Six dead in crash on I-65

When I went through a class to become a trainer, we were shown the well-known "Donner Pass high speed in a curve" rollover video. The guy leading the class used it to remind us not to be lazy when we know a new driver was going to go over mountain passes. (That video is a trainee who killed himself and his trainer.)

And no, I don't train any more, and yes, it was a big mistake on my part.

I do watch truck crash videos pretty regularly, just to remind myself that it could happen any time. I almost always feel a little uneasy before the crash because the trucks are going too fast for conditions or following too close or both.

 

The reason is because the lawyers make so much money off of truck crashes. They make sure all these end with some kind of agreement that everyone keeps quiet about it.

I've always wondered, though, why the investigating agencies don't publish more details on their findings, kind of like the NTSB for plane and train crashes. (Maybe the do truck crashes too, I don't know.) It's probably all about lawsuits. People sue too often, and there's too much money involved. Absolutely companies and drivers could learn a lot (if they wanted to) from the results. It's usually like @tinytim said, but who knows? Maybe the data would tell us something unexpected if they released it all.

 

Good point. It's brought home to me every time I read about one of these but not everyone pays attention to these things. A good reminder now and then would be good.

 

This is a good idea. And it wouldn't be that hard either. Unfortunately it would take the government to force something like this into place. Almost all cellphones are connected to google maps, whether you know it or not. That's what create the real time traffic on google maps. Pull out your phone and get on google maps and you can see the different colors which show traffic congestion. Green is no congestion and red is heavy congestion. If there was some kind of device that could incorporate this tool at appropriate times, it'd literally be a life saver.

 

I think one of two things will happen within the next decade. Either something like this will be developed, or it won't need to be developed, because trucks drive themselves. At least on long hauls.
I'm so dam glad I'm out of the game!

 

Not every terrible crash is caused by cell phone use. The are dozens of other ways for a driver to be distracted. It can be a simple as reaching back in the cooler for a soda.

 

Hear,hear.

 

I know. I've heard of drivers dropping a tissue. It just seems that phones cause lots of wrecks.

 

It wouldnt be that hard to set up to the proximity of the steering wheel. Most cars these days listen for a programmed chip to get near the steering wheel to allow drivers to start a vehicle. Easy enough to set the phone to listen for the steering wheel and shut down when in close proximity.

 

We had this already, then Google bought it and completely ruined it. It was called Waze.