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Winter is Here...Be Careful Folks


hdonlybob

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Saw the video on my FaceBook page from a friend..

Not sure where it was, but winter is here in Wisconsin...and this can happen very fast.. :(

Cheers,

Bob

 

https://www.facebook.com/mustang877/videos/10152748667200872/

 

Interesting video. Where do these guys think they where going. Some guys think just because it is snowing the speed limit still needs to be pushed.

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I'm sure my comments won't be very popular. There ARE plenty of competent big rig drivers out on the roads, so don't get me wrong... but there are an alarming number of them that shouldn't even be allowed to operate a bicycle. The linked video is a good case in point. None of that should ever even have happened.

 

On edit: Not to be confused with HDT RV'rs

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Wow! Those were some hard hits. The b-train and car hauler were sure moving. These are conditions up here in Canada that I have been in and have always carried a bright strobe type flashlight with me. I would have been running up that ditch with the strobe light flashing and try and warn some of those people heading into that mess.

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I was kind of surprised no one thought to try and do something to prevent more collisions as well. Even just a vehicle traveling against traffic along the shoulder with their hazards and horn laid on might have given a few of those rigs a heads up that something was awry. The video was nearly 5 minutes and you know it had to have been going on a while before they started filming. The opening 'scene' already shows a number of rigs piled up.

 

Is this a commentary to modern civilization? We won't risk ourselves to help others, but we'll make sure you get MASSIVE online hits. :P

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Paid by the mile is not conducive to safe operations in bad conditions.

 

LED tail lights are HORRIBLE in the snow as there is not enough heat generated to keep them clear.

 

Geo

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Driven that road in those conditions LOTS of times. Every one of those people crashing are morons. First, I am a leadfoot, absolute hammer down type of driver and I never came close to that. The video doesn't portray the complete lack of visibility or the fact that the last 25 miles of road was even worse than what you see. As much as I think the variable speed limit thing is a joke... it was in effect at the time of the accident. Also for those that wonder about warning the drivers... they had warnings... multiple BILLBOARD FLASHING LIGHTS for miles ahead of the scene.

 

If that wasn't enough the Wyoming State Patrol and DOT were up the road trying to slow people down. It just happens so fast that they can't block or close the road in time to prevent the morons. About two years before this one we had a bad wreck where a car hauler was involved and there were multiple fatalities. Same thing in that case, drivers flying down the road, zero visibility or traction. Drivers STOPPING on the interstate - intentionally. Sorry but I don't want the emergency responders to walk in and get killed.

 

Again, I drive fast, but I try to respect the conditions. Anyone who's driven a tule (sp) Fog in the California Valley knows the zero visibility thing. Time to slow down, ease along until you can get off the interstate. Sometimes it's just plain worth it to park.

 

Drivers today are not taught what the senior drivers taught me, It's MY CDL, it's MY life. Driver jobs that force you to drive are a dime a dozen.

 

I didn't see any specialty haulers in that bunch either, you know, the drivers that graduated from warm body behind the wheel school.

 

Sorry, rant over. I know the HHRV'ers tend to park but beware of the other morons.

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I take it back. I don't think the folks that took the one linked video above can be faulted much. There are scores of videos from different sources of the accident on youtube. One clearly shows that there were already numerous fire and other emergency service personnel already on site as the pile-up continued. The previously linked video just caught the last several minutes and a few rigs in the 49 vehicle carnage.

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They don't - that video was cropped to show only the middle 1/3. For some reason many YouTube videos are cropped that way - does something do it automatically to cut down size?

 

Maybe that explains why much of the video was nothing more than empty road with semis or automobiles going past, but no video of the crashes.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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No offense to anyone here, and I certainly don't condone driving faster than conditions permit, but I live in Wyoming and there are times where visibility with snow is next to nothing due to the wind, when hazards or any kind of lights aren't visible beyond 50-100ft, and by then slowing down is too late, especially for a big rig. The only thing that prevents accidents like this is when they close the highways.

 

The video was take by a lady who had slid off the highway herself, IIRC, and emergency services had already been called. There was nothing more that could be done at this point except watch and pray. I'm certainly not going to be pulling my vehicle anywhere near that fray.

 

That I-80 corridor in winter is one of the worst sections of highway and is closed down a lot for this very reason, but it is also a main thoroughfare and there's a fine line for WYDOT as to when to close it and when to keep it open.

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There was another similar wreck within a couple days of this one as well. Very similar, and not many miles between the 2. Both on I-80.

 

And as was stated above, lots of companies are pushing miles and that doesn't give drivers much ability to just pull over and wait it out. And to add to that, there are a lot of freight herders driving those trucks that shouldn't be driving anything that big. The weather out here can be nasty.

Chris & Tonya

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They don't - that video was cropped to show only the middle 1/3. For some reason many YouTube videos are cropped that way - does something do it automatically to cut down size?

 

Maybe, but I don't think so. Looks to me like the videographer held their camera phone vertically instead of horizontally.

 

I'll caveat that by saying I have never uploaded vids to Youtube.

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Years and years ago I drove casual for CF, PIE and Yellow Freight out of Cheyenne. When a storm was coming I knew I was going to work because the regular drivers would lay off. We casuals ran. If the roads were open we rolled. I drove primarily between Cheyenne and SLC. I was always surprised when I was on long stretches of black ice and got passed by rigs running hard. Saw LOTS of wrecks, but never any big pile ups like this.

 

FYI - casuals were a pool of on-call drivers who were not full time. The companies called us when they needed extra drivers. We got paid by the mile but no bennies etc. Many regulars started out as casuals.

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