Off Topic - Why not to stop on the shoulder of the highway

[Big5er]

This is why you should always get off the freeway if at all possible.

He had his lights on sitting behind an accident, completely on the shoulder. An 18 wheeler 2 lanes over hit a car and sent it spinning into the deputy's truck. The deputy's truck then hit the tow truck in front of it. And that WAS a 2 month old truck.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Was the officer in the truck?

[Big5er]

Was the officer in the truck?

Yeah, he has a really big head laceration and some "minor" internal bleeding whatever that means. I'm thinking if someone is bleeding internally its a HUGE issue, not something "minor". But what do I know, eh?

[Pat & Pete]

Another good reason to keep your eyes and attention on what you're doing instead of being entertained by a roadside 'happening' .

[Larry&Donna-AK]

And then there is this story.

 

http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/nampa-mans-semi-hits-chunk-of-lead-bursts-into-flames/343167888

[HERO Maker]

Good reasons to be careful out there folks.

 

Watch your 6 Phil and be safe. You're a short timer out there now. 3-3-3 !!!!!!!

[VegasFlyer]

Phil (3.3.3),

Thanks for sharing, that is a great example of how fast things can go from not good to horrific, in the blink of an eye. On a lighter side, you gotta give the patrol truck credit for trying to load itself onto the tow truck after being hit by another car. Just goes to show you how good Deputy vehicles are. We hope and pray the Deputy has a fast recovery.

 

My wife responds to commercial truck crashes to act on the behalf of various large carriers. She has gone to two bad crashes in the last month where one truck going down the freeway has struck a second truck which was fully parked on the shoulder of the freeway. In both cases, there were no traces of deceleration from the striking truck, prior to impact.

 

John

[RickW]

It is scary to learn how frequently accidents like this happen. I remember many years ago when DFD changed their policy to add an additional truck company on all freeway accidents. Their sole responsibility was not additional manpower but to use the truck for physically blocking lanes and become a crash barrier between the traffic and the accident. The end result was less fire and police officers injured by passing motorist. Most of the injuries to fire fighters were from being jolted from their seat as they were sitting in the blocking truck. On the other hand the work in the body shop increased quite a bit.

[SuiteSuccess]

Not to hijack your thread Phil, but we were on our final leg home from Hutch/Albuquerque and East of Crossville TN there is a 4% grade with a curve at the bottom clearly marked at 40mph for truckers. A trucker tipped at the bottom and was on his side spilling his cargo. One lane backup for 5 miles. Amazing to see the number of folks (not rescue workers) racing not just on the shoulder but also ON THE GRASS to get to the front of the line. Even had three loaded 18 wheelers on the shoulder to cut in. Can't stand those jerks. One of the civilian cars was doing at minimum 55mph. Danger to everyone. When it says MERGE TO ONE LANE, merge and slow down, don't risk yours or others lives.

[frenchie]

Back in France, stats show that the life expectancy of a "pedestrian" (PO, broken down motorist..) on the highway shoulder is less than 8 minutes. I'm willing to bet it's even worse here in Canada / USA given the number of distracted drivers I see everyday.

[GlennWest]

When my 2013 Smart was totaled last week, I called 911 and asked for a patrolman. It was morning rush hour and traffic bad. A very helpful patrolman came. Park his car close to next lane and turned on lights. The traffic ignored him. They were within 2 feet of us 75-80 mph. We got loaded up as quick as possible and proceeded to a station to do paperwork. It could have gotten ugly easily. I do not envy their jobs. Very thankful though.

[LindaH]

And then there is this story.

 

http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/nampa-mans-semi-hits-chunk-of-lead-bursts-into-flames/343167888

 

OMG! We traveled that area just the day after!

[beyerjf]

Short of an total loss of power or catastrophic mechanical failure, both rare occurances, you can almost always limp to the next exit ramp. I don't care if you ruin the tire rim or some further damage, anything beats being clobbered like the picture big5er showed. I don't know how many times I have seen some truck driver with 1 flat on a trailer or tractor with 16 tires(excluding the steers) stop and wait for a tire service truck when he could have safely gotten to the next exit ramp, or even a parking lot off the exit. Any port in a storm.

Each situation has to be judged on its merits.

Don't even get me started about the number of times I have seen a 4 wheeler stopping to change a babies diaper or walk the dog on the shoulder.

[GlennWest]

My Smart was dead. I agree totally with your comment. That is one dangerous position to be in.