I drove my car across Michigan last weekend and people drive close to the speed limit most of the time on the freeway, with exceptions. Once you get within 50 miles of Detroit the speed limit means nothing and everybody goes faster. If we wanted to take care of all of the financial problems that all of the states are in all they would need to do is catch all of the traffic law violators who are out there volunteering to pay some big fines.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, 2008 Saturn Vue, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
powderman426 wrote: Sad. It was the pickup drivers fault. Just because a MH is big doesn't make it invincible.
That's for sure.
I was passing a car in the MH on a 6 lane interstate and was going to stay in that lane and pass one more and for what ever reason I decided against it and pulled back into the right lane.
The semi behind me pulled up into the space I left in that lane.
And was struck head on by a small car that careened across 3 lanes down into the median and up into the lanes of the side we were on. Semi was totaled and 6 dead.
Within one nano second that could have been me if I had stayed in that lane a second longer than I did. It still sends shivers down my spine just thinking about that day.
You can do everything right and still become a victim on the highways.
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us".
Too many drivers on the road just totally lack emergency skills. Case in point is the old Firestone tire story. Many people lost their lives because the tires shed their treads!! The canvas-wrapped carcass was still there and full of air, so it really comes down to the tire making a lot of noise when it fails, and people panic. Car & Driver did a test, except their tire was set up to dump all of its air upon radio control. A picture of the driver in a Jeep Cherokee, with his helmeted head and gloved hands was shown OFF the steering wheel. That's a real blowout, not a tread peel. The jeep did NOT wreck despite ZERO driver input with a full blowout at 60 MPH.
Same with the "over-corrected" while trying to get back to the pavement thing. There's someone in the news every week in the Yakima Valley with roll-overs in the median from that same scenario. There's NO REASON to EVER try to yank the steering wheel when drifting off the road. Just take your foot off the gas and let the vehicle slow down along the shoulder, THEN get back on the road. You don't even need brakes with the drag on soft earth, and brakes can pull you towards the right (and ditch) anyway. Just steer STRAIGHT and let the rig slow on its own.
Pulling the wheel hard left does the same result on just about EVERY vehicle: the tire off the pavement hits and climbs the abrupt pavement edge, then it suddenly grabs traction while you're hard to port on the steering, then the vehicle veers violently to the left because you're already aimed that way with the steering.
I've had race jeeps and I guess I'm just primed that way. In a 4x4, you constantly "choose your line" which means you look to where your tires are going to go at all times. Same if it's 1.5 MPH on Moab slick rock or 80 MPH in the Baja 500. You make SLIGHT steering corrections, even if you're heading for a drop-off. In fact, the faster you drive, the LESS you want to turn the wheel.
I wish the USA would be like Finland. Student drivers there have to handle a car in extremes, much like a state trooper would hard train here. By the time a Finnish kid gets a driver's license, they can power slide on ice and snow, steer out of the worse skids, do handbrake 180 turns etc. that's why a lot of Fins are world champions in off-road rally races. Here, you parallel park, and you pass the tests. Too many people lose their lives for what should be a non-event like drifting off the road edge. Of course, we won't even talk about WHY someone drifts off the road. (Yapping on cellphone, texting, etc.)
FMCA# F355513. 40 foot Safari Continental, one slide, Cat powered Magnum Blue Max chassis, PAC brake PRXB, Allison MD3060, Aqua-Hot, 7.5 KW Quiet Diesel, Howard PCS, Velvet Ride suspension. 2006 Jeep Commander.
adondo wrote: ......I wish the USA would be like Finland. Student drivers there have to handle a car in extremes, much like a state trooper would hard train here. By the time a Finnish kid gets a driver's license, they can power slide on ice and snow, steer out of the worse skids, do handbrake 180 turns etc. .....
I would pay double on my state tax's if they made that mandatory in Wisconsin!
Every winter the flood of newly licensed teenager drivers cause more accidents and deaths because they do not know nor have ANY experience driving in winter conditions. It just is common sense to having new drivers learn, and be tested for extreme conditions. Afterall it IS the reason most accidents happen.
MPH, I'm a retired cop and interested. Was it a Class A MH? Did the MH occupants have seat belts on? Looks like the MH disintegrated on impact, did it? What make MH was it?
Thanks
mph_medic wrote: Another sad Motorhome Crash ... Not only do we have to watcj out for our rigs but everyone else too
bigred1cav wrote: MPH, I'm a retired cop and interested. Was it a Class A MH? Did the MH occupants have seat belts on? Looks like the MH disintegrated on impact, did it? What make MH was it?
Thanks
mph_medic wrote: Another sad Motorhome Crash ... Not only do we have to watcj out for our rigs but everyone else too
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