Near life ending accident?

[sajohnson]

Distracted driving is becoming more and more of an issue. New, touch-screen interfaces require more attention from the driver than the buttons and knobs I grew up with, and no one seems willing to put down their phones. I would look for government-mandated (what isn't these days?) tech solutions in the future. Something like this:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/04/this-rearview-mirror-will-look-back-at-you-to-monitor-distracted-driving/

I wonder how much control (if any) the typical DMS has over the vehicle?

Sponsored

 

[CableXJ]

We just don’t know what other people are going to do.

A truck driver in my state just caused a 3 semi, 2 car wreck. Smoked a bowl of weed and started driving then just had to check his ring doorbell notification. Manslaughter charges filed. This is a professional driver.

I spend more time nowadays driving my Silverado pick-up and my Expedition…I can see the glow of cell phones in every car now. The BS doesnt sit up high enough. Although I still love it and will keep it, it’s a secondary vehicle lately.

Everywhere I go, I see people that are distracted. I see over corrections and panic breaking. Glanced down at your phone for what you think is 1 second for what is more like 7 seconds. They look up and see brake lights and do a panic pump. That’s because their eyes were off the road and they looked up and panicked because they hadn’t calculated the closure rate yet. No one among us can multitask as well as we think we can. I used to think that I was the best, but what I really was, was lucky.

here’s what’s really crazy to me; people have irrational fears and anxiety and won’t get on airplanes or roller coasters or boats, but those same people will happily and carelessly get behind the wheel of a vehicle and stare at their cell phones, while passing 4 feet from an oncoming vehicle, whose driver is also on the phone. At deadly highway speed. As if that double yellow stripe is some sort of barrier. oh but I’m always hands free…I mount my phone. Yeah, but you are still looking at it and mounting it up on the dash might help keep your eyes up…. But you still look at it.

I was driving in Kentucky last week and a driver crossed the line and was coming right at me. I ended up completely off the shoulder, 2 wheels in the grass. I thought it was over. tunnel vision, slow motion…God intervened. I don’t know how we didn’t connect. I looked In the rear view.. car was still in my lane! i’ll bet they were still on their phone and never knew. Ignorance is so blissful.

My aunt is law enforcement in Denver area. She said it’s estimated that 1/3 drivers during afternoon rush hour are under the influence, health or eye sight impaired or on their smartphones… or a combination of. ONE in THREE!!!

I imagine that’s probably consistent everywhere.

Watching where we are going is easy. anticipating what other drivers are going to do is the challenge.

Getting behind the wheel of your vehicle and sharing the road with other vehicle is the most dangerous thing you will ever do in your life and we do it every day… in total complacency

here are some fun stats

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813435

It’s an epidemic all over North America. And beyond stupid given all the hands free tech. The last vehicle I had without Bluetooth was a 98 Durango. There’s no excuse now. Can you even buy a new car or an aftermarket stereo that doesn’t connect with your phone?

 

[CableXJ]

I'm sure we have all had our close encounters, whether they are related to distracted driving, drug/alcohol induced driving or road rage. I was lucky to escape a road rage incident a few years ago. A guy was tailgating extremely close to me as I was driving over the speed limit in the left lane on a interstate highway in Florida. I couldn't switch lanes due to the other cars and trucks in the middle lane. When I was finally able to switch into the middle lane he then sped past me. After I moved back into the left lane he slammed on his brakes. I had to swerve to avoid hitting him, and then spun out as I tried to avoid other vehicles. My vehicle stalled and I was a sitting duck in the right lane. Luckily, there was no immediate traffic in the far right lane. I was able to restart the engine and move off to the shoulder before a semi-truck came barreling through. That was definitely my lucky day. Unfortunately, road rage stuff happens a lot.

So true. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been rage passed only to have the driver turn off 30 seconds later.

 

[sajohnson]

So true. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been rage passed only to have the driver turn off 30 seconds later.

But s/he got to that exit ramp FIRST! That's what matters.

 

[Bucko]

Did your pre-collision assi

Did your pre-collision assist feature kick-in?

Was driving my 2007 F150....STX model with no features.

 

[ledge]

Not to sound gruesome, but have any of you been involved with or close to having a bad accident that could have been worse?

This morning, I had a tractor trailer pull along side of me, then turn into my lane. I thought for sure I was a goner. I laid on the horn and turned into the median to my left. I was lucky it was early morning with no traffic to my left.

The trucker kept going as if nothing happened. A driver to my right stopped to see if I was OK, and informed me she called the highway patrol to report his plate number.

I'm fine, but when it all started, I swore I saw grandma. She passed away years ago.

 

[ledge]

Not to sound gruesome, but have any of you been involved with or close to having a bad accident that could have been worse?

This morning, I had a tractor trailer pull along side of me, then turn into my lane. I thought for sure I was a goner. I laid on the horn and turned into the median to my left. I was lucky it was early morning with no traffic to my left.

The trucker kept going as if nothing happened. A driver to my right stopped to see if I was OK, and informed me she called the highway patrol to report his plate number.

I'm fine, but when it all started, I swore I saw grandma. She passed away years ago.

 

[ledge]

Good you and your Bronco are fine.

 

[Randarmax]

Laid a motorcycle down going 70 mph a few years ago, walked away with some road rash on my lower back and my pinky was torn up pretty bad. No ones fault really, it was late at night and there was a tire in the road that I didn't see till it was too late.

Luckily there were very few cars on the road and I was able to slide/roll and run off to the guardrail while I waited for EMS.

Wearing all the protective gear saved my life. Still wonder how I didn't get more injuries from it.

I've always wanted to ride a motorcyle. The feeling of the open air, freedom of mobility and exhiliration of the ride. Last year on my way home down a 45 mph country road (older paved road with no shoulders except crumbing asphalt into a deep ditch). I noticed a motorcyle rider coming up behind me pretty quick. As my son and I approached the crest of a hill I could see the motorcyle start to pass me. Just as we came over the hill there was a Toyota 4Runner approaching in the opposite lane. I didn't have time to do anything- not even roll my window down and hold my hand out. The cyclist had committed to the pass only to slam on his brakes. The scene looked like the film Mad Max. The rider lost contol of the bike with the front wheel rapidly swerving one direction then the next eventually tossing the rider to the pavement in the opposite lane. As the 4Runner approached, I heard her brakes squeal. The guy's bike slid between myself and the 4Runner and into the ditch. But the rider had slid just under the front bumber of the 4 Runner - evidently holding on to her bumper so he wouldn't go under her vehicle. The 4Runner backed up and the guy was still alive but moaning. We called 911 immediately. Other people showed up and started praying over him. EMS put him on a flat board with a neck brace and away he went. Another driver giving a statement to law enforcement mentioned that the rider had dangerously passed them about a 1/2 mile back.
When I think back to the incident, I realize he was just riding recklessly, but that was enough to keep me off a motocycle.

 

[CactusBS]

I've always wanted to ride a motorcyle. The feeling of the open air, freedom of mobility and exhiliration of the ride.

What I quickly realized when riding a motorcycle is you have to have your head on swivel at all times (unless on a road by yourself which never happens). If you don't that's when things start getting bad. I noticed after a while having to stress about other drivers pretty much took the "freedom" and "enjoyment" out of riding. It was certainly fun, don't get me wrong, but the stress of other drivers was too much to justify getting another.

 

[Randarmax]

"Head on a swivel." That is something a Texas Game Warden told me once when I interviewed him for a podcast I did called Under The Texas Sky. I am pretty sure many law enforcement officers practice the same awareness technique.

 

[Mark S.]

When I think back to the incident, I realize he was just riding recklessly, but that was enough to keep me off a motocycle.

Reckless indeed.

 

[Mark S.]

What I quickly realized when riding a motorcycle is you have to have your head on swivel at all times (unless on a road by yourself which never happens). If you don't that's when things start getting bad. I noticed after a while having to stress about other drivers pretty much took the "freedom" and "enjoyment" out of riding. It was certainly fun, don't get me wrong, but the stress of other drivers was too much to justify getting another.

It's definitely not for everyone. I used to commute on my bike. 35 miles each way, most of it in city traffic on the interstate. I have stories...

I rode with my Dad a few times when I was younger. I learned to ride after joining the USAF, but I rode my bike home on leave a few times and Dad I would head off into the mountains surrounding the Salt Lake City valley.

I had only been riding for a year or so, and I always felt a bit nervous--butterflies-in-your-stomach kind of nervous--every time I got on the bike. I mentioned it to my Dad one day and asked, "How long did you have to ride before you got over that?"

What he said stuck with me to this day: "Son, the day I don't feel that is the day I stop riding."

His point was you gotta feel that to have the right attitude to keep focused. A moment of inattention can result in your death/dismemberment, so butterflies are appropriate.

For me riding (and flying) is a personal challenge. Activities like these drive home like no other the fact that freedom comes with responsibility. There are few (legal) activities left where you are the person most directly responsible for your survival. You can find a list of them in the exclusionary clauses found in most life insurance policies.

 

[sajohnson]

I've always wanted to ride a motorcyle. The feeling of the open air, freedom of mobility and exhiliration of the ride. Last year on my way home down a 45 mph country road (older paved road with no shoulders except crumbing asphalt into a deep ditch). I noticed a motorcyle rider coming up behind me pretty quick. As my son and I approached the crest of a hill I could see the motorcyle start to pass me. Just as we came over the hill there was a Toyota 4Runner approaching in the opposite lane. I didn't have time to do anything- not even roll my window down and hold my hand out. The cyclist had committed to the pass only to slam on his brakes. The scene looked like the film Mad Max. The rider lost contol of the bike with the front wheel rapidly swerving one direction then the next eventually tossing the rider to the pavement in the opposite lane. As the 4Runner approached, I heard her brakes squeal. The guy's bike slid between myself and the 4Runner and into the ditch. But the rider had slid just under the front bumber of the 4 Runner - evidently holding on to her bumper so he wouldn't go under her vehicle. The 4Runner backed up and the guy was still alive but moaning. We called 911 immediately. Other people showed up and started praying over him. EMS put him on a flat board with a neck brace and away he went. Another driver giving a statement to law enforcement mentioned that the rider had dangerously passed them about a 1/2 mile back.
When I think back to the incident, I realize he was just riding recklessly, but that was enough to keep me off a motocycle.

We have a 'dual-sport' Suzuki DRZ-400 that we carry on the back of our RV.

About 20 years prior to buying the DRZ (in 2013) I had a Yamaha Virago, before that a Kawasaki 400, and as a kid, a Yamaha 125 motocross bike.

I've enjoyed all of them, but would never try to convince anyone to ride a motorcycle. It can be a lot of fun, but on (most) public roads you must assume that everyone is trying to kill you. That may be a bit hyperbolic, but not much. Generally of course their actions are not intentional -- they just don't see you (I wear a class II safety vest, which helps). A rider must be alert, and expecting the worst-case scenario, at all times.

Then there's the fact that many things that would not faze a car can injure/kill a motorcyclist:

* Animals in the road.
* Chunks of retread ("gators").
* Random junk from vehicles -- exhaust components, etc.
* Large potholes.
* Uneven pavement.
* Slick spots from rain on oil.
* Sand & gravel.

That last one almost got me once. I was riding the Virago around here (semi-rural area), not speeding, ~40 mph in a 40 mph zone on a nice 2-lane blacktop road, going around a right-hand curve when suddenly I realized the road immediately ahead was covered with small gravel! There was no time to react -- I just coasted and got ready for the bike to slide. When it did, I kicked my right foot down a hard as I could and the bike stayed upright. I got lucky.

In that case, I probably would not have been killed had the bike gone down (I always wear a helmet) but it would have meant time in the hospital.

Are we having fun yet?

I really prefer riding off-road. Off course you can still get badly hurt, but at least there is no traffic to worry about. An exception is truly rural areas in the Midwest and West -- very little traffic, smooth roads, and great scenery.

Sponsored