Anatomy of an accident

[bertvorgon]

As most of you on this site likely have to do on a daily basis, is negotiate rush hour traffic.

My commutes take me through a tunnel in the morning, and home over a large bridge in the afternoon. Should an incident happen on either route, mayhem and gridlock ensue.

So, here I am yesterday, heading home, just having crossed the bridge. Speed is about 90 - 100 KM, normal for this time of day, once past an exit not far from the bridge. I"m in the "fast" lane, four car lengths behind a small size Chevy pick up truck. Just beside him, is a brand new Buick sedan, and just ahead of him is 1 ton delivery type truck. Behind me, some distance away, is another fellow in whatever he was driving.

In the next few seconds.........

Micro blink one.......I'm kinda lost in thought....In my sub conscius I see the Buick getting quite close to the back of the delivery van.......

Micro blink two........we head into a slight curve......Chevy guy is just off the rear of the Buick...

Micro blink three......Buick moves over to the left......my mind starts to register that he looks to close to the Chevy.....

Micro blink four......my mind goes into high alert.....something does not compute......WHAM... Buick gets hit in left rear quarter by Chevy.....Amazingly LOUD noise inside MY car.....

Micro blink five......race experience kicks in..as there is now debris spewing in front of me...Chevy guy and Buick guy fighting for control....basically the Chevy guys has done a pit maneuver on the Buick...I'm HARD on the brakes...dodging body pieces...guy behind me is in full on panic mode...as my freak'in G35 hauls down FAST.....one of my eyeballs is watching if I am going to get rear ended..other is seeing where the two vehicles are going to go..plus my third eye is looking for escape to my right...to thread the needle between traffic coming up fast on my right...

Micro blink six......I seem to miss most of the large bits..modulate braking to not stop so hard the guy behind me will hit me.....thankfully the traffic has a hole in it...I toss to the extreme right and get off the road, well ahead of the blast zone. The Chevy and Buick are now stopped on the left verge of the highway, very dangerous spot. I check out the front of my car...nothing seems to have hit it, no cut tires...I swear I could see body screws sticking out of some of the parts as they slid down the road.

Blink seven...things back to real time now......Buick guy is calling for an ambulance, as his passenger Dad has gone into shock.....Chevy guy, who I run over to..cannot believe he has had ANOTHER accident, as he just got the truck fixed from his last one. I give him my business card, as a witness. I decide to wait for police, to give a statement, but, the fire department shows up first, so I give him a card and he says I'm good to go, I will be contacted.

Who was at fault..for sure the Buick guy cut over, but, at the same time, the guy in the Chevy could not have been paying that much attention, as you look at the impact area...he must have been TOTALLY focused forward, not to see the fellow come over, at least from my perspective. It wasn't like the Buick did an instant chop...just came over. I dunno, I know I have been blessed with very good peripheral vision..but SITUATIONAL awareness is so important.

Yikes, what a way to end your day, be careful out there.

[2manyprojects]

Dang, glad to hear you were able to wiggle through it.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Hey Keith,glad you kept the shiny side up! Some people should not be driving on the roads.

[bertvorgon]

As the population has gone up in the lower mainland, the percentage of very poor/distracted drivers, has gone through the roof.

I'm so glad I changed my work hours three years ago now, and, even since then, I have now seen traffic DOUBLE at the 6:00 Am window that I leave at. There is not a day that goes by where there is not an accident or two, in our commute path, increasing two of my co-workers drive time by up to an hour on average ( 30 minutes norm).

It is hard to imagine what it is going to be like in another 5 years, as where I live, just to the east, all the farm land and single family acreages are getting mowed down, and 100 - 250 unit town home complexes are going in, some 35,000+ more people slated for this area.

And, for whatever bizarre reason, so many still head off to Vancouver for the commute, down the single and two lane goat trails we call freeways. They are anything but free these days. Where it slows down defies logic on #99.

I know it's easy to be a critic, but, I really wonder where are the traffic engineers? There is the exit at #32nd, that is under designed right from the gitgo, that is so dangerous in the evening, as traffic backs up onto #99. The growth has been planned (oxymoron there) for years, so it's not like they did not know the traffic volume would go up exponentially, quickly. There is more than enough room to have made a much longer and safer exit ramp...and..like so many other places on the lower mainland....we put a traffic light right at the short end of it!

I dunno, as I sit here this cold, rainy morning, sipping my warm coffee, I'm glad I only have a few more years of work, before I can hopefully punch out of this madness, what a monster we have created.

As James and I discussed yesterday, most of survival out there just requires you to not follow too close, and have SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, of what is going on a round you.

I cannot believe the amount of multi-car crashes we have now, if people would only not follow so close, or, jam into the other persons safety zone...so..back to the poor drivers.......

I'm ok now..I've had my rant...coffee has kicked in...I'm going to go put my snow tires on my Odyssey, as they are predicting snow for Sunday night/Monday, and we all know what a GONG show that will be on the lower mainland......

[datzenmike]

Haste... makes waste. Years ago, maybe it was just that I was younger and growing older does this to you?, I used to move up to fill any empty space ahead of me. I don't mean right on the next guys ass, but behind him. I saw any empty space in traffic as wasted. I watched traffic lights ahead for a looming yellow light to come on and was already computing my odds of 'it I floored it now, would I clear it before it turned red'. If there were enough space ahead of me.... someone would take it from me. Someone passes me on the right I speed up so he has trouble merging. Always 10-12km over. Get there get there get there....

Now I don't give two shits. It took some practice to let it go. It isn't easy after years of entrenchment. Everyone is simply in a hurry because everyone else in in a hurry. Who here likes their job so much that they increase their risk just to get there sooner? Traffic can have that empty space I'm in no hurry to get where I'm going.

[510rob]

+1 mike

[bertvorgon]

+2...It has taken me a lot of years to shed that fierce competitive nature to both get ahead, and race guys.....I have to consciously talk to myself at times.....I get to the tunnel the same time the guys does that lane hacks the whole way.....

I also increase my fuel milage by 3 mpg just being steady.....

[jason]

Well, I just wiped out the Suzuki last week. Guy with a flatdeck full of BIG trees cut short sticking out 6-8' off his deck with no flags pulled into a driveway ahead of me on 5 road. I didn't see the branches sticking out into the curb lane and couldn't swerve completety out of the way and caught about 2' of the end of the branches, $1800 of body work and no parts prices yet ... ICBC tells me I'm at fault even though the load was unmarked ... I guess they are going to write off the Suzuki as it needs another $1-2K in parts for the repair .... ARHGHHH!

[datzenmike]

[Byron510]

The ability to drive is a privilege - not a right.

That said, as I have stated for years;

Everyone should be made to take the pathetic road test that all new drivers take now, every time we renew our licenses - so every 5 years. We bear the costs as part of the privilege to drive. It needs to be self supportive; the government should not bear a cent of costs.

Supporting arguments as vied by myself – solely;
In saying the above, if I had to line up and pay $40-$50 every 5 years to maintain my privilege to drive, I'd be more than happy to do so. As pathetic as the road exam is today - I would guess that at least 50% on of those currently holding BC drivers licenses right now, would not pass - period. A good percentage of the remainder would more than likely just barely get by.

We have two major issues I have observed over the years here in southern BC;
The first - Mike and Keith, I am not directing this at you because you are "more experienced" than myself but rather I will make a general statement - We are reaching a point where the baby boomers are for the most part entering retirement. This huge group of people who for most of their lives have had the right to drive and have never had it another way. Most had minimal testing to get their licenses initially and have never been challenged since. This group as a whole are getting older, are less capable and less aware as the years go by. This is inevitable, and is part of the aging process and cannot be denied. There are guys here like Keith, whom I know personally, are more aware than I. So the rule can never be specific. But I feel guys like Keith are an exception and do not follow the general rule. I seriously fear that in another 10 years, this particular problem will get significantly worse and there really is no mechanism in place to remove these licenses or driver privileges until unreal amounts of mayhem have been delivered on a case by case basis- people will die needlessly, there is no doubt in my mind.

The second; Large amounts of immigration. This is simple – give people a drivers license who’ve never been around a culture with cars, or have lived in a culture where the general rules are significantly different – and you have a problem. Do not take this as racist. But if you take a family who never owned a car, lived in the country and didn’t grow up in city life – and give them a license to drive, you will have chaos. This applies to anyone regardless of your ethnic background. If you did not grow up around fast moving machinery, how can you appreciate that you are now in charge of 4000 lbs of steel and glass capable of causing serious injury. It’s simple –most just do not understand. Don’t get me wrong, many that grow up right here in North America don’t have a grasp of this. But if you take this ignorance, and mix it with people who come from a culture where if you don’t fight for it, you don’t get anything – then you have a very serious problem. If you come to the west, you HAVE TO accept the Western ways. That means lining up, waiting your turn, staying in que and not living like you’ve got the god given right to do whatever you want at the cost of everyone else.
Anything else will cause strife, and no one wins.

So my simple solution, without singling anyone out, without pointing a finger and without any prejudice – is simply instituting a system when everyone most prove your qualified, on a regular basis, to maintaining the privilege of being allowed to pilot a vehicle on public roads. We as drivers will pay for this privilege, period.
So, every time we get out licenses renewed, we sign up for a driving test and we take the same exam – both written and on the road - that your 16 year old had to pass to get that privilege to drive.
-Furthermore and in addition, there will be no interpreters allowed. Your interpreter is not with you when you drive, so if you are incapable of reading that the road is closed, or that a bridge is out or that a detour is ahead – then you are a menace to others on the road, and construction workers on the highway and to yourself.
-Lastly –for all those who think that paying off a driving instructor for a pass as this has also been a serious issue here over the years; For those who get caught paying off an instructor, you will permanently loose the privilege to drive in this country – EVER. And to those in power who take that bribe, we use the laws in place; as a public servant taking a bribe is illegal and punishable by jail time with a permanent record and then make sure it’s enforced to the full extent.
So that’s my Sunday night rant, thanks for reading.
Byron

[datzenmike]

The First... I think the drivers test I had was rigorous. I did have what was then known as a 90 day learner's permit. I renewed it two more times and did my test about a year later when I was 17. I applied for a 'Chauffeur's' license but was only good enough for an 'Operators' which I easily passed. I don't think we boomers had 'minimal' testing, nor that we are worse than today's drivers. If anything experience spread over close to 50 years has to be worth something. On the other side of this coin bad habits can and do creep in and eventually luck runs out.

New license holders should be tested EVERY year for the first 5 years (or more I'm good with that) If in a accident every year for another 5 years. Why not? Then every time your license is renewed, to tune up and sieve out the bad creeping in. Over 50 or 60? should revert back to every year.

The Second.... I agree the testing should involve some kind of cultural bias by the testers!!! Who teaches you how to drive and passes on their bad habits? Yeah, an older family member. At the least they or even everyone, should go to a school to learn how to drive. I'm not talking about 'driver's school' after class. I mean something substantial. You come here with a license from another country? Throw it away and enroll in school. This can all be avoided by having a standard for EVERYONE. If you want to drive learn how to. Can't speak or read the language learn enough to drive.


Paid off instructor? When he gets out he has no license.

[bertvorgon]

I am in agreement that we need way better testing...not just to pass driving around the block, then the written, but, a real world AWARENESS demonstration. And, that needs to be done over many driving days, not just one.

We could go around this forever here, there is no simple answer, as a WHAT DO WE TEST......at what level of skill....my criteria would have 80% off the road, is that real...NO!

In regards to us baby boomers, yes, it will be an issue, which is already under scrutiny as to how to tackle it.

I watched a doc last week, CBC, looking at that very thing...the highest risk group was the 20- 40 year olds.......not us old foggies...

I come out of South Surrey/White Rock every day...lily White as it can get.....who the hell gave them licenses? My criteria again, let alone the reality of the small percentage that truly do stupid and dangerous moves.

We now have "DISTRACTED" driving, what with frigg'in cell phones, navigation, plus a multitude of other crap that takes ones eyes off the road, that spans the ENTIRE AGE, RACE, and DEMOGRAPHIC range. Was putting an 8 track into the player in 1978 any different? I dunno, part of the issue is that we have a TON more driving everyday.

AWARENESS..back to the baby boomers and drivers in general. They showed a company on the CBC show that tests for situational awareness, for elderly drivers. To me that is more key than being able to toss a car sideways at a moments notice. While that is well and good, how bout we just NOT get into that situation!!!! I taught my wife and kids...LOOK AHEAD, do not tail gate, scan all the time...that to me lets you see what is going on around you...keeps you out of trouble before you are there.

When I instructed high performance driving and solo schools, the biggest thing I had to do was get the students to lift their eyes, to be able to look WAY ahead, yet at the same time know their car placement, and be aware of the peripheral sight. For some, it would never happen, but, it can be taught. My dad and I used to have contests when we drove together, trying to beat each other as to what we saw so far down the road, and make "predictions" as to who would move where. Try that some day yourself, watch the car "body" language...is that driver edging to get to that exit coming up?
Some of this is what needs to be taught, tested, and if you cannot demonstrate some level of that awareness..NO license. THAT needs to be demonstrated right out of the box, then, we can throw in some basic car control and rudimentary skill tactics. Students were amazed at how hard they could actually stop their street car when the brakes were actually used HARD, people need to have some prior experience BEFORE a situation happens.

I laugh out near Specialty Engineering..Young Drivers of Canada takes their students and gets them to drop a wheel of the edge of the road, not at speed, to let them feel what that is like...no biggie..all at low speed...any idiot would not have a problem with that, sure makes Mom and dad feel good that they are getting "on the road" training for sure. Drives the municipality of Delta crazy, as it is wrecking the road edge.

if I was in control, I would do weeks of driver awareness training, plus class rooms to discuss dynamics, that your ABS will only ensure you rear end the car in front of you straight on, then, a basic type of Solo school, to learn what is feels like when you screw up and go too fast, that the slightest corner will NOT roll you over. Would that be fair to a 16 year old, or a 55 year old from wherever...I dunno again, how would you establish what skill we want.

And, this will not be cheap.....I believe in Germany you have to take 6 tests, around 600.00 each, before you get your license.

I was lucky that my dad was a good driver, taught me well, I was 13 at the time, got to drive all sorts of shit long before my drivers license came along, spent years driving beaters, then, spent years driving logging roads in my 1969 510 wagon, then went racing. The best thing I did was take the Solo school course, taught by some North American Champions, best thing I ever did, it compressed into the one school almost a years worth of competitive driving, call it SEAT time, plus, the actual explanation of vehicle dynamics, weight transfer, etc.. Some variation of that would be good for new drivers for sure.

There will always be bad drivers, as you cannot force or put a wise mind between those two ears, decisions are still made by whatever happens in their grey matter.

It it up to those that have been at least awarded some very good knowledge and awareness, to help make sure they NEVER get into trouble in the first place, which a better testing regime would sure help.

It saved my ass again, as the beginning of this thread suggested.