Posted on 06/30/2004 9:11:55 AM PDT by 11th Earl of Mar
Florida Woman Dies After Swerving Car To Avoid Turtle
POSTED: 10:03 am EDT June 30, 2004
INDIANTOWN, Fla. -- A 20-year-old woman who veered her car to avoid a turtle flipped the vehicle several times and died Tuesday, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.
Rachel Marie Martin of Sebring was traveling southeast on State Road 710 between Indiantown and Okeechobee in western Martin County when she suddenly turned away from a turtle crossing the roadway, according to an FHP report. The car overturned and landed in the middle of the road.
A passenger, 19-year-old Julie Christine Evans of Tampa, was treated and released from a local hospital. Martin's 1999 Oldsmobile SUV was totaled.
Authorities said Martin was wearing her seat belt and that alcohol was not involved in the crash.
*snicker*
Had to be an SUV.
Too many drivers on the road drive in an unsafe manner. Most of these are young 20-something males who weave in and out of traffic at speeds exceeding 80 miles an hour. They usually drive in pairs (two vehicles playing some stupid game of "tag"). Frankly, I'm all in favor of allowing these meatheads to kill themselves, and thereby eradicate themselves from the genepool, but they invarible take someone with them when they do.
It was endangered, until she swerved!
Here's another tip. I was taught to always keep the motorcycle lined up with the wheel track of the vehicle in front of me. I was told that this was to avoid the center of the lane where oil drips can make the surface very slippery.
Ignoring this rule allowed me to learn a better justification.
I have never forgotten the day I was riding what turned out to be too close behind a driver towing a trailer at about seventy miles an hour. From between the wheels of the trailer emerged a four-by-four just short enough to allow the trailer to pass over without touching it. I was amazed that I was able to pass over it without being thrown. There were eleven broken spokes in the rear wheel.
Scratch 1 animal rights whacko! One less vote for the Dimocrats.
The behavior of an improperly inflated tire might be especially important in the case of a car which has swerved and is skidding sideways. Too much flexibility in the tire can allow it to change shape and permit the vehicle to roll more easily.
Yes, I have seen that, but mostly with compact Japanese cars.
(Fortunately for those of us with the larger-mass Exploders and other SUVs ;-)
Sounds like you need to slow down. I've been driving for 27 years and have never hit an animal. If you're hitting that many animals, it's only a matter of time until you hit a person.
Man, that's some trophy wall. On the up side, at least you know you've got yer bike sighted in pretty well...
I don't know.
Here in Texas it's not unusual to Red-Eared Sliders crossing the road from one body of water to another.
Last year I rescued one that was 11" long.
Finally, credit where credit is due!
God didn't kill her.
Foolish driving did.
Which is unfortunate, because in this case, the fact that it was an SUV really is critical to the story. Normal cars don't flip over as easily as SUVs.
Yes, Honda Civics are the vehicle of choice.
Don't SUV's also generally have rather high ground clearance?
How big was this 'turtle' I wonder? I drive a little sports car and when something is on the road I don't swerve to avoid it completely (unless I can safely), but I do try to make sure it goes *under* the car rather than under the tires. That worked with my neighbor's dog, which (thankfully) survived unharmed.
Of course there are times you can't do that, so I just grip the wheel and pray ... sort of like the time in High School I hit the deer with my old VW Beetle during a rain storm.
A line of deer came trotting out of the woods onto the highway, and I angled the car to go between two of them (as I was pumping on the brakes), but they just kept on running. The angle I took of course was incorrect as they kept moving and I ended up having Bambie destroy my front end and side door--it got whipped around because I clipped it in the neck area.
Yes, if it is advertised to be off-road functional, I would imagine this would imply better clearance than an average passenger road vehicle.
To minimize side rollover possibility, more recent SUVs (a trend beginning in the last dozen years or so and continuing at least through to 2001) have significantly narrowed upper passenger compartments horizontally across the breadth of the vehicle.
Paradoxically, I would imagine that this results in decreased safety of the vehicle occupants due to more limited head and upper body clearance (unless there are upper side airbags).
Off-road specialty 4x4s tend to have roll bars or full roll cages in case the vehicle is tipped over while trying to overcome an obstacle.
"Which is unfortunate, because in this case, the fact that it was an SUV really is critical to the story. Normal cars don't flip over as easily as SUVs."
It's unfortunate this woman passed away. However, if she didn't know how to drive an SUV, she should have stuck with a car.
People that understand the limits of an SUV and can control their reactions in emergency situations are safer than people driving cars when involved in accidents. It's the people that don't understand the differences that have earned SUV's a dangerous reputation.
I've been driving 35 years and never hit a human. I came close in a crosswalk at a traffic light once, but it was on purpose.
On my bicycle I have been hit by two cars and came within literally two inches last night. At no time did I ever so much as stop my bike, however. The cars were rather badly scratched up and dented however.
I didn't say that very well. The motorcycle helped me override the reflex, but I hit all the animals in my car. Well, I hit one squirrel with my bicycle. 8^>
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