jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There was a fatal crash on a local highway recently, and two high school students were killed. The driver of a tractor trailer saw a car stopped to make a turn. He hit the car, swerved into the opposite lane, and hit two other cars, killing the students. This is a tragedy, of course, but is there a solution?

The state is going to study the intersection to see if changes are needed. There will be a long, expensive study, but changing the road configuration isn't going to make drivers keep their eyes on the road. From what's been written in the newspaper, the truck driver saw the stopped car too late. If the state recommends leaving the intersection as it is, I'm sure people will complain. I've lived here for over fifty years, and this is the first time I've heard of an accident occurring there. I wonder if the truck driver was texting or otherwise distracted. How else could he not see a car that was stopped in front of him?

In other crash news, a woman across the Hudson River "lost control" of her Tesla and ran into a car coming from the opposite direction - two people hospitalized. I wonder if she lost control or if the car lost control.

https://www.caranddriver.com/tesla/model-3

BebuLamar

In the case of the Tesla I think the car lost control. She wasn't driving it.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Don'tcha hate it when your car is out to get you!

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Round-a-bouts seem to be the big thing around here lately. I think the idea came from Europe? I have no statistics on any safety improvements these intersections provide.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I wonder if that model is self-driving? It seems to be a base model.

BebuLamar

My little city built a new round a bout recently. It's OK. Since I moved to the US almost 50 years ago I didn't see much of the round a bout but when I was a kid growing up in Vietnam the round a bout is the norm with six or seven roads going to it.

doxphoto Loc: Allentown, PA

You can’t fix stupid!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Or inattentive.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Self driving cars have a better safety record than human drivers. They keep their "eyes" on what's happening.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

All of the greatest medical researchers that have ever lived, as well as modern medical science, have yet been able to find a cure for stupidity. Each time they come up with something that is "idiot proof", up comes better idiots.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Years ago I used to joke... I can make my software fool proof, goof proof, and predominately idiot proof,
but I can't make it blithering idiot proof.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Watch out for round-a-bouts. In am effect to make them more usable here you are meant to indicate going into a round-a-bout and indicate when leaving. Yet one more distraction to a driver. The problem is that on the surface it seems a useful and courteous thing to do but in actuality it raises or causes jut as much confusion as before. By my estimation it is useful on about 10% of round-a-bouts with the other 90% it is just a nuisance. And imagine how this requirement would screw up a texter.

Haenzel Loc: South Holland, The Netherlands

You guys are not really 'in' for change are you?

I never indicate going in (why should I ?) I only indicate going out.
Most people do indicate going in but they forget to indicate going out????
I don't know...

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

It depends on the shape of the round-a-bout (remember we drive on the left side). If 4 roads I treat it the same as a cross intersection. Taking the first road off it is a left turn (left blinker), next off road is the same as going straight through so no blinker, last off road (assuming you are not going back the way you came) is a right turn so right blinker. If you see these blinkers you know where the car is going. Most round-a-bouts are 4 roaders here. If multiple roads off the round-a-bout then it is usually larger so if you see a car going round with a left blinker going what does it tell you that is useful ? It tells you that maybe the driver just forgot to turn his blinker off, or it can mean he turned it on early and is planning on turning off at some stage. You just don't know. Maybe he is going around twice (it happens) so no blinker yet. Personally I wait until it is obvious where the car is going. So blinkers mean nothing and do not help. If blinkers were so important then why aren't they made bigger and more obvious and a standardised shape and position ?
My grandfather never had an accident. He used to drive and treat other road users as if they were lunatics. I try and do the same.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

There could be many reasons for that accident. As an examle, this past August I was riding my motorcycle for a short pleasure ride. I had just stopped at a 4 way stop intersection and proceeded through. Suddenly I was aware that I was bearing down on a stopped vehicle. No brake lights, no turn signal noted. The driver was preparing to turn into a driveway.

This occurred about 150 feet from the intersection. I was traveling maybe 25 mph. When I was aware of the vehicle I had only enugh time to get my foot on the rear brake pedal and my fingers onto the front brake lever. I started to try swerving but struck the left rear corner of the vehicle. I was thrown into the back of the car, bounced off it and landed on the opposite berm of the road. I was momentarily knocked out so do not remember the trip across the road. Everything happened so fast.

I have been considered a very careful motorcycle rider. I have taken the Motorcyce Safety Course three or four times and attended a course to become an instructor for the course. I prided myself in being careful.

My accident is indicative of the things that can occur in a split second and do not always include distractions like texting or talking on a cell phone. Something as simple as a loud noise or trying to be aware of surroundings can be enough to take one's eyes off center and suddenly something is in your way. In my case, there were several other vehicles moving in bothg directions and two convenience strore gas stations at the intersection with vehicles going in and out of them. Did I get distracted? I feel I was paying atention to as much as I could. Was I too close to the stopped driver? I cannot truthfully say. I do believe that if there had been brake lights or a turnsignal flashing I would have seen it, but I cannot swear that there were no lights or if they were lit and/or blinking.

In the end, the only injuries were sustained by me. I had several bruises, abrasions and a fractured patella (knee cap). My motorcycle sustained significant damage and the insurance company, at my request, totalled it. I also got a short ambulance ride and then a relatively short helicopter ride to a trauma center where I was treated very well to determine my injuries and receive care.

I have given up motorcycle riding. My wife (strongly) suggested it and my age agreed (I am 76).

Fortunately there were no deaths and only I had minor injuries, relatively.

All that to say, it isn't always easy to determine the cause of an accident on the hiway. Nor is it easy to lay blame on a certain driver. There are myriads of drivers on the roadways and any one of them can make a tiny adjustment (or a mistake) and an accident results.