Dashcam view of a Class A blowing tire and rolling.

I don't get the cable barrier haters. While perhaps not as effective as a solid barrier, they clearly "redirected" the path of the rig. He didn't shoot into oncoming lanes at speed. Instead it rolled and slid onto the lanes. Without the cables, he would have shot across that median and into oncoming traffic at a rate of speed that would have given oncoming drivers little to no time to react. And, he would have shot into the woods on the other side probably killing both the driver and passenger. I think the cables did an effective job. The driver, on the other hand, did not. I really didn't see any sort of corrective action at all. Maybe he was in the back making a sandwich?

I had trouble opening it with Firefox but it opens fine with IE. RV crash

darnit the video is gone :(

anyone have a copy or a different link ??

Effy wrote:

10forty2 wrote:
Ouch!!! Glad to read the part that they only sustained minor injuries. But daggone....it obviously coudl have been MUCH worse not only for them but for the ones in the oncoming lane of traffic.

I watched it several times and judging by the number of white lines that pass by in the video and the time, the tractor trailer that was filming was traveling about 71mph. That would put the motorhome's speed somewhere around 75-80mph at the rate of takeover. Way too fast in my humble opinion....

What's the formula for calculating MPH based on the dotted lines?

Very rough calculations, but by my count I saw 35 white lines in 13 seconds. The standard for white lines on federal highways are that there is 10' of paint and 30' of space in between, making my calculated travel distance based on 35 white lines and 34 spaces to be 1,370 feet. That means that in 13 seconds of video from the time the video started until the truck started to slow down the truck traveled 1,370 feet. Speed =distance/time. According to an online calculator, that puts the truck doing about 71mph. The RV's speed was a guess based on the rate that he overtook the truck. Again, my best guess.

10forty2 wrote:
Ouch!!! Glad to read the part that they only sustained minor injuries. But daggone....it obviously coudl have been MUCH worse not only for them but for the ones in the oncoming lane of traffic.

I watched it several times and judging by the number of white lines that pass by in the video and the time, the tractor trailer that was filming was traveling about 71mph. That would put the motorhome's speed somewhere around 75-80mph at the rate of takeover. Way too fast in my humble opinion....

What's the formula for calculating MPH based on the dotted lines?

Count the white stripes and calculate how fast he was driving. It wasn't stated, but you can bet the truck drivers dash cam recorded it.

#2

Clicky

vjstangelo wrote:
That settles it. When I buy my motorhome I will install a Safety Steer!

I am actually thinking about this too. Did a little research on the Safe T Steer after seeing your comment and the reviews are pretty much across the board that it's an amazing driving improvement. Both in an emergency and daily driving. Strongly considering this upgrade. I was about done with upgrades as I thought we were trading our unit about a month ago. Looks like we are going to keep it now so this one bubbles to the top of the list.

Effy wrote:
Watched this several times. A few things I noticed, looks like he never touched his brakes, didn't see any brake lights. I know you are not supposed to slam on your brakes in a blow out but instead come to a gradual stop, but I didn't see any attempt to slow down at all. Maybe I missed it. Also looks like there was a lot of over correction which looks like may have caused the final roll over. Speed also seemed to be a factor but it's impossible to tell on the video. The only reference is the view from the truck and the cars further up the road, but the MH appears to be going faster than the rest of the traffic but without knowing how fast the OTR was going it's a guess. But it's easy for me to sit here and type this as I wasn't driving. The driver may have done everything right, Who can say for sure. just thinking out loud.

I thought he didn't hit the brakes too but if you notice the back of the truck as he is going towards the middle of the median, the truck brake lights come on for a second or two.

Another thing comes to mind, just before his tire blew, he turned on his right turning signal (yellow light), so that means he had just one hand on the steering wheel if he was holding the turning stalk with the other hand.

One thing I'm sure about, both passengers must have been terrified! And of course, the only way out is through the front windshield!

MM.

This is the comment I like the best from the State Troopers on Facebook, and in this article:
"Finally, check out the amazing engineering that went into the cable barrier system along the Interstate Systems in Louisiana. While not designed for heavy articulated vehicles like a motor home, the system was able to redirect a vehicle weighing over 20,000 pounds."

In reality the cables not only did not stop the motor home, they even allowed the truck to be dragged over the cable system with a minimal amount of damage to it. In the top of the article, before the part from the Trooper, it says that the motor home was Westbound and crossed all of the way across the Eastbound lanes. Perhaps the engineering is not that great on those cable barrier systems and it may have been the cable system that actually flipped the coach.