Crash kills five on Indiana Toll Road

Saw the pictures in the paper, and saw the location, right where I thought it was. Looks like a car, a pickup, and a flatbed with a steel coil on it were stopped at the 101 mile mark eastbound just past a bridge. The mini van came up and was stopped or in the process of stopping when the Millis truck came over the hill and hit the backend of the mini van. It got sandwiched between the flatbed and the Millis truck, and basically no one in there had a chance of survival.

I can't think of anything that terrifies me worse on the highway than coming to a sudden unplanned stop on an interstate, and hoping that the people behind me can get slowed down or stopped as well. I always announce a stop on the radio, and put my flashers on, but never feel safe until I have 3-4 vehicles behind me.

I feel the merge zone was poorly laid out here, because it occurred after the bridge. If the merge had been started about 1000 foot earlier, the bridge would not have blocked the view ahead and the driver might have seen the traffic stopping ahead. No merge or reason for slowing whould ever be on the downward side of a bridge, because the height of the bridge limits vision too much. My 02.

 

A few months ago I came upon a bad wreck early in the morning. I was going to a job in Alamosa, Colorado (I am in the glass business now but am working towards driving truck) and came upon a horrific wreck where a semi hit an overpass concrete pillar at probably 75 miles an hour head on. There was a slight bend in the road and he apparently fell asleep. It was about 5:30 or so.
The truck literally exploded. The rear trailer wheels were over here, the cab was over there, the trailer was ripped open like a can of tuna. The tractor was so destroyed that you couldn't tell what make it was. Parts were everywhere.
I felt sick to my stomach. But I heard the next day that the driver was in good condition!
I couldn't believe it but was glad anyway.

 

I guess the driver was wearing a seatbelt. I saw pretty much the same thing back in 2001 on I-40. It was in Arkansas around exit 5, I believe, at Fort Smith. A west-bound Volvo truck entered the slight curve at that exit and kept going straight....right into the center bridge pylon. The driver wasn't as lucky as the driver you're talking about, though.

When I saw that, I immediately thought of all the troubles Volvo trucks had been having then with front suspension set-ups and steering axle wheel/tire failures. The driver may have fallen asleep, but maybe a suspension failure caused that crash. I never found out. I just heard via radio that it was fatal.

 

Volvo had some issues with tire wear being faster than people preferred. There was never any safety issues involvged, merely tire wear. They redesigned the spring hangers to lessen the amount of side to side force transmitted to the tires through the motion of the springs, and moved the fuel tanks back on the tractor to reduce the weight on the steer tires. That's all that was done.

If you can find any accident reports where the root cause of the crash was tire and wheel failure caused initially by front suspension failure, I would sure love to know about it. I've never heard of anything like that happening, and would appreciate knowing when and where it occurred.

 

I've heard of Volvo wheels coming off...not just the wheels, but the entire wheel assemblies. I read those stories in Land Line. Were they true? Who knows. I was skeptical then, and I'm still skeptical now.

 

Fine, lets assume that did happen. The wheel ends used on trucks are manufactured as a complete component by an outside company, and simply bolted onto the truck by the manufacturer. That does not mean that Volvo's are a bad truck. It may mean that a run of bad parts or simply low quality bearings got used to meet the specs set by one manufacturer.

I have never heard of a Volvo losing the entire wheel end assembly, so if that has happened, it's a new one on me. The tire wear problem that I know of only affected 98 model year trucks.

 

I had a hard time believing those stories, but they're all moot. Volvo has cleaned up its suspension problems, I'm sure. But I still wouldn't buy a Volvo. Not after reading about the treatment Volvo dealers were giving O/Os back during the "tire eating" era of the Volvo VNs.

 

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Below please find a copy of a letter I sent to the Indiana State police and the Governors Office.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I am a truck driver, and have been for about 7 years.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]For the last 2 years I've been traveling the Indiana and Ohio toll road and turn pike for the company I work for.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]For what I believe to be the last 12 months I have witnessed at least 12 gruesome deaths between mm99 and mm121 [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I was told by my local news that ISP was increasing there vigilance in those construction areas within those mm's mentioned.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I travel the toll road around 4:30 AM every morning. Since the most recent accident and resulting deaths at the 99, I have yet to see The ISP anywhere. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Just to prove that I am observant,I can tell you where I do see the ISP at 4:30 AM.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]MM116 car parked and empty. MM137.5 car parked and empty.MM143 on the north side of the highway in the dark.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I realize its early in the morning, but my job is far less important than yours; and I'm working! [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I have become so much more aware of the danger on this road that it has literally slowed me down by 5 to sometimes 10 MPH.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I retired from the Air Force after 21 years and almost lost my wife twice to what can be a deadly illness and yet I've never been as scared as i am when approaching these 2 construction areas from either direction. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I will start sweating in an air conditioned truck when closing in on these areas.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]It seems that I'm the only driver slowing to 45MPH when directed to do so.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I'm constantly passed by a multitude of cars and trucks doing 60 to 70 MPH or faster trying to pass everything before the left lane disappears. and then the brakes come on. on HARD. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]You can not tell me with a straight face that the people who have died in the last 12 months did not have something to do with there own deaths. Weather the trucker was speeding or not, if you cram yourself in front of a big truck and then slam on your brakes your going to DIE. I think its a shame we don't here that on the news. Only that the trucker was found or plead guilty. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]I mean, how can you find someone's dear departed loved ones at fault for anything,right.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]OK, I'm done drifting now.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]If you don't increase your visible vigilance in the afore mentioned areas there are going to be more deaths. Until you do that you can find me on SR120. You'll now me right away, I'm white over white and singled out. the only one doing the speed limit. Don't forget to wave. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Sincerely[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Elkhart, Indiana[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]P.S. Copy and paste is so cool![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]CC: News center 16[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]CC: the Governors Office[/FONT]
CC: News 22
CC: Department of Transpertation