FedEx and a bus crash in Cali

A perfect example happened to me a few days ago in Oklahoma on I-40.

Was heading east with no one in front of me for a good half mile or maybe more. Had a few vehicles way behind me. And one car in the left lane slowly catching up. I was doing about 68-70, clear skies, light wind from the north. Perfect day, really.

Had a truck with no lights on in the distance that I took at first to be a typical governed truck, as I was closing in. The car next to me was closing in to pass me. I started slowing to let the car get by so I could get in the left lane to go by this slower truck. It wasn't until I was about 3 football fields away, I realized this truck in front of me was going much slower than I had initially thought. They weren't just under 60mph, but were near stopped on the highway. I hit the brakes, and then started to lock them up. Knowing there was no one in front of them,and no one on the shoulder, I edged to the shoulder, in case I had misjudged my stopping power. The car next to me passed, and I had nearly stopped behind this doofus. He was going under 10mph in the right lane, with no lights or flashers. When he realized I was behind him (because I edged to the right), and had put my hazards on, he started squirming in his lane near the fog line, but not crossing it. I got in the left lane to start to pass him (the trucks behind me were all slowing down as well because both my braking and hazards), As I passed him, it was middle-aged man who looked at me as if to say: "Why are you blowing your air horn at me?" As best I could tell in the mirror, no accidents happened, but he formed a very quick, and severe, bottleneck that brought traffic to a halt to squeeze by. The entire time, he NEVER pulled to the shoulder and never sped up for as long as I could see the hassle in the rear-view mirror.

Now, even though I saw him, and I still stopped in time, seeing a completely stopped, or nearly completely stopped, vehicle on the road without any indication they are slow or stopped (hazards, flares, triangles, etc) you may not realize just how slow they're going, and therefore, just how fast you're catching up to them.

Now, this was a severe example. Someone doing 10mph on a freeway is highly unsafe. But, if the potential van that the FedEx truck was attempting to avoid was doing 45-55, etc then it shouldn't have been an issue for FedEx.

 

A heart attack or stroke can knock you unconscious in a second. As he fell forward what ever hand he had on the wheel the truck would take off in that direction. He might not of been finding a path. That could of been the second of the medical event.

Many survive heart attacks and stay conscious. Then again there are many their heart just ruptures and they are out like a light.

I don't believe that because even a bad driver is not going to jump into the hammer lane so late as to cause other traffic to lock their brakes up. Why didn't them cars stop and give testimony to such behavior if that happened?

It would make more sense he passed out and drifted in front of the traffic or towards them. The law said he cross the median at a 10* angle, no brakes, no evasive maneuvers noted.

I thought about the fire thing two. With the truck southbound and that time of day the car that supposedly saw flames which could be nothing but a reflection of the sun across his dirty windshield. Positioning of everything would be about right for that. With a truck coming at you I doubt you are getting a good look.

The accident looks more and more like a heart attack or other medical event. With the destruction of evidence I guess we'll never know.

 

Okay EZX100
Your saying that for every 10 ft. length of your TT combination you don't add 1 second of following distance, which does round off to a 6 or 7 second traveling distance with traffic ahead in your lane under good driving conditions ?....... What's your hurry driver...?
Management of your operation has you that stressed out with "on time delivery" that deep or does this puts you in "the good ole boy network" for being a driver who takes chances...?
How about when road conditions are bad, do you double or triple your following distance and keep control of your truck ?
Take any major city you want, my career has taken me through quite a few.
I call this "metro expressway driving", heavy traffic the moves below the posted speed limit.
I drive right along with traffic, I'm never in the right lane, unless I'm getting off at the exit for where I'm going.
I drive tanker with no baffles loaded over 77,000 gross.
4 wheeler makes a lane change a simple off the throttle long enough to regain my following distance is all I do driver.
I've added an extra 2 seconds to my travel distance, and very rarely do I come to a complete stop, if I'm watching the road ahead for what's going on.
With that aggressive type driving you mentioned you will be stressed, and angry trying to keep 4 wheelers out of your lane space, putting extra "wear n tear" on your equipment.
"It's all about me, because it's me first"..... that's your mindset while driving in heavy expressway traffic ?
What would you say if another driver was tailgating on your wife, or girlfriends car like that and had an accident ?
I write this to you, and to anyone else who chooses to read this thread, you were trained on how to operate a commercial truck, before your CDL was issued to you.
In control of the truck, at all, times under all circumstances, no excuses if you call yourself a professional truck driver.

 

Not going to 2nd guess the nissan driver who's car make contact with FedEx.
Driving out of control, was the driver distracted, and took his eyes off the road ?
How far up the interstate was he looking, or was his sight just a few hundred feet from the front hood ?
When you leave the traveling portion of the road you have no control of the truck.
Any quick moves on the steering wheel of a large truck will produce catastrophic results.
Do you steer to avoid, for anything can happen, or hard brake, and stay the course in your lane..?
Split second decision, but we've all been trained to keep control of your truck at all times, under all conditions.....Slow Down, and Live...

 

We all had the state's driver's manual, to study for the written driver's test.
"Slower Moving Vehicles Keep to The Right"
There are posted signs along the interstate that state the same thing.
Driver "laws of the land" a know procedure that any driver of a vehicle should know.
For truck drivers, it's automatic, were in the right lane of any roadway till our speed is up, and will maneuver our truck to other lanes when necessary.
Where I'm going with this, the "motoring public" has forgotten this law in driving, chooses any lane the so desire, and travel below the posted speed limits instead of just moving to the right lane.
I'm of the opinion that when I see these "traffic backup wrecks" in the media, from some severe weather conditions, I feel it was caused by some 4 wheeler who's traveling the "hammer lane" doing 30 mph with their 4 ways on instead of moving to the right.
A driver who's got a handle on the road condition and has his truck under control runs up on this type of situation, is at fault for hitting someone and is liable for that is wrong.
People that have these motor homes, and tow their "recreational toys" or use their car, pickup truck for their vacations, weekend getaways towing something behind them, should have an endorsement on their drivers license, that states they've past a written test for coupling a trailer, understand the lane of travel for there equipment in tow, and to keep to the right if there traveling below the speed limit with 4 ways on.
I fail to understand why the insurance companies haven't lobbied for additional driving regulations to this effect.
You would think a reduction in claims would be seen, and save a few lives along the way.
It's been a few years ago, a UPS driver was traveling east on the Indiana toll road.
A woman from Texas was traveling west in a pickup truck that had a 5th wheel in the center of the bed towing an empty horse trailer.
It came uncoupled while she was driving, went into the median, hit the ground,
that launched it airborne, and hit the UPS truck traveling east in the front windshield, it killed the driver.
Driver looses his life, because someone didn't know what they were doing hooking up a trailer to towed with a pickup truck.
People buy this equipment, get to watch a video or some quick lesson from the dealer about how to couple it up, and there out the door.
It should be mandated at the time you register any trailer to be towed by motor power you have the endorsement that you know how to properly operate it.

 

Seems to be the way to make it harder to read.


[FONT=MoolBoran, sans-serif]Seems to be the way to make it harder to read.[/FONT]

 

Hey medic....I was trying to study how to be the perfect, know it all, done with perfection (save a couple/few/many spelling and grammar flubs)...in short ... this has become a driving school! Now sit down, break out the popcorn, and pay attention! The teach is about to start typing again...shortly!!!!

 

Hard to read, so I ignored it.

Seems to be many of them doing it as small as they can. I guess they are billed by the size of the print?

 

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edit: ALL CAPS AND BOLD TYPE WITH UNDERLINE HELPS THE READER

 

It bears repeating, again: Objects approaching head-on/ offer only an apparent change in size as a clue to rate of closure, and that change is NOT linear.