the crash on I-75 in Florida

[dcstrom]

I was watching a story on (where else) Fox News (at the gym, had no choice...). They were doing an "in depth" story about the multi-vehicle pileup on I-75, which included a lot of recorded 911 calls. There was a bushfire and smoke meant visibility was close to zero. The 911 caller was describing the sounds of literally crash after crash of cars/trucks just piling into each other, a total of about 16 crashes. Ten dead.

The Fox bimbo (Megan Kelly - yes I know she's smart but she's also blond to match all the other Fox bimbos err ladies), was shocked about all this and it was so awful for all the poor people caught up in the mayhem, and it was the FIRE'S fault that everybody crashed and not only that, the fire was started by a person or persons unknown so it was really THEIR fault.

In all the back and forth, neither Megan or the reporter thought to mention that perhaps people shouldn't keep driving at 70mph when visibility is poor. Most of us have been on an interstate in fog on a bike - I've found it very scary at times. I've slowed to a speed that's appropriate for the amound of visibility I have, but spending as much time looking behind as ahead because no fucker slows down. Options are limited - get off the interstate? Yeah if possible. Pull over - and do what? Wait for the fog to lift? Or do what I usually do and go faster than I'd like just to avoid getting run down by somebody...

Rant over...

Trevor

 

[coastie]

Yea I was thinking the same thing. Just because the police opened the freeway back up does not mean you can drive like a lunatic! In the past year I have ridden twice in near 0 visibility. Once in fog, where I turned on my flashers and went about 25 MPH. I did the same in a rainstorm on 95 in Georgia. Actually this is one of the things that bugged me the most about the Tenere. No hazard lights? How do they build a bike with no hazard lights?

 

[mrpincher]

::009::

I'll dive in - You will be forgiven for watching Fox after you clamp your head in a vice for 30 minutes and the infection curtails. ::010::

We just had a similar traffic pile up out here in the Texas Panhandle. 18-Car Pileup on Hwy 60 in Amarillo, Texas

There's nothin' but room to spare on the roads out here - look at all the cross traffic racing under the overpass!!

 

[GrahamD]

Well......
::009::

In OZstralia, we have had it hammered into us that speeding is bad and NOT speeding is good.

So when you can't see shit, people just continue on just under the speed limit, because that's good right?

That's it for driver education, anything else would just spend the revenue too fast.

Anyway, the mentality is that if you weren't doing the wrong thing (Speeding) it's someone elses fault.

So what's the death toll like after years of this? About the same.

What's the injury rates like, going up constantly, Why? Better crash protection.

So the accident rate is just as bad except more people now live through it.

The last issue of my one and only subscription mag had another few pages of WTF! articles about the "road safety" initiatives.

Motorcycle riders get a fair bit of professional training these days (minority) but the people in cars are still driving around with mum and dad learning good OR bad habits.

Every proposal for mandatory driver SKILLS training is met with the same old tired statements, that it just encourages speeding and dangerous driving.

 

[JonnyCinco]

you've never lived in FL, have ya? The only speed they know of down there is the white dusty kind that goes in the nose. East coast Floridians drive 20mph+ and run red lights like no other. West coasters can't see over the steering wheel and drive 20mph under...also run red lights like no other.

 

[JHKolb]

. . . What's the injury rates like, going up constantly, Why? Better crash protection.

So the accident rate is just as bad except more people now live through it.

The last issue of my one and only subscription mag had another few pages of WTF! articles about the "road safety" initiatives.

Motorcycle riders get a fair bit of professional training these days (minority) but the people in cars are still driving around with mum and dad learning good OR bad habits.

Every proposal for mandatory driver SKILLS training is met with the same old tired statements, that it just encourages speeding and dangerous driving.

You are right, we make the cars safer to crash in when we should be better training drivers. It almost funny watching all the Trophy/Soccer Mom's in my area race around in their Lux SUV's thinking they can drive just as fast in snow/ice/rain, and stop just as quickly BECAUSE of all the damn electronics and safety equip in their vehicles. Then when they can't stop and ram into someone/something, there are 400 air bags to protect them - WTF.

As far as driver training goes, here in PA they just upped the requirements for new teen drivers (my daughter is one); you now need a 6-month (documented in a log book) skill building period to practice with a licensed (21 y.o. and over) driver, 65 hours actually behind the wheel of supervised driving including 10 hours of night driving and 5 hours of bad weather driving, then there are also limitations on passengers and restricted times for driving. I spent a lot of time with my daughter going over my car with her (including changing a tire on her own) BEFORE I even let her behind the wheel. How can you become a good driver if you have no idea how that 4,000 lb. cage works and performs? I want my kids to know what the limits of their car will be just in case an emergency maneuver needs to be taken you WILL know how your car will react and perform.

It is sad all these deaths and injuries happened in FL but it was certainly NOT the fire's fault, fire wasn't driving the car! (IMO) It is the old 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people' arguement.

 

[colorider]

you've never lived in FL, have ya? The only speed they know of down there is the white dusty kind that goes in the nose. East coast Floridians drive 20mph+ and run red lights like no other. West coasters can't see over the steering wheel and drive 20mph under...also run red lights like no other.

That's about the best description I have ever heard of Florida drivers! ::025::

We all have our share of idiots. The gene pool is well stocked!!

 

[rem]

Well, I must beg to differ with what I'm hearing you gentlemen say. Whitehorse drivers are the worst drivers in the country, on the planet, in the solar system and possibly in the universe. No contest. They are just about the ignertest bunch I've ever seen. Our drivers originate from the shallow end of the gene puddle.


Just so we understand each other ... and just so you guys are forewarned. They really are bad, so watch your assets when you come up here. Pedestrians may even be just a tad more ignerter. They don't pause on the corner, they don't look both ways before stepping out into the street ... when the sign says WALK, they walk. Common sense is a most uncommon commodity up here.


And them's their good points. Just sayin'. R ::009::

 

[colorider]

Rem, since we are in full-blown rant mode, I may have to tell you how much I like the bicycle riders in Colorado. ::002::

 

[rem]

Strangely, the bikers up here are pretty good, likely because of the fear they have about being run down by a vehicle driver. The one thing that gets me is how most of them fail to have lighted or reflective gear on them. You can encounter bikers riding downtown at minus 35 at 8:00 am when it's pitch dark. Mighty poor. Mighty ignert. R

 

[20valves]

You will be forgiven for watching Fox

So you watch PBS or MSNBC to stay "informed?"

 

[dcstrom]

So you watch PBS or MSNBC to stay "informed?"

No they are all full of shit (just Fox has a shitload more). So I listen to the BBC. ::025::

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I don't care what anyone else says. Megan Kelly is hot. Oh sure, she dropped a few rungs on the ladder when she cut her hair, but still way up there.

 

[dcstrom]

I don't care what anyone else says. Megan Kelly is hot. Oh sure, she dropped a few rungs on the ladder when she cut her hair, but still way up there.

Oh I see it clearly now "I'm an avid Fox News viewer, but only because of the hot blondes." Kinda the opposite of someone who reads Playboy for the articles...

 

[tc9988]

Strangely, the bikers up here are pretty good, likely because of the fear they have about being run down by a vehicle driver. The one thing that gets me is how most of them fail to have lighted or reflective gear on them. You can encounter bikers riding downtown at minus 35 at 8:00 am when it's pitch dark. Mighty poor. Mighty ignert. R

and to think some people even ride those hard to see black motorcycles.................... couldn't resist, just kidding, back to the rant

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Oh I see it clearly now "I'm an avid Fox News viewer, but only because of the hot blondes." Kinda the opposite of someone who reads Playboy for the articles...

Nah...I watch Fox News because I enjoy it. The hot blonds are a nice bonus. ::013::

 

[mrpincher]

So you watch PBS or MSNBC to stay "informed?"

I wondered how long it would take for someone to call me on that comment. Honestly, I just kinda got tired and gave up on all the Brand name news. For over a year I've been following the world events via Twitter. You can pick up the facts closer to the source. Biggest pluses -I can choose what I think is news worthy & no more of those insulting commercials.

::002::

 

[RockyDS]

Kinda the opposite of someone who reads Playboy for the articles...

Playboy has articles?

 

[colorider]

Playboy has articles?

Of course..... that's why I subscribed to it for many years!!

>

 

[dcstrom]

Playboy has articles?

Fox News has news?

You get my point then...