Just goes to show that not all drivers with clean records are safe drivers

[dodge freak]

I see the truck drivers ads all the time, most say clean driving a record a must. So what happens, they get some punks out of high school for a few years and train him for 8 weeks and put them on the road driving a semi

Or they hire some older guys-60 some years old

Now we get this, when they can't see too well do they pull off the road, nope, they just stop right in lanes of traffic. Heck never mind just suing, those 2 drivers should face some criminal charges, I don't care if they never got even a parking ticket in the past........

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120131/ARTICLES/120139904?tc=cr

The Florida Highway Patrol has defended its decision to reopen the interstate shortly before several accidents happened in a cloud of smoke and fog. Fire officials have ruled out lightning or a prescribed burn as the cause of the blaze producing the smoke, so it remains a possibility that a person accidentally or intentionally started it.

Legal experts note that the state legally caps the financial liability of the highway patrol and other state agencies at $200,000, unless a law is passed allowing a higher amount. Similarly, any person found to be at fault in starting the fire would have limited money to pursue in a civil lawsuit.

"We say in law school that you can't get blood out of a turnip," said Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida law professor.

That leaves another major player in the accidents -- the companies that own trucks involved in crashes -- as a possible lawsuit target. The highway patrol reported that early Sunday, as smoke blocked visibility southbound on I-75, one semitrailer stopped in the center lane and another semitrailer stopped in the outside lane.

Both were rear-ended by other vehicles and those vehicles were also rear-ended. Two drivers and a passenger in the vehicles died, while neither truck driver was injured.

read more http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120131/ARTICLES/120139904?tc=cr

 

[dodge freak]

those semi trucks must be the safest things on the roads--for the people driving them, lol....no air bags to boot !

 

[67Dart273]

when they can't see too well do they pull off the road, nope, they just stop right in lanes of traffic. Heck never mind just suing, those 2 drivers should face some criminal charges,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The highway patrol reported that early Sunday, as smoke blocked visibility southbound on I-75, one semitrailer stopped in the center lane and another semitrailer stopped in the outside lane.http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120131/ARTICLES/120139904?tc=cr

I take issue with your analysis of this accident. I've read some on this accident, and seen several news reports, and people were reporting they could not see ANYTHING. One guy said he could not see his own tail lights when standing outside his own car.

Notice that your very own copy and paste says "BLOCKED VISIBILITY", not reduced, poor etc.

Laws are pretty clear

YOU MUST DRIVE at a SPEED which allows you to SEE according to CONDITIONS, and at a following distance that allows you to stop before a collision with the forward vehicle(s).

Example, if you are on ice, and it is only safe in your opinion to drive 5 miles an hour, then that may be what is SAFE, and IF IF someone nails you from behind, IT IS THE REAR driver's fault, end of story.

I've been in some pretty deep fog in San Diego, and I admit, I FELT as if I was FORCED to drive faster than I felt safe JUST TO try and keep the rear battalion at bay, but I SURE as hell wasn't doing more than 30, even so, and I got OFF the freeway, even if it meant a wide shoulder or the center median.

I can still remember one incident after leaving Miramar, heading south. It was thick as hell. I encountered a car stalled or parked partially sticking out into the left lane from the center medium. A short distance there was a pullout, and there sat a CHP. I told him there was a car partially blocking about 1/8 mi or less behind, and his response was "HEY I'M NOT GETTING OUT THERE!!!

TAILGATING, DRIVING TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS, and the resulting rear accident is nearly ALWAYS the fault of the REAR party, not the guy in front.

 

[krazykuda]

I was driving my 68 Barracuda to our weekly golf league many years back. I'm stopped for a red light and WHAM! I get rear ended. The guy kept saying that it was my fault because he was a good driver and a truck driver and hasn't had a ticket in 17 years. Then in front of the cop he asks me, "why were you stopped so far back?"

I told him, "Because there were 4 or 5 cars stopped in front of me at the red light."

Fortunately the cop saw through his, "I'm a professional driver, I have a perfect record bs and wrote him the ticket."

Fortunatley he only put a minor dent in my lower valence panel. These 68 fastbacks can really take a whack in the rear.

 

[demon seed]

Yea we heard about the accident all the way up here. alot of people killed. Very sad.

 

[1970Duster]

If you can't see you either slow down or you stop. It's pretty sad that the four wheelers didnt stop and slammed into the back of the trucks. All I can say is this is a case of Darwinism at its finest.:banghead:

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

I read though all three pages of the article. This would be a tough call on what would be the correct thing to do if you wasn't there. Heck it would be tough if you were there. To me if the State of Florida hadn't opened up I-75 after it had already been shut down when there was heavy smoke there would have been no accidents.

 

[dodge freak]

I was always taught you never stop in a lane of traffic, even if your tire blows out and you have to drive on the rim, pull it over to the shoulder of the road.

Just cause you can not see doesn't mean the other drivers can't. Slowing down to 30--40 mph is one thing, stopping in both lanes of traffic is just asking to be hit.

Yes maybe the road should not have been re-open but who would had guess those "pro" truckers would just stop their rigs and block all lanes of traffic ? I'm think it was a 2 lane road ?

Truckers used to be the best drivers on the roads, not anymore. Many times they are 20 some years old but since they got a spotless record they are cheapest to insure

Doesn't sound like they even put their flashers on

Same thing in heavy rain, pull off the road if you can not see and wait for the rain to lighten up cause other drivers can "see" and they might hit you.

My old man had me do that once, I was slowing down too much and he yelled at me to pull off the road if I can't speed it up a little. He was right too cause cars were all passing me up. This wasn't a 45 mph secondary road, this was a high speed interstate.

Yeah true, now of days who pulls off the road in heavy rain, very few, they just all go 10 mph

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

All up and down the I-44 Will Rodgers turnpike in Oklahoma are road signs stating "DON'T DRIVE INTO SMOKE". Reason being there was a major wreck just like you described and Oklahoma was found at fault. They may be in locations also but those I remember from 35 years ago and they still stand today.

Another issue with driving into smoke from FEMA.

Emergency Management Officials Warn; if There's Smoke on the Road - Don't Drive Into It!

This fact has prompted officials with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to warn motorists that they should never drive into dense smoke or they could become a fire fatality.

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=56767

 

[demon seed]

Twice over the years, I've driven my car into the ditch along side of the highway to keep from hitting something or being back ended. Once during a white out another cuss of fog so thick you couldn't see the front of your car. . Not in so far that I couldn't get out but off the highway for sure.

 

[6pakattack]

This is not the first time that such an incident has happened on I-75 here in Florida !!We have major drought conditions here which in turn maximizes the fire threat !! Which once again seems to be a contributing factor this incident !!IMO,there's one thing lacking from all involved in this incident,and that's the lack of COMMON SENSE !!! Why on earth would you even attempt to drive when visibility is 0 ?? I'm not positive,but the last I remember the Death toll was 10 !! Of those 10,a 14 year old girl was the only survivor in her family of four !! How friggin sad is that !!

 

[dustermaniac]

That stretch of highway should have remained closed until it was safe for any traffic to travel that road. Very sad and tragic loss of life.

 

[dodgeboy]

ive read some of the articals on the wreck in fla and i for one think I75 should not have been reopened if visibility was that bad thats first in blame second is the common sense of all drivers involved both in 18 wheelers and ths 4 wheelers that if u cantsee dont drive it dont matter if the road is open or not. i will agree that truck drivers these days dont have the professionalism of days one by[ive been driving for 22 yrs no accidents in 2.5 miilion miles] ive seen mentality drop drasically over the years both with new drivers and older drivers, i used to be a driver trainer for a major carrier and it seemed that each student i got was just a little dumber than the one b4.but you cant lay blame just on the trk drivers for that accident there was a chain of bad decisions that caused that horrible accident.just my 2 cents.

 

[krazykuda]

I don't think that Florida will pass a law so people can sue them for more money. Come on, would you do something to allow somebody to sue you for more money? I wouldn't.

 

[67Dart273]

....................... i for one think I75 should not have been reopened if visibility was that bad ..................... common sense of all drivers involved ................ if u cantsee dont drive it dont matter if the road is open or not. .........................but you cant lay blame just on the trk drivers for that accident there was a chain of bad decisions that caused that horrible accident....................

is the best opinion I've seen yet