Interstate safe driving strategies

[uncle_bob]

Hi

My point was only that once you get so close to the truck that your visibility goes to zero, you are now in kamikaze mode. Anything that goes wrong .... splat .... 20 feet / one car length at 60 MPH is not uncommon and it is way to close.

Bob

[DBinSD]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

My point was only that once you get so close to the truck that your visibility goes to zero, you are now in kamikaze mode. Anything that goes wrong .... splat .... 20 feet / one car length at 60 MPH is not uncommon and it is way to close.

Bob

Most people do not realize at 60mph you cover 88 feet per second !

There was a post on here about a couple following a big truck too close and a mangled deer came out from UNDER the truck and took out parts of the trailer. The big truck never slowed.

Keep some distance, be safe.

[featherbedder]

AS many semi trailers have postings on back that if you can't see my mirrors I csn't see you. This a very good distance to follow a semi & it will be safest, also many truck drivers have concerns about some one following to close behind them.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

It does not have to be anything too weird to mess things up. A rock can be tossed a pretty good distance by a semi's tire. Your windshield will not be happy with the result.

I've also seen things like dump trucks hit rough patches on the interstate and come pretty close to loosing control. If you are far enough back, you can spot that part of the road and get in the other lane. What comes bouncing out of the back of a marginally controlled dump truck ... YIKES !!! Yes it *would* be nice if various states decided to actually *pave* the roads .....

Bob

[slowmover]

The latest tractor trailers have disc brakes. Many trailers, too. And engine programming that makes for powerful engine brake use.

Semis (especially empty) can stop far faster than you expect.

On a bet I could have cars hitting the back of my trailer all day long. From 200’ back at the start. My use of the service brake (thus illuminating the brake lights) would be only a moment. IOW, “no warning”.

These things are NOT about likelihood. They’re about possibility.

.

[Tobbun]

I stay away from semis mainly for road debris and rocks. Also for me when I get closer before passing I get a bit of wind sway. Usually gets a reaction from the passengers( heads come up from book/screen). I try to time any semi pass with a lot of clear road.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by slowmover

...
On a bet I could have cars hitting the back of my trailer all day long. From 200’ back at the start. My use of the service brake (thus illuminating the brake lights) would be only a moment. IOW, “no warning”.

.

Another good reason I keep a dash cam on at all times.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

Another good reason I keep a dash cam on at all times.

COUNTRYBOY59 - Yes, totally agree. With today's technology and many road hazards encountred, a dashcam with Auto Start/Stop functionality that also uploads automatically to redundant cloud storage IMHO is as much of a necessity as auto insurance. It is very cheap, many times even free if obtained during certain promos. Many apps don't even need a separate cam, utilizing the cam on a smart phone. All our vehicles are dashcam equipped. The tech is such that insurance companies are starting to recognize their ability to help with incident disputes and they are giving discounts to those who have them permanently installed.

Pic of 3 of the most important driving strategy/tools I depend on all together in 1 spot up my overhead console - rear cam monitor, TPMS, & dashcam

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

Another good reason I keep a dash cam on at all times.

To prove you were at fault. What a guy!!

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by slowmover

To prove you were at fault. What a guy!!

First, those tricks won’t work with me (nor do some others you’ve mentioned, like pacing others to block traffic). I’ve seen it all and know how to stay clear. Second, dash cams are cheap and everyone is recording everything these days. The cameras go straight to the cloud and, someday, will be standard on all vehicles. Third, if you preach towing safety to others on here I know you wouldn’t deliberately cause others to rear-end your semi trailer by activating the brakes in such a way as to disable the brake lights. You certainly wouldn’t post it on here if you were doing it, not with all the accident lawyers out there! Safe travels!

[InterBlog]

I saw this pic this morning and immediately thought of this old thread, and the difficulty that I had explaining to some people that Houston freeways are up to 22 lanes wide. Sometimes an OFF RAMP will be four lanes wide. Not the freeway itself - just the off ramp!!

Many Airstream owners simply don't have experience living with almost seven million people, and the routine challenges associated with driving a large lumbering vehicle in the middle of all that. I'm about to head out to a meeting this morning. Houston rush hour consists of two million people on the roads commuting at the same time, in the same area. Two million people in transit, in the metro, simultaneously.

This picture communicates some of that vast size and complexity. It's the bull pen, the control room, for our local traffic monitoring authority.

[InterBlog]

This is a test to see if I can embed Instagram video snippets in forums threads. It used to be that you had to have an IG account to access content, but that may have changed.

There are many teachable highway safety moments on IG. This particular scenario I have seen myself, although with lesser degrees of fish-tailing. I find it remarkable that:

(1) this truck driver managed to recover control, and
(2) the filmer did not brake upon seeing this potential catastrophe begin to unfold.

As I mentioned previously, the Interstate's only evasive maneuver is very hard straight-line braking.

If you CANNOT click this link and access the short video snippet, please comment.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx9zF7yo...d=vlyihnw6guid

[InterBlog]

The Interstate's only real evasive maneuver is hard straight-line braking. But what if you are in a construction zone with concrete barriers on both sides, no shoulders, two non-regulation narrow lanes, and wall-to-wall traffic backed up behind you, when something happens?

That was my scenario yesterday when this happened -- but fortunately I was in my Sienna rather than in the Interstate. If I had been in the Interstate, there is NO QUESTION that I would have received heavy damage to the under-chassis components (plumbing lines, propane lines, exhaust train, etc.).

The truck in this pic below has 18 wheels but only 17 tires. Where the red arrow points, you can see that only a small portion of the 18th tire's sidewall continues to cling to the rim.

The 18th tire basically ended up in my face, in the form of several huge chunks. It proceeded under the chassis and I had no means of evasion in that situation. In my rear view mirror, I watched as car after car after car also slammed into those pieces, one after another.

A sobering reminder that sometimes collisions cannot be avoided.

I had to wait until I got out of the barrier zone and into a clear stretch of freeway before I could get this pic.

[InterBlog]

I took this pic for @Tincampers re: their upcoming Maritime Canadian trip, but unfortunately it doesn't show the dimensionality that would be needed to convey the full range of this issue. What appears shocking to the naked eye when viewed in 3D loses much of its impact in the photo.

This is an example of downslope undermining, which can pose a life-threatening danger to those who are not familiar with it and do not see it in time to take evasive action.

Even without the benefit of 3D views, you can see that these guard rail posts are basically dangling off the rail itself. Two of them were swinging in the breeze. This happened because the bank eroded out, and is eating back into the soil that underlies the road.

At some point, continued mass wasting will send some or all of the paved road itself over the embankment. The only question is - will anyone get killed in the process? Again, it's difficult to tell from this photo, but this would not be a survivable fall.

"A perfect storm" of economic and demographic decline has created a situation in which one of the most beautiful regions in North America is unable to keep pace with its own road maintenance needs for lack of funds. When driving the backroads in this area, I spend a lot of time with my streetside wheels on the opposite side of the double yellow line. Sometimes the downslope undermining is so pervasive that I cannot safely remain in my own lane at all. This is especially true north of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

I have a horrible vision in my head of an innocent tourist in a heavy Class B or C who loses concentration for just a moment because they are faced with a pretty scene like this. They put their wheels too close to the right-hand edge of their lane, and over they go to their deaths, because the road finally gives way. Sooner or later, something like that will happen. All through this area, there are patches where it's obvious that the entire road caved out and had to be rebuilt.

The only thing remaining to hold up this section of road is residual friction among soil particles underneath it. There's no structural reinforcement whatsoever.

Be careful out there.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I took this pic for @Tincampers re: their upcoming Maritime Canadian trip, but unfortunately it doesn't show the dimensionality that would be needed to convey the full range of this issue. What appears shocking to the naked eye when viewed in 3D loses much of its impact in the photo.

This is an example of downslope undermining, which can pose a life-threatening danger to those who are not familiar with it and do not see it in time to take evasive action.

Even without the benefit of 3D views, you can see that these guard rail posts are basically dangling off the rail itself. Two of them were swinging in the breeze. This happened because the bank eroded out, and is eating back into the soil that underlies the road.

At some point, continued mass wasting will send some or all of the paved road itself over the embankment. The only question is - will anyone get killed in the process? Again, it's difficult to tell from this photo, but this would not be a survivable fall.

"A perfect storm" of economic and demographic decline has created a situation in which one of the most beautiful regions in North America is unable to keep pace with its own road maintenance needs for lack of funds. When driving the backroads in this area, I spend a lot of time with my streetside wheels on the opposite side of the double yellow line. Sometimes the downslope undermining is so pervasive that I cannot safely remain in my own lane at all. This is especially true north of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

I have a horrible vision in my head of an innocent tourist in a heavy Class B or C who loses concentration for just a moment because they are faced with a pretty scene like this. They put their wheels too close to the right-hand edge of their lane, and over they go to their deaths, because the road finally gives way. Sooner or later, something like that will happen. All through this area, there are patches where it's obvious that the entire road caved out and had to be rebuilt.

The only thing remaining to hold up this section of road is residual friction among soil particles underneath it. There's no structural reinforcement whatsoever.

Be careful out there.

We appreciate the thought. Our roads around here are as treacherous and they have no guardrails because there either isn’t enough room (no shoulder at all) or they have all fallen over the edge. Two of our local highways have been closed since last February due to landslides, one where a cousin of our neighbor was killed when the landslide swept him and the road away. A few minutes later another car went off the road landing on top of him taking his life.

Still plan to head out right after Labor Day. Leave us some burritos.

John

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

This is especially true north of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

over they go to their deaths, because the road finally gives way.

Originally Posted by Tincampers

Our roads around here are as treacherous and they have no guardrails because there either isn’t enough room (no shoulder at all) or they have all fallen over the edge. Two of our local highways have been closed since last February due to landslides,

And I thought California Hwy 1 is terrible, still is & I still do. No guardrails, Landslides, not worth the scenery. Thank you appreciate the heads-up. 2 more places added to the "do not spend tourist dollars here" list.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

And I thought California Hwy 1 is terrible, still is & I still do. No guardrails, Landslides, not worth the scenery. Thank you appreciate the heads-up. 2 more places added to the "do not spend tourist dollars here" list.

It is worth the scenery here. We chose to live here for the scenery, the twisty mountain roads (we ride a motorcycle), the low taxes and a much slower lifestyle. Eastern TN is hard to beat.

[UncleBad]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

This is a test to see if I can embed Instagram video snippets in forums threads. It used to be that you had to have an IG account to access content, but that may have changed.



There are many teachable highway safety moments on IG. This particular scenario I have seen myself, although with lesser degrees of fish-tailing. I find it remarkable that:



(1) this truck driver managed to recover control, and

(2) the filmer did not brake upon seeing this potential catastrophe begin to unfold.



As I mentioned previously, the Interstate's only evasive maneuver is very hard straight-line braking.



If you CANNOT click this link and access the short video snippet, please comment.



https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx9zF7yo...d=vlyihnw6guid

Can’t access...

[rmkrum]

Ditto. Get the “play” icon with a slash through it. Won’t play when clicked on...

[Tincampers]

Strange, I can watch it on a iPad.