Posted on 11/14/2019 12:27:59 PM PST by 4Runner
The driver of an International semi-trailer truck came upon the stopped line of traffic and swerved from the outside lane to the center lane to avoid a collision with one car but crashed into the back of another, a Chevy SUV, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The force of that collision pushed the Chevy into a Buick sedan. The Buick then struck a BMW sedan.
Pasco Fire Rescue crews arrived and extinguished the blaze. Investigators didn’t realize until several hours after arriving on scene that the first semi had come [to]rest on top of a car, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol. Investigators were using dental records to confirm the drivers’ identities, he said. [The car underneath the semi was a Mercedes Benz.]
Troopers were still investigating Thursday and working to confirm which vehicles had passengers, Gaskins said. Troopers believe the BMW had a child inside but were still trying to confirm that detail along with the driver’s identity.
(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...
If I drove in Florida, I would routinely break that law.
If I got stopped for it, I would just pay the ticket. But what are the chances?
I served 8 long years for mattress tags. Don’t do it, there are folks looking, they’ll get you!
Put it another way... If I am cruising along at 70 with my customary yuge gap in front of me, and I see brake lights, I am on my brakes immediately.
After 2 seconds, I am down to 60 and the texting idiot behind me is doing 70 and closing at a relative rate of 10 mph. This gives him adequate time to respond.
However, if I burn up the gap in front of me and hop on the brakes at the last second, I am stopped, and the texting idiot behind me is still closing at 70. This gives him almost no time to get his head out of his butt and respond.
As for aggressive drivers hopping in front of me... yeah, that's gonna happen. I will get to where I am going a minute and a half later, well rested and in one piece.
I call that a win.
You leave the gap for yourself, to have an out if you see a vehicle failing to slow approaching you from behind. Be on the far outer or far inside lane with an apron, shoulder, emergency lane or median to pull onto rapidly.
I drove up on the immediate aftermath of a very similar accident on I-77 in North Carolina only a few weeks ago, just below the big grade heading up to Fancy Gap, Virginia on the other side of the state line. Traffic stopped due to lanes closed for construction. A truck driver didn’t even brake.
It was awful, I have no idea how anybody in that car survived, but they both were pulled out alive, from Roanoke Virginia. It affected me so that I followed the story, it very easily could have been me and my family. Anna Guardipee and Jennifer Burton. Ms. Burton later passed away. That car was unidentifiable, crushed between the semi that rammed it, and the semi trailer in front of it.
So, immediately be on guard for overtaking traffic if you’re forced to stop on an interstate, leave yourself an out. Several car lengths, and somewhere to go if a truck driver falls asleep or is texting.
I love that drive through Fancy Gap. Beautiful scenery. Some of the nicest farms you’ll ever see.
Lot of trucks, though. Gotta keep your head in the game.
You're supposed to be focusing on the traffic ahead of you, not what's approaching from behind.
What's going to protect your ass when you are slowing down to 15 mph in a backed up construction zone with your eyes ahead and a full size pick up doing 65 mph doesn't see the traffic slow up and slams full speed into the back of your car?
My best friend's wife was killed instantly in such an accident 3 years ago..........
If you have a 5 - 10 second gap in front of you, that impatient cyclist will be in front of you, hanging off the fender of that car. He will not be able to resist filling in that gap.
This keeps all of the jerks in front of you, where you can keep an eye on them!
Just give it a try. Leave 5 - 10 seconds between you and the car in front of you. 10 Mississippis. See how much longer it takes to get where you're going, and see how much more relaxed you are when you get there.
You will take about 10% longer, in my experience. Five minutes on an hour trip. But your blood pressure will never get above 120/75.
If you have the room, you can slow down slowly. That way the full sized pick up is closing at a rate of 10 mph instead of 50. But you have to have space to trade for time to make this strategy work. That is why you have to leave a yuuuge gap in front of you, at all times.
But if you leave 1 or 2 seconds between you and the car in front, you have no options. You have to slam on the brakes, and then you are at the mercy of the person coming up behind you.
Avoid this situation. Leave a lot of room. Brake slowly.
Your post -#6 is excellent advice!
If you’re at a stop then there is nothing to watch. Read what I wrote. If traffic comes to a STOP, leave space to pull out and immediately start watching traffic approaching from behind for anyone failing to slow down, if you see a vehicle failing to stop very rapidly pull onto the shoulder, median or whatever space off the road you can access.
Read what I said, you're in a slow down construction zone, not at a stop.
I-77 in general has gotten very busy, starting to remind me of I-81 down the valley in Virginia as far as the heavy traffic, a lot of semis. There was another fatal rear-end accident at the very same spot less than a week later, mile marker 62 heading north, in NC.
The grade up to Fancy Gap is something in wind, fog or blowing snow too, I’ve seen trucks blown over many times. If you see high wind warnings or those digital speed limit signs show a low limit, take it seriously.
You’re being rude for no reason. My advice is good advice. If you want to leave yourself exposed to being crushed to death out of some strange desire to argue then have at it, but I can’t honestly say I understand your motivation.
Reread post #26........there was no slow down of the pick up truck that slammed into the back of my friends SUV while my friend was down to 15 MPH...........
I'm not being rude, I'm simply pointing out the fallacy of your argument regarding being rear ended by posting an actual event that happened to my best friend.
Maybe you should read it again...........
Maybe you should go take a nap. You’re cranky.
Your best defense against this sort of thing is to leave a large gap between you and the vehicle in front of you. If traffic slows down, slow down as early as possible to maintain that gap. Do not drive right up to the car in front of you, because they leaves you nowhere to go when the semi-truck a thousand yards back decides not to stop.
+1
That part of 15, all the way down to San Diego, is like a third-world hell hole in the morning and afternoon.
“how you gonna prevent getting rear ended?”
That’s EASY! Drive FASTER than everyone else.
Walk AND chew gum.
If I have to suddenly brake quickly, as soon as I see that I have the situation in front under control, I instinctively look in my rear view mirror. We are talking split seconds here.
It’s called defensive driving, you may have heard of it.
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