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 ...
When was the last time you took a driving class or looked at current driving techniques, 1955?
You are supposed to scan around you at all times. Including checking your mirrors and instruments.
https://drivesaferidesafe.com/sipde-five-step-process-help-crashproof-new-drivers/
SIPDE originated in motorcycle training in the **1970s** and has been incorporated into driver training and drivers’ education since the 90s. Commercial driver training has had this or similar doctrines since about the same time.
It doesn’t prevent being rear ended all the time but the bigger the gap you have the more time you have for the dipstick behind you to notice your brake lights.
Even if that is to no avail, the longer the gap space is, the more deceleration space you have so that you may get pushed into the vehicle in front of you at a lower rate of speed.
I had a blonde women tailgating my car last weekend. She was hunched over the steering wheel and was so close I could not see the car in side mirrors. She could have easily changed lanes but for some it is a sport to do this.
Doing anything in your car except paying attention and driving should be the only thing. Sadly I lost count of how many idiots are texting talking on the phone eating dozing, drinking arguing. Innocent people die because of a##holes on the road
Great report - we have an International, a Chevy SUV, a Buick, a BMW, a Mercedes - what are we missing? The deaths are a shame.
Hi.
In the fwiw department, exit 256 (to 56) to Land O Lakes off I75 sux.
If you can avoid it do so.
5.56mm
A good rule of thumb I learned in traffic school years ago (I was a dumb kid) was when you stop, you should be able to see the tires of the car in front of you. I think of that often in traffic..
I’ve done a whole lot of interstate driving over many years starting when they first opened in 1956. I always stay way behind traffic ahead of me usually parked about 5 over the limit. However, invariably some jagoff in a semi appears in my rearview mirror so close I can read the logo on the grill. Then it takes them 10 minutes to pass me and as soon as they get along side me I slow down and let the prick get ahead of me as fast as possible. I hate semis alongside me or tailgating.
“One sees people using flashers during heavy T-storm downpours in the South.”
I don’t know how. In the heavy T storms they have in Tampa you can’t see the front end of your car through the windshield it is so thick. During the season, storms like this hit almost daily at around 5 p.m. and last for a minute or so. Lightening is just as thick as the rain.
But this isn’t the case as the driver saw the blockage too late and swerved to miss it.
Must be really confusing with modern cars that are low to the ground and have mudguards or ground effects. Do you end up leaving a quarter mile between yourself and something like a Corvette? :P
Being from Maryland, right outside of DC, I was instructed to not trust any driver in front, beside or around me. We girls were all told that by my dad. LOL
I make it a habit to stay way back of the cars in front of me. My beloved keeps a bit closer and I’m always getting nervous. There have been a few times cars will cross over the lane from beside the right of us to make left turns and I’m practically stroking. Where’s a cop when one is needed, right??
I have no problem letting cars go right around me when they get mad. As long as I’m doing the correct speed they can get mad all they want; I’m not getting too close to the car in front.
Exactly my point. I would rather have that truck closing at a relative rate of 10 mph (Him at 70, me at 60 and decelerating slowly), than have him closing at a relative rate of 55 mph (Him at 70, me at 15). Even if he hits you, it is a bump, not a crush. And because he has time, closing at such a slow relative speed, who knows, he might just look up from his phone long enough to avoid the collision.
I do not mean to denigrate the memory of your friend. Not all tragedies can be avoided, and it sounds like your friend's situation was one of those.
This defensive driving stuff is not the norm, but it works for me. I hope it might work for you, too. But I am sorry for your loss.
Sounds like your Dad taught you well. Keep being a good example to your beloved. Maybe the lesson will be transferred.
You're supposed to keep your eyes moving, looking ahead and glancing at your side/rear view mirrors often. If a driver leaves himself an out and is not following too close to the vehicle in the front, in this scenario the driver in danger of being rear-ended could have accelerated and headed for the next lane, side of the highway etc, in an effort to avoid a vehicle bearing down on them from the rear.
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