Crazy Accident

[mabynack]

I just wanted to relate an incident that happened to me a couple of years ago. There's another post about an accident that made me think about this one.

I was towing a travel trailer down I-65 and my ex was following me in an SUV. Traffic was pretty heavy because it was the first day of a long weekend.

We started seeing signs saying that there was construction and that the right lane was closed ahead, so the ex and I moved into the left lane. There were numerous cars passing in the right lane and then swerving into traffic and this caused more slow-downs. Eventually the left lane was travelling at less than 30 mph and people in the right lane were travelling 70-80 mph.

I was at the point where the barrels were placed in the right lane when I saw a line of cars coming up very quickly on my right. There was a van leading a pack of cars and they were all within a car length of the car in front of them.

The van squeezed between my RV and the barrels, swerved in front of me and locked up his brakes to keep from hitting the car in front of me. The car behind him suddenly realized that the lane had ended and swerved in into the side of my TT. The car behind him side-swiped my ex's SUV, hit the back of my TT and crashed through the barrels. The vehicle behind him continued on through the barrels and hit other vehicles before slamming into a generator and portable lighting system. Lots and lots of vehicle carnage but no one was seriously injured.

The aftermath was a real mess. The interstate was completely closed for several hours. Hundreds of cars backed up with nowhere to go. The ex, my 2 children, and I were stuck 300 miles from home with three wrecked vehicles. The only guy who made it out okay was the guy in the van. He drove away without a scratch.

[beemerphile1]

packnrat wrote:
...when we try to keep people from doing such they run over the cones. or make a call to our snitch number and report us as swerving or cutting them off....

I would say leave the law enforcement to law enforcement officers, but there is no law validating blocking two lanes. Drivers that purposefully try to block traffic are breaking the law and deserve being reported.

[kvangil]

fj12ryder wrote:
Easy way to solve your problem of being reported is to leave traffic enforcement to the people who get paid for it. Vigilantes aren't really needed on the highways, there are already enough people who feel they have the right to do what they consider is correct. It's not your job, and not always appreciated.

X2. Well said...

[toedtoes]

mlts22 wrote:

Houston Remodeler wrote:
My first 35 years of driving were spent in Philly where folks locked bumpers at 55 mph (yes that was the max back then) to take an exit and not let anyone in. Yes it was frightfully dangerous, but most folks knew to get in the back of the line or take the next exit.

When I moved to Texas it was another world. Folks got into the correct lane miles ahead, with a rare few nudging in at the end. The polite folks in Texas seem to have it right.

In rural areas in Texas, I see people taking time to get into the correct lane, and making sure to move into a position so that someone who is in the wrong lane can merge in without a problem.

In Austin, people will actually deliberately move into the lane that is ending, floor it, and cut in, inches away from where the barrels are, forcing the entire lane to a standstill, when there was at least a mile of warning previously. I'm guessing it is a behavior that the out of state transplants carry with them, since as soon as one leaves the city proper, people grasp the concept of moving over in a safe manner.

More likely, it is a side-effect of living in the city. In the cities, most people face bumper-to-bumper traffic on a daily basis, or at least weekly; whereas in rural areas, most people rarely find themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic. When you sit in dead traffic for X minutes/hours a day, you start to jump at the opportunity to "get ahead" whether it's polite or not.

[mlts22]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
My first 35 years of driving were spent in Philly where folks locked bumpers at 55 mph (yes that was the max back then) to take an exit and not let anyone in. Yes it was frightfully dangerous, but most folks knew to get in the back of the line or take the next exit.

When I moved to Texas it was another world. Folks got into the correct lane miles ahead, with a rare few nudging in at the end. The polite folks in Texas seem to have it right.

In rural areas in Texas, I see people taking time to get into the correct lane, and making sure to move into a position so that someone who is in the wrong lane can merge in without a problem.

In Austin, people will actually deliberately move into the lane that is ending, floor it, and cut in, inches away from where the barrels are, forcing the entire lane to a standstill, when there was at least a mile of warning previously. I'm guessing it is a behavior that the out of state transplants carry with them, since as soon as one leaves the city proper, people grasp the concept of moving over in a safe manner.

[fj12ryder]

Easy way to solve your problem of being reported is to leave traffic enforcement to the people who get paid for it. Vigilantes aren't really needed on the highways, there are already enough people who feel they have the right to do what they consider is correct. It's not your job, and not always appreciated.

[packnrat]

mikes47 wrote:
The potential for that kind of scenario makes me appreciate it when a trucker or two begins to straddle two lanes, making it real hard for the guys who want to race up to the very last inch before merging into the only open lane.

sad but even when we try to keep people from doing such they run over the cones. or make a call to our snitch number and report us as swerving or cutting them off. that gets us in trouble at work.
from a verbal to unpaid time off.

can't fix stupid.


.

[mabynack]

My dad was a trucker in the Northeast and frequently drove through NYC. He was entering a toll collection site and heard a grinding noise. Apparently a guy in a Miata had tried to squeeze in ahead of him on his right. There was no way for my dad to see him.

[Jarlaxle]

powderman426 wrote:
Once on the Fla. Turnpike with a trailer, traffic started to backup a few miles from the toll booth. It was very slow slogging when all of a sudden a car came up the berm on my right. A few minutes later there was another, and another. This had me frustrated until I realized that these cars had no way to get back in line. And there at the head of the line was a patrolman just waiting for them to come to him and issuing a ticket. Now this was nice, but the icing on the cake was that they were still not allowed back in line. That made my day.

Around here, many would simply FORCE their way in! They hit you? They don't care, their truck already doesn't have a straight panel on it!

[et2]

There are some sick people out there that don't care what you think or their actions and consequences. They would as just soon kill you to get their way. Challenge there deranged minds and you could be in for a whole heap of trouble.

Just the reason we installed a dash cam. Too many crazies out there.

[Houston_Remodel]

My first 35 years of driving were spent in Philly where folks locked bumpers at 55 mph (yes that was the max back then) to take an exit and not let anyone in. Yes it was frightfully dangerous, but most folks knew to get in the back of the line or take the next exit.

When I moved to Texas it was another world. Folks got into the correct lane miles ahead, with a rare few nudging in at the end. The polite folks in Texas seem to have it right.

[Cloud_Dancer]

Yep, lots of wannabe organ donors out on the highway. Yet, sometimes the organ recepient wins.

[fj12ryder]

"Yes, we absolutely have aggressive drivers, but I always get where I'm going just as quickly as they do, but with a lot less stress."

Not necessarily, you just choose to notice when you actually do get there as quickly. I'm sure you don't keep track of all those other drivers and some of them do get to their destination quicker, much as you hate to think so. 🙂

[toedtoes]

atreis wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

mabynack wrote:
Several years ago I was going across a bridge and the right lane was closed. The construction had been going on for months, so it wasn't surprise to any of the residents that they would have to merge. The signs said, Right Lane Closed, Merge Left. It was rush hour and traffic was stop and go. I saw a van with local plates get out of the left lane four or five cars behind me, pass me and try to crowd back into the left lane. I had already let several cars in and I didn't give her room. Every time traffic started to creep ahead she crowded further into my lane. Finally she got mad, cut the wheel hard left and rammed her van into the side of my truck. She proceeded to rip the side of her van from bumper to bumper on my front bumper. I had to follow her for several miles to get her to stop.

The cops showed up and I showed the police officer my license and CCW Permit and the cop started laughing. She said she couldn't wait to tell the woman driving the van that I was armed so she could see the look on her face. Apparently she was screaming that she was going to kick my butt.

My point is that leaving a gap in front of you is an invitation to every Jackass in line to cut in front of you. It's sad but true.

And had you left the space in front of you, she would have gotten in (oh no! A stupid idiot got in front of me!) and there would have been no having to chase her to get her to stop, no police call, no further slowdown of traffic, etc.

Seriously? Are there no aggressive drivers where you live? If you do that here, you end up stopped while everyone pushes their way in front of you, having decided that you're an easy mark.

Yes, we absolutely have aggressive drivers, but I always get where I'm going just as quickly as they do, but with a lot less stress.

[atreis]

toedtoes wrote:

mabynack wrote:
Several years ago I was going across a bridge and the right lane was closed. The construction had been going on for months, so it wasn't surprise to any of the residents that they would have to merge. The signs said, Right Lane Closed, Merge Left. It was rush hour and traffic was stop and go. I saw a van with local plates get out of the left lane four or five cars behind me, pass me and try to crowd back into the left lane. I had already let several cars in and I didn't give her room. Every time traffic started to creep ahead she crowded further into my lane. Finally she got mad, cut the wheel hard left and rammed her van into the side of my truck. She proceeded to rip the side of her van from bumper to bumper on my front bumper. I had to follow her for several miles to get her to stop.

The cops showed up and I showed the police officer my license and CCW Permit and the cop started laughing. She said she couldn't wait to tell the woman driving the van that I was armed so she could see the look on her face. Apparently she was screaming that she was going to kick my butt.

My point is that leaving a gap in front of you is an invitation to every Jackass in line to cut in front of you. It's sad but true.

And had you left the space in front of you, she would have gotten in (oh no! A stupid idiot got in front of me!) and there would have been no having to chase her to get her to stop, no police call, no further slowdown of traffic, etc.

Seriously? Are there no aggressive drivers where you live? If you do that here, you end up stopped while everyone pushes their way in front of you, having decided that you're an easy mark.