.

I still remember one guy at the gym in Syracuse tell me how well his new 4x4 jeep handles on the ICE.

I've come to the conclusion it's not all speed, but what happens when you tap the breaks. I'm still amazed at the amount of people who will hit the breaks on a sub freezing wet day on a bridge.

Yeah, I don't believe that Southerners don't know how to drive in show statement either. I think alot of the people of the side of the road are from up Nawth as well as the South. Many northerners are over confident I think.

Funny you mention Syracuse. During one of the snow storms years ago in NY state, the local NC station had a film crew in Syracuse. They were talking about the weather and driving conditions. In the background there was a bit of traffic and suddenly one of the cars lost control and went spinning out of the field of view.

In one of the bad snow storms we had in in the late 90's or early 00's I had to go get groceries. I had a Chevy 4x4 with a five speed manual. I swear that truck in 4x4 low and the granny gear would go straight up. :laughing: Not fast mind you but it would go.

I took the back roads as much as I could to stay away from other drivers. The snow at this point was all packed down and thick ice. On the way back I was on a section of road that is in a slight valley. A subdivision was uphill from the road, and as I passed the entrance, I noticed a Wrangler was nose down in the subdivision's nicely landscaped media. Figured I would go help the guy so I turned around and went back. The driver and a home owner were in the road pondering what they would do about the Wrangler when I pulled up and asked the oh so dumb question of, "Would you like me to pull you out?"

I drove the truck uphill on that ice in 4x4 high in first gear with no problems. The part I was worried about was stopping. I was certainly not going fast but it was downhill on ice. :confused2: I got near the Wrangler and stopped. I handed my tow strap to the Wrangler driver and told him to hook it to his Jeep and put the other end of the strap on my tow hook. I had to get a bit close to the Jeep to hook up the truck with the strap. As I edged forward, on ice, pointed down hill, the Wrangler driver steps in FRONT of my truck before I can stop.

Thankfully I was able to stop but if the truck had slid on the ice, dufus would have gotten run over. If it was not obvious why the guy was stuck in the first place it certainly was after he stepped in front of the truck. He could not THINK.

The guy put the tow strap on my truck and the jeep, I put the truck in reverse, and pulled the Wrangler out of the median without slipping a wheel. That truck was an unreliable POS but when it ran it was awesome.

From the looks of things, the Wrangler could not back out of the mess he was in but it looked like he could have easily driven FORWARD and out of the mess.

Later,
Dan

 

[jymbee]

From the looks of things, the Wrangler could not back out of the mess he was in but it looked like he could have easily driven FORWARD and out of the mess.

Brings to mind the fact that a lot of drivers are totally clueless when it comes to getting UNstuck. The most glaring mistake: step on the gas! If my wheels are spinning, maybe if I REALLY gun the engine I can get free. Yeah, right... if you're in a ditch, let me know how that's working for you by the time you bury your tires up the axle.

Also, I've witnessed a number stuck drivers that just don't understand the basic concept of "rocking back/forth". Sounds simply and can work well, but they just don't get it, or else they lack the coordination to do it properly.

 

[turnkey4099]

Brings to mind the fact that a lot of drivers are totally clueless when it comes to getting UNstuck. The most glaring mistake: step on the gas! If my wheels are spinning, maybe if I REALLY gun the engine I can get free. Yeah, right... if you're in a ditch, let me know how that's working for you by the time you bury your tires up the axle.

Also, I've witnessed a number stuck drivers that just don't understand the basic concept of "rocking back/forth". Sounds simply and can work well, but they just don't get it, or else they lack the coordination to do it properly.

I learned from my dad how to get really stuck. He also used the "floor it" method. Somehow the fact that only made things worse never sank in.

As soon as the "I'm stuck!" sinks in, I nuetral all controls and evaluate the situation before proceeding. Sometimes the only soluion is "Call AAA". My worst one was a spring boil that popped in the middle of a country lane, no clue it was there until I was down to the running boards all the way around (anyone remember cars with running boards ).

Harry K

 

[MasseyWV]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSyB_hDKS-g]The consequences of the accident Nissan Navara - YouTube[/ame]

And here is the original video, only this time it's embedded for your convience.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L37sTWetERo[/ame]

I found this comment on Youtube, but don't know how accurate it might be.

The accident took place on the М-7 road in the Petushinski District, Vladimirskaya Region in Russia on February 24, 2012. The driver of Nissan Navara died instantly. He was alone...FYI:
ALMOST EVERYONE IN RUSSIA HAS A DASH CAM TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM BOGUS LAWSUITS

 

[3930dave]

I'm thinking that there must be a branch of medicine that studies how people process (or don't) visual information.

I can often be sarcastic, but I'm actually serious here.

As described, a classic problem is sudden corrections in roads that have been running arrow straight for a long distance. Some people may be dozing when they crash, but other times the brain box just doesn't use the info presented by the retina.

Living in a rural area, I've seen the aftermath of a number of these road correction crashes. One was in daylight, perfect road conditions, involving a brand new SUV hauling 4 adults.

One other scenario I've come across is with long flat approaches to highway overpasses near a major metro area. You have a number of traffic lights facing you over a short distance, at different elevations - some people will fixate on a distant light, and cruise through a red. Typically this was not intentional, as deliberately playing that game in this kind of metro area would be considered suicidal by most standards.

I worked with a guy years ago that had previously worked on a specific type of visual test simulator. Static visual acuity was not sufficient for the application, given what military airframes are worth. Some people could detect certain things with their eyes, but not process the data properly.

I know that probably sounded like a long way of saying "people are idiots", but I'm suspecting in some cases there is a biological limit or block in terms of what people can visually process. Given the same controlled visual dynamic test, other people can easily pass with little effort.

D.

 

[jonyyuma]

I saw this same thing happening one evening in Florida..It had just rained and water was againest the median..Car hauling tail hit the water and hydroplaned, it was coming directly for us..I told my wife, honey don't even think about hitting the brakes, just speed up a little bit..She said why?? Cause you don't see that car coming at us now do You??She sped up a little and they missed us by feet, but got he guy behind us in the headlights..CLOSE???The grass median was only about 10 feet wide and curb was less than 6 inches...