Posted on 04/27/2006 5:14:22 AM PDT by Flightdeck
MARION, Indiana (AP) -- A semitrailer crashed through a median on Interstate 69 and collided with a college van Wednesday night, killing five people, police said.
The collision peeled open the side of the van, and several occupants were ejected, said state police Sgt. Rodger Popplewell. The semi driver was among five injured.
About 2 miles of interstate in Grant County, midway between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, were closed.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
"I never said that either. They are accidents. Look it up."
From Smokin Joe a few posts up: "Quit calling the majority of wrecks "accidents" and lay attribution to "operator error", mechanical failure, etc.
If someone in a Cessna whipped through the traffic pattern at a major airport and tried to land in front of a 747 on final, (sort of analogous to a Geo Metro cutting off a semi on an off ramp), you would not call it an "accident"."
"You double the statistical realities and then try to slam me for pointing it out? How liberal of you."
I ceded your correctness on the ~45,000 deaths to another poster. I was incorrect and you were right. It doesn't change my point, which to be more clear, is that such a system might be economically tenuous (but it might not), there would be much resistance, but the value of 45,000 lives may be worth it. As a caveat, I could easily envision a corporation making a profit carrying out such a scheme, but the initial investment would be enormous.
Thanks for the pictures. On rails you have only your brakes, on roads you have a steering wheel too. (I realize that can also be a curse)
Can you see the headlines?:
"Faulty switch causes pileup on EM 80"
"Vandals cause derailment"
"Icing problems stall traffic"
I drive an old truck, lots of shifting. A friend was telling me about his new truck, almost like driving a car, he said. He can go faster, and pay more attention to things that matter, like zzzzzzzz
Or Maryland
I just found out my daughter knew one of the ones that died. I know the dad and sister of one of the survivors. She's in very bad shape though.
Lot's of prayers heading upward today about this.
That's why God made coffee and Country & Western stations.
Absolutly correct.
How about I just cut the power to the maglev system and let the laws of physics cause the resulting crashes?
No system is crashproof. Murphy sees to that.
What about hauling large loads? What is going to tow my horse trailer? The load of groceries going to the supermarket? Not every vehicle can be the size of a can of tomatoes and about as strong.
Do I have to file a "flight plan" and not deviate from it? What if I have to stop and pee? Not on the "flight plan" and "you lose"?
How about police officers and fire engines and EMT's?? Cannot get thru traffic that is predetermined and they cannot take down the bank robbers or the domestic abuse person?
Alot of life is very spontaneous. I get a call to go to the neighbor and help foal out her mare? I have to "file my flight plan" and "get approval" first? Not going to happen in this household.
Fanciful, but not very practical.
As a driver of a "big rig" I can tell you that it is often difficult to maintain control of the truck on roads which are poorly maintained, and often poorly designed""
As a driver of a medium sized rig- a one ton dually truck with a 4 horse trailer, I tend to not exceed 55 mph. My biggest problem in over 20 years of towing this trailer and a smaller 2 horse trailer is the chronic sharp cutting in of drivers in very small cars with short wheelbases and even shorter tempers drivers with a cell phone in their ear and no attention to the road conditions. I drive quite defensively because of my payload of horses, but there sure are times I like the idea of the laws of gross tonnage. I must admit to being tempted to knock them off the road for their behavior. I do know that when they end up upside down trying to drive like they are in a NASCAR event, that I don't feel particularly sorry for them.
You cannot do it all people. You cannor drive, hold a conference phone call that involves acquisition of the biggest competitor you have, have 3 kids in the back seat watching a DVD at mega volume, and smoke, eat, drink all at the same time. I don't expect drivers not to talk to passengers, but the phone is the biggest problem, IMO.
Ah okay. I was taking "there is no gasoline" literally.
Texas, home of the country's worst drivers
I surmise that you've never driven in Massachusetts.""
Or So California, where some of the "drivers" have come straight from a country where oxen and wagons and overloaded vehicles masquerading as buses are the norm.
Some trips on LA roads are a startling wake up call. My last trip there in July 2005 will be just that - MY LAST TRIP THERE.
Why not just mandate tamper proof governors set at what ever the speed limit is????
How does one pass a slow moving car? There are usually specific distances involved with passing. If you eat up tooo much distance, you can be ticketed. Been there- talked my way out of it because driver I was trying to pass speeded up in retaliation. But I did learn there is a maximum distance for passing. If I cannot TEMPORARILY exceed the speed limit to pass, I may not be able get past the driver going 10 mph below the limit.
This guy obviously hasn't driven in rural Nevada nor in rural Utah nor in rural Wyoming. Broke down at CR 710-North Laramie River crossing in July 2001. Wrecker towed us 98 miles-dually truck/Lance camper/4 horse trailer with 3 horses aboard. Most of entire 98 miles was on very well maintained GRAVEL.
State hwy 6 east-west in Utah follows the route of the Pony Express. Gravel most of the way....over 100 miles, then into Nevada, with more gravel. Then across Nevada- more gravel. My street here in N Nevada is paved- next paved street is a mile south. 3 streets between are dirt/gravel.
Simple solution.
Drivers licenses should be HARDER to get than pilots licenses. If you couldn't do a nighttime landing on an aircraft carrier, do not understand at least college level physics and cannot read any sign known to humankind in under one second you should not be allowed to drive.
Drivers should be retested at six month intervals, with a program pretty much equivalent to that of the Mercury astronauts.
If they couldn't race in NASCAR or qualify to fly the space shuttle a person should not be in control of 5000lbs of mass moving in close proximity to innocent people. It is a privilege, not a right. Blame the drivers, not the roads. Cell phone users, music listeners and coffee drinkers should get the Rodney King tratement""
That will sure cut down on the illegal intruder crimmigrant problem.
So basically you are in favor of rail as the solution... only instead of everybody on the train there are millions of little trains?
silly.
"How about I just cut the power to the maglev system and let the laws of physics cause the resulting crashes?"
The laws of physics also allow for mechanical brakes, sort of how current maglev systems have them. Obviously nothing is error proof, but I believe something can be made that is 45,000 dead/year proof.
Not a single one of your questions provides insight into a limitation of such a system. Flight plan? Just picture a road system like we have now, except the cars get the energy from the system itself, and are mechanically prevented from touching each other.
So how do you turn into a a parking lot.. park.. back out later... etc? Maglev requires tracks. You would have in essence an infinite number of criss crossing tracks. I don't even know how you would do a four way intersection, let alone allow for moving around parking lots.
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