austinsailor Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 Things can happen pretty quick! Was on the way to St. Louis to the chrome shop, when...... 2 Quote
pflaming Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 What a difference a second or a foot can make! WOW, any explanation as to why the driver lost control? Quote
austinsailor Posted March 16, 2016 Author Report Posted March 16, 2016 I thought when I got home and blew up the video I would know, but he was already out of control when he came on view. Guy appeared to be in his 40's awake and alert, and still panicking after he first stopped. Quote
DonaldSmith Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 If I were driving where you were, I would have to have the upholstery cleaned. Quote
Merle Coggins Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 The catch fence didn't do much to slow him down. That's disheartening. I thought they'd work better than that. Quote
austinsailor Posted March 16, 2016 Author Report Posted March 16, 2016 Merle, the next 50 miles to St. Louis I watched that fence real close. There were at least another dozen places where someone had obviously gone through or over it that had not yet been repaired. There were half that many that it looked like it had stopped someone. I, too, was quite surprised. When they put it up a few years ago they made a big deal that it would stop crossover accidents. I think they had a number of 95% or so, my observation says more like 30%. Quote
austinsailor Posted March 16, 2016 Author Report Posted March 16, 2016 Merle, the next 50 miles to St. Louis I watched that fence real close. There were at least another dozen places where someone had obviously gone through or over it that had not yet been repaired. There were half that many that it looked like it had stopped someone. I, too, was quite surprised. When they put it up a few years ago they made a big deal that it would stop crossover accidents. I think they had a number of 95% or so, my observation says more like 30%. As you could see, it didn't even slow this guy down, much less stop him. Quote
austinsailor Posted March 16, 2016 Author Report Posted March 16, 2016 Merle, the next 50 miles to St. Louis I watched that fence real close. There were at least another dozen places where someone had obviously gone through or over it that had not yet been repaired. There were half that many that it looked like it had stopped someone. I, too, was quite surprised. When they put it up a few years ago they made a big deal that it would stop crossover accidents. I think they had a number of 95% or so, my observation says more like 30%. As you could see, it didn't even slow this guy down, much less stop him. Quote
plymouthcranbrook Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 That's why I really liked it when the Illinois Tollway went form an open median to a concrete wall several years ago. Quote
Todd B Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 I am surprised the truckers just keep on going, I would think that would leaving the scene of an accident. I hope you thanked the big guy in the sky for that close call. 1 Quote
Don Coatney Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 Did not appear that he made contact with any truck. 1 Quote
pflaming Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) I think its called, "no harm, no foul!", or something like that! Edited March 16, 2016 by pflaming Quote
DJ194950 Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 Kind of reminds me of my 30 mile commute home in central ca. one nice afternoon day when out of nowhere one car in the fast lane of a divided freeway did a 360 about 1/4 mile ahead of me then another 180 until he was up against the oleander bushes in the medium dividing the 4 lane freeway and quickly jumped out as I passed in the slow lane and watched in my mirror as he ran to the trunk and opened it and began tho throw some packages in the bushes as fast as he could! Me- 12 years ago no cellphone! Had he been sampling some "product" on the way there?! Perhaps the same for the driver in your video? DJ Quote
Ulu Posted March 17, 2016 Report Posted March 17, 2016 Are you officially "involved" if your vehicle suffers no contact? What if there's no contact, but you drove off the road to avoid being hit? I narrowly missed being hit in an intersection. My truck was hit by flying plastic debris from one of the smashed up cars. I pulled over when it was safe, saw no dents or scratches, and decided I wasn't involved and went home. I might have hung around, but a crowd of people witnessed the whole thing. They didn't need my story. 1 Quote
48Dodger Posted March 17, 2016 Report Posted March 17, 2016 Looks like he drifted....hit the shoulder with his left front tire...pulled it right, to get back on the main road....then over steered it to the left causing the right side to dig in and launch him through the fence almost head on. You can see the puff of dirt (0.09), then the driver side of the car as he goes right (0.10), then arches left through the median (0.10-0.11)..... Looks like distracted driving to me. Top ten distractions: 1. lost in thought (this is a new #1 for some reason and in some lists is the #2 to cell phone, ive seen reports as high as 62 percent) 2. cell phone use (ie texting or otherwise) 3. occupants (ie kids or rowdy friends) 4.reaching for objects (ie CD's or "stuff") 5. make-up or razor 6. eating (I remember when this used to be #1) 7. external events 8. reading signs (exits instructions etc) 9.moving objects (ie your dog) 10. smoking (I'm sure its the act of lighting a cig or getting it out of the box) 48D 1 Quote
Don Coatney Posted March 17, 2016 Report Posted March 17, 2016 About a year ago I was driving on a 2 lane (traffic going both directions) road when a lady swung out to pass me. I noticed she was texting as she passed me. She did not swing back in front of me but continued to drive on the wrong side of the road. A car was coming towards her about a half mile away. I hit my brakes and pulled over to the berm expecting to see the big one. At the last minute she pulled over and somehow avoided the crash. I was way out in the middle of nowhere so reporting her would have been useless. She sped away and I had no interest in being anywhere close to her. Quote
Captain Neon Posted March 22, 2016 Report Posted March 22, 2016 About a year ago I was driving on a 2 lane (traffic going both directions) road when a lady swung out to pass me. I noticed she was texting as she passed me. She did not swing back in front of me but continued to drive on the wrong side of the road. A car was coming towards her about a half mile away. I hit my brakes and pulled over to the berm expecting to see the big one. At the last minute she pulled over and somehow avoided the crash. I was way out in the middle of nowhere so reporting her would have been useless. She sped away and I had no interest in being anywhere close to her. Don, that's how people in rural Kansas drive! While I've not driven all 48 contiguous states, I've driven in a fair share of states in all areas of the US. Kansas is the only place where people assume that the oncoming lane is clear and attempt to pass some one without looking. Too many instances where I've had to take the shoulder to either avoid getting hit by oncoming traffic or let some idiot in that tried to pass. They also have a 15 mph speed limit allowed in business districts (can you say speed trap?) that the average rural Kansan believes is mandated nationwide. I thought Iowa's 25 mph residential speed limit was a joke until I saw this absurdity in rural KS. Texas may be one of the few states that has some sense when it comes to setting speed limits. Quote
Dan Hiebert Posted March 22, 2016 Report Posted March 22, 2016 Those cable barriers are supposed to be the cat's pajamas, supposed to hold a vehicle, rather than bounce it back into traffic, or let it through to the other lane. But I think they have speed limitations. That car didn't look like it had slowed down much before it hit the barrier. That was definitely high on the pucker factor, glad you'uns were unscathed. Quote
JBNeal Posted March 23, 2016 Report Posted March 23, 2016 Them catch fences do ok when they are hit broadside, but they do as much good with a head-on strike as fending off a shark with a flyswatter...from the court-mandated defensive driving class I took in '92, the DPS officer explained that the only people not allowed to leave the scene of an accident are those directly affected, unless there is property damage, a physical injury or fatality involved, then all witnesses are required to give a statement for the accident report...in this case, my guess is that the offender who crossed the median and caused damage to the safety device is required to report this; witnesses may report this accident to dispatch so that the safety device can be repaired asap Quote
pflaming Posted March 23, 2016 Report Posted March 23, 2016 it may be interesting to see his cell or text phone message(s) record. if he was on his (cell) phone, it might be even more interesting to hear what he said when he hit that cable, not to mention the semi flying by! Oh for the days all we had to contend with were jack rabbits, possems, and an occasional deer in the head lights! Quote
austinsailor Posted March 23, 2016 Author Report Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) After watching it a few times, my best guess is his throttle stuck wide open. He was still hard on the gas as he came out of the ditch. What wasn't on the video, when he stopped in the middle of the road behind me, was he took off again full bore, spun around into the ditch pushing hard until he was buried. He forgot he had an ignition switch. Edited March 23, 2016 by austinsailor Quote
Dan Hiebert Posted March 24, 2016 Report Posted March 24, 2016 That sounds to me like he/she could have been intoxicated, probably a good thing they got stuck. Quote
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