Um, yeah. No ####. I never said the driver didn't have the right to be there. As a guy who has driven 36 and 299 numerous times I'm just curious why the driver was taking that route. That is all. Ok with you?
Busses may be able to squeak by on 299 but trust me hwy 36 is no place for a bus. Not between Red Bluff and the Hayfork turn off anyways. Narrow and sharp turns.
His routing was not in question at any time. Hwy 36 is posted as "NOT ADVISED", not "PROHIBITED". That route is the most direct route, and a SoCal driver probably went by what his GPS is telling him, not necessarily from experience. I have been involved in many "investigations" where "eye witness" accounts will vary from one perspective to the next. What happens in a split second, especially in a "panic moment", can easily be inconsistent and/or exaggerated depending on the proximity of time from actual incident time and "cool down/re-think" time. How many "news articles" have been debunked after more investigation is uncovered?
Perhaps they were aiming to give the prospective students the more dramatic drive into Arcata, going from somewhat familiar dry land north of Sacramento to suddenly dropping up and over the hills into the lush landscape of the coast. Running the coast on the 101 might also take longer as they'd have to run west through the bay area traffic then get onto the coastal highway for a longer distance than running I-5 much farther north then relatively short hop on non-freeway. Humboldt State has been doing this for quite a long time. The bus company has a very good track record and the bus was almost new (one month old).
Latest update is there was no skid marks from the FedEx indicating another problem like medical. But the Nissan driver is now claiming seeing flames inside the FedEx truck prior to colliding with her. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/co...no-sign-fedex-truck-braked-hitting-bus-n78986 It's strange but possible he was overcome by smoke prior to this accident. Maybe electrical?
They're going to be conducting tests to determine whether the truck driver may have been incapacitated by smoke inhalation prior to his death. If there was a fire either inside or under the cab there may have been smoke inside the cab. If so the driver may not have noticed in time to stop from becoming overwhelmed. Carbon monoxide poisoning comes to mind. But again, this is conjecture based on what's been reported.
Flavor of the week, Nothing new can be learned from this, No industry improvements in safety. 9 students were killed. Yes a loss for family. This is a industry wide improvement. change from gasoline to diesel school ( buses ) and have a cage around fuel tank more emergency exits. Plenty of us seen the memorial plaque along I-71 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollton,_Kentucky_bus_collision
299 is fine for buses especially after they spent a ton of stimulus money straightening buckhorn summit.
You folks are missing a few things here. We should all wait for the reports...... 1. There will not be any skid marks in a modern day truck, ABS has been mandated since the 80's. There will be yaw marks on the pavement as the truck changed direction. ( Nobody watches Nascar anymore? Rubber on the track? RS tires only please? Single line of marks in the curves? Yaw marks from weight shift and tire slip! ) 2. No lobbyist dollar is going to cover this up and the NTSB will not be swayed. Their report will be their report regardless of external pressure. 3. On board fire ? Maybe...What about maintaining your lane? ( if he was conscious he is wrong and I've never seen a 4 wheeler strike make the truck veer like this, even empty he outweighs a car X10) 4. Std 2 hump metal guardrail would not take direct assault from T/T, have to be K wall ( A jersey barrier? ) designed to roll you back where you came from and they don't do well with T/T's. Most trucks will jump it and hang on top of it. 5. Oleanders / bushes are aesthetic and there to keep on coming headlights down.... that's it. No value in a crossover. Here's my bottom line..... this is the states fault and the Feds fault. Ultimately there should be no way for FedEx or anyone else to reach the bus in the first place. Crossover protection falls straight on the states shoulders and because it's an Interstate , the Feds. My 2 cents.......
