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by spellcheckman from Leawood

Last Post 4 days, 11 hours Ago


The ice caused the wreck
Dec 1, 2008 | 12:04 PM
Category: Traffic
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Watching the news Sunday about the icy overpass on 69hwy around I-35 in Johnson County, and all the cars that had run in to each other, including the Lenexa police car.

The newscasters, along with the Police because one of their own was involved, came to the conclusion that the ice caused the wreck, and they needed to shut the hwy down for a while till the salt trucks came along. 

The ice doesn't cause wrecks.  People driving too fast for conditions are the cause of wrecks.  They won't slow down because it is an overpass and it is icy, because it is..........Johnson County and they've got places to be.  People don't drive like that in Minnesota or North Dakota  on country roads and bridges that haven't been salted.  They're just as slick, too.

Rain doesn't cause wrecks either.  It is the same co-efficient of friction for everyone when it comes to rubber against the road.  Tread depth may be a variable, but it is slick none the less.  Hydro-planeing cars are the result of driving too fast over water.  Drive slower and you won't hydroplane. 

Darkness.............overdrive past the view of your headlights and you may not make that turn.  So darkness caused the wreck?

The train hit the car---------trains never hit cars.  It would imply they have an alternate route, or they have the opportunity to stop for the car.  Cars hit trains.  Think about it, you can't very well go home to the wife and say, honey I hit that train that had no place else to go and couldn't stop!  Your Acura is really messed up! 

When is it going to be reported by these traffic reporters that driving too fast for conditions cause wrecks? 

All it really does is give the motorists a dumb EDIT excuse for their bad driving. 

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Member Comments Total Comments: 11
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lmatt read my blog
Dec 4, 2008 | 4:13 PM

Have you ever heard of "black ice"? Now that you dont know when you need to slow down. It happens in a matter of seconds. Other than that, I would have to agree with you. And most of the drivers that dont slow down drive front wheel drive cars or front wheel drive suv's.
mnaines read my blog view my photos
Dec 5, 2008 | 9:16 PM

spellcheckman, your idea that people can "over-drive" their headlights - the range on most standard factory-installed halogens is 150 feet. Since most people need at least 2 seconds to respond to what the rest of traffic is doing (2 second following rule), a speed of 55mph would be the maximum allowable speed before you over-drive your headlights. 55mph would give you approximately 2 seconds to respond to whatever is in your headlights.

The Sylvania SilverStar Ultra headlights and the High-Intensity Discharge headlights have a range of at least 1,000 feet if aimed properly, and in order to over-drive those headlights while giving yourself 2 seconds response time, you'd need to be driving at 325mph.
mnaines read my blog view my photos
Dec 5, 2008 | 9:19 PM

Sylvania SilverStar Ultra headlights are OEM replacement headlights, meaning they can be put in place of the factory-installed halogens with no major modifications. They are a little more expensive than standard halogens, but they are twice as bright, last twice as long, with a lot longer range. Its easier (and cheaper in the long run) just to install a set of SilverStar Ultras in the low-beam side then aim them to illuminate everything up to 1,000 feet in front of your car. Then you don't have to drive like a little old granny just to be safe at night.
mnaines read my blog view my photos
Dec 5, 2008 | 9:25 PM

I use the Sylvania SilverStar Ultras in my 1991 Accord, and those headlights are so good and so powerful, they light up every reflective surface up to 1,000 feet ahead of my car. Granted, headlights that bright will blind anyone who looks directly at them, but then again, ALL headlights are blinding if you look directly into them. The other benefit to these headlights is they fit right in place of the factory bulbs on the same plugs as the factory bulbs and consume the same amount of power (55W for low beam, 65W for high beam), and these headlights have a wide-arc beam. This means, for example, that you can be sitting in the middle lane of a 3 lane road and everything on both sides of the road 150 feet or more away from you will be illuminated.
mnaines read my blog view my photos
Dec 5, 2008 | 9:28 PM

The other beauty to the SilverStar Ultras is they are specially designed so you cannot see the beams from them - this proves useful in fog, as the headlight beams will not reflect off the fog and blind you. Add to that the fact these things are easily as bright as a 1 million candlepower spotlight, and that means your car stands out like a sore thumb in a pea soup fog.
n2jam read my blog view my photos
Dec 10, 2008 | 5:01 AM

That reminds me of the hospital commercial I saw a while back "my skilsaw slipped." LOL
RabidAnglophile read my blog
Dec 10, 2008 | 8:02 AM

We got an inch or less of snow yesterday and for some reason just about every driver's I.Q. dropped to the same level as the temperature.
lmatt read my blog
Dec 10, 2008 | 10:45 AM

People that run these "bright" headlights I put my brights on and blind them. I drive a F150. There is NO reason to have headlights this bright!
bebo read my blog view my photos
Dec 15, 2008 | 12:12 PM

There is one important thing people lack. That's common sense and using good judgement. 98% of all accidents are preventable. Yep, that's right 98%. The accident was probably caused by ONE knucklehead. He/she probably had no insurance as in ost cases or accidents around this place.
During winter months, SLOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW down! There are alot of stupid people on the roads. I said it, STUPID.
spellcheckman read my blog
Dec 16, 2008 | 7:33 PM

500 feet headlights won't help when you take your hands and eyes away while texting.
kingborg read my blog
Dec 19, 2008 | 12:02 PM

BS ice CAN cause wrecks! naw wait im WRONG it cant silly me the wreck i had was my fault silly me for BEING stopped on ice and slidding into another car from a STOP light. yeah your right ice cant cause a weck!
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spellcheckman

An old athlete. Member of Mensa and the Procrastinators club. Never can make it to the Mensa meetings! Electrical/Mechanical engineer who made some money on a patent most everyone uses. Part time English teacher, (sub) Exotic car nut, Porsche, Ferrari TR512 (Boardwalk Motors, Dallas) and C6 Corvettes. Not Liberal or conservative but has views per the topic. Views do not neatly group me into either label. Neither of which I judge to be bad. Disciple of George Carlin. Do not vote for anything or fill out surveys, or belong to a "church." Usually sees both sides of a story and will take the opposite side for argument and thinking purposes.

Member Since: 7/29/2007


 

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