Fatal Accidents

What really annoys me is the reactions on the radio sometimes, for instance with the airgas truck that the driver died in, I was stuck in that from the time it happened until about 4 am, around 4-6 hours. People on the radio were moaning and complaining they had places to be, their load was going to be late, so on. Absolutely disgusting, a person has died, respect the fact you were not them, and maybe dwell on how lucky you are to be sitting in traffic ALIVE.

 

That made me think about what happened to me back a few years ago when I got my first road motorcycle
I think it was my 3rd ride ever on this bike and I was out on this back road just riding I had the sun on my back, wind in my hair, that fresh smell of ground water that farmers used to water their flieds, and that cool mist from that chilling my skin at 50mph all while up ahead a farmer's semi was in the on coming lane had this black pick up truck tailgating it and at the first chance it got to whip out into the other lane to pass the farm truck it took which in turn was the very lane that I was in
Lucky enough the driver of the semi moved over onto the side of this two-lane road just enough for me suck it up (lost half of the seat of the bike to my #####) and tuck the rest of myself into, to go between the pick up and the big truck
If it were not for the driver of the semi I would have been a greasy spot on that back road today

 

Thank you Brickman for that information,

That accident could have been prevented just by moving over to the other lane. Then someone's grandpa would have been coming home that night instead of an officer notifying the next of kin.

Is it really that hard to just move over?

 

Exactly, its one lane change that could save a person's day. I move over every chance I get. The only problem is I can't always do so because there's usually some #### 4-wheeler slowly floating along beside the trailer. In those cases I hug the center line as close as I can to give as much room anyways.

I did that for a state trooper once....the trooper waved thank you to me, and the 4-wheeler in the left lane gave me a stupid look as they passed...like they thought I didn't know where I was in my lane. Ignorance is such bliss sometimes.

 

I saw a car illegally take the right away on a highway crossing and pull in front of a TMC flatbed with a Cat front loader on it. The TMC driver t-boned the passenger car at close to 70 MPH. The wreckage was strung over close to a quarter mile, and the blood ran red on the highway. The front loader broke loose and rolled into a parked (and empty) school bus for Atlanta City Schools. The driver and passenger of the car were both TU immediately. Just imagine if that Atlanta City Schools bus was full of children though. Car + truck = truck winning always. Front loader falling from flatbed + school bus = front loader winning. I had horrible nightmares about it for weeks. I often dream about being loaded to 80,000 pounds and hitting a stationary passenger car or even running my truck through a house while carrying a tanker. It messed me up good seeing that.

 

I keep thinking how it would be nice to have some public service announcements on trucks, for the general public to see. So they can see a glimpse into the potential dangers around big rigs.

One idea is a ad where you compare a truck and car. A small car going at 60, hitting a parked truck and fully loaded trailer...and show the reaction by zooming into a glass of water on the dash of the truck.

THEN, show the damage a truck going at 60 can cause to a small car that is stopped, and show the same visual with the glass of water!