A cautionary reminder from your friendly, neighborhood trucker

[Tobin S.]

I was on my way home yesterday on northbound I-65 about 15 miles south of Indianapolis when I came upon a traffic jam. I turned on the CB and found out that there was a wreck about 2 miles in front of me. It had been snowing, and, from what I could gather, a car had lost control and spun out. There were two truckers following the car and I'm pretty sure they were following too close. The reason I say that is that they had jackknifed while trying to stop to keep from running over the car and each other. If they had been following at a safer distance they wouldn't have had to jam on the brakes to get stopped. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the road was closed down for at least an hour while the cops and the wreckers cleaned up the mess.

In my little town of Richmond, Indiana there were 15 calls to the cops for weather related wrecks yesterday.

A couple of weeks ago, here in Richmond, a couple was turning in off of a country road just outside of town and into their drive way. The roads were bad and their driveway was slick as well. The driver wasn't going very fast, but it turned out to be too fast anyway. The car slid off of the driveway and rolled over down a little embankment and ended up on it's roof in a creek. The driver could not get his seat belt undone and ended up drowning in three feet of water. His wife was able to get free and into an air pocket in the car. She survived, but she watched her husband die that horrible death. She was there for an hour before the car was discovered. It's probably a safe bet that she'll need some psychiatric help.

Take it easy out there this winter folks. It doesn't take much to get into into a a very bad situation quickly when you are out there driving around. And I'm going to heed my own warning.

[david13]

1. Everybody could drive safer at all times. But they don't want to do

it. They all think they are in some big important hurry, and thus ... so many accidents ... and deaths.
dc

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Tobin...

That is horrifying, about the woman and her husband...

She will NEVER be able to drive up her driveway without reliving that.

Please take care of yourself...

You have your whole wonderful life ahead of you...

:hug:

[Pool Hall Ace]

3. Oh my gosh, how scary for all involved!!

Thank you for the warning, Tobin. Three feet of water . . ..

Thank you for this warning. I know that you got me to pay attention! :hug:

[Chan790]

4. That 3 ft of water is my dread coming from a family of firefighters and paramedics.

Let's say not only isn't it the first time I've heard such a story, it's not even the first time this month.

I advise people constantly to buy a auto-glass punch and seatbelt cutter and leave them in the glove compartment or (much better) the console between the seats. A $5 perpetually reusable purchase that can save a life and pretty-much any toddler can figure out how to use.

[Tobin S.]

6. My fiancee's mom bought me one of those after hearing the story

I related in my OP. :)

[jme0318]

8. and I keep forgetting to give it to you...

Sorry... Make sure you get it next time you are home! Jen

[Angry Dragon]

7. Neighbor has those

[Swede]

5. I hate how drivers are in such a damn hurry!

Ice,rain,snow whatever,when I'm driving according to conditions,some fools will go roaring by in the next lane. How in the heck are they gonna stop?

[csziggy]

9. Thank you Tobin! And those of you who drive small cars

Remember, those trucks cannot stop as fast as you can. PLEASE do not pull into their "safe zone" and slam on your brakes! Even in my Suburban, I have had people with little cars do that and have come very close to rear-ending them. Sometimes I have had to make fast and dangerous lane changes to avoid running over a small car.

With a rig like Tobin drives, there are fewer options for the drivers. They need that space in front of them to keep YOU safe!