Dangerous interstates

[oilcan]

Made a big mistake when I OK'd a trip from Penna to Kansas 6 months ago for my wife's friend's marriage. Never agree to anything 6 mo's off.
Just returned. Saw 4 Big vehicle accidents on Rt 70 from Columbus,Oh to Topeka Kansas last Ths & Fri. Saw 4 more vehicle accidents yesterday & today on the same route 70 returning. I can't remember seeing so many serious crashes in a year versus this week. New paving (slippery surface)& too much speed for the uninitiated are undoubtedly the causes.
Stay away from this road if you are able.

[wdfifteen]

They've been doing a lot of work on I-70 in Ohio, but there are still problems. For some reason known only to engineers and the politicians who control them, they put the intersection of I-70 and I-75 in the valley between two hills. It's never been real bad going east, but the haul up the hill onto I-70 west was brutal. They added lanes and increased the radius of the curves, but still you can be bombing down I-70 westbound at 70 mph and encounter trucks merging in while grinding their way up the hill at 45 mph. Where did you see the problems?

[Scott Douglas]

Deleted.

[oilcan]

I found dangerous situations throughout. Too much speed for such a narrow road and 70 mph. Travel speed was 75 to 85. No problem on a better road- but obviously this road needs some changes. Slow it down & widen-out at many points. Only saw cops at overturned vehicle spots.

[rick-l]

I drive I-70 in Missouri 3-4 times a month. It is crowded but I think the main problem is cars that park in the left lane (2-3 over the limit) and cause a (tailgating) backup. Seems like semi's are taking 3-4 miles to pass more now also.

[Jolly Amaranto]

I 81 from Roanoke to Wytheville especially. Crazy truck traffic.

[red-beard]

I've witnessed accidents on many interstates.

2 of them involved people falling asleep at the wheel. Both of them put me in danger.

Saw a car cut-off an 18 wheeler, caught his right rear on the left front of the truck and he Pitt maneuvered himself. He tumbled and ended up upside down in the median.

Another idiot decided to pass the slower moving cars in the un-plowed section of a 3 lane interstate. He ended up spinning out, crossing 3 lanes to the OTHER shoulder and starting a chain reaction, 20 car pileup. I watched it in the rear-view mirror 3 car lengths in front of him in the middle lane...

One of the stranger incidents was a tire&wheel falling off the top of a car. It bounced a couple of times, straightened out, then got rolling. It then crossed the median into on coming traffic.

Yeah, people are stupid...

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

I 81 from Roanoke to Wytheville especially. Crazy truck traffic.

I second the motion for I-81.

Heavy commercial traffic. Much up and down "whoop-de-doo" mountainous terrain, causes high speed differential between trucks trying to gain momentum on downhills, losing speed on uphills, and regular drivers in cars (many college age- travelling to... college.). These aren't big mountains like out west, but they cause very high speed differentials, in an area where inclement weather happens often, and when the snow falls, it often falls wet. Throw in some out of state drivers who are hightailin' it to get to wherever they're going, and local yocals in pickups, and you've got a road that can make loveland pass look easy peasy..

Not a good combo.

I avoid I-81 (north near Harrisonburg) to avoid this mayhem daily. Cost me about 10 minutes daily. I view it as car/life conserving.

[sand_man]

Originally Posted by oilcan

I found dangerous situations throughout...

Same here. They're all pretty dangerous and, yes, people ARE stupid! Around here, we frequent I-95 and I-40 quite a bit.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

I 81 from Roanoke to Wytheville especially. Crazy truck traffic.

never had a bit f trouble on 81 from the trucks, it's always the idiots that are clueless about the big rigs and have no respect for them. I would rather drive around a bunch of rigs than around a bunch of local morons.
Truck drivers for the most part are professional and alert, Not like the vast majority of self important people who drive cars.

[Jolly Amaranto]

With all the changes in grade on that stretch of I 81, the trucks can not maintain a constants speed. The idiot auto drivers added to the mix make things real crazy weaving in and out. Brings to mind an old Roger Miller song, "Can't roller skate in a buffalo heard."

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Yeah, people are stupid...

The vast majority of accidents are caused by people doing stupid things. Yeah, sometimes there's a mechanical failure, bad reaction to a sudden obstacle, etc. But mostly... it's people being stupid. If you drive like you should, it's usually pretty easy to spot the stupidity in progress, which allows you to anticipate the actions of the others and stay out of harm's way.

A couple of months ago I was near the local high school right after afternoon release. I saw the car in the lane to my right put on its signal and start slowing down to turn into a subdivision. Checked my mirror and saw a full size pick up truck coming up very fast behind me to the right - probably 70 in a 45 zone. The kid in the truck was committing to a gap that just wasn't going to be there when he arrived. If I had kept my present course and speed, the pick up would have hit me, the car that was turning, or possibly both of us. I nailed the brakes and moved to my left and the truck shot through the gap. It was scary close. Kid was probably patting himself on the back for his driving skills.

Bad accident. Why? Somebody did something stupid:

[wdfifteen]

I watched a woman die on I-74 west of Indianapolis. She was passing a truck on the left. The truck started to change lanes on her, she moved left and got two wheels off the road. Next thing I know the truck is ahead of her and she tried to get back on the highway. It was surreal. She was sliding a little, almost in slow motion until her wheels caught the edge of the pavement. All of the sudden her PT Cruiser flipped in the air and started violently rolling side over side. I saw something blue and white launch into the air in the middle of a roll. I hit the brakes in time to not hit the car once it came to a stop. I was sitting there in my Mercedes looking at the bottom of this car in the middle of the highway and thinking, "What am I going to see when I walk around this car?"
Turned out to be a 20ish girl looking shocked, staring at me through the sunroof. I heard someone say "That doesn't look good" and looked around saw the blue and white thing in the ditch about 20 yards from the car. It was the driver. She must have landed on her head because the right side of her scalp was peeled off. I held her hand and felt for a pulse while a nurse who showed up did some stuff to her. I felt her pulse weaken and stop.

[Nostril Cheese]

CA-99 going out of Fresno

SR-23 Decker Canyon Road

Anywhere in Costa Rica. Having a 4x4 made it fun.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I felt her pulse weaken and stop.

The most unsettling feeling you can experience as another human being. Held my brothers hand till it stopped.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I felt her pulse weaken and stop.

Thanks for being there for her.
A friend of mine lost his wife in a traffic accident 2 years ago. The first woman on the scene did exactly the same thing for her as she slipped away. It gave my friend some comfort that his wife didn't die alone.

[GH85Carrera]

St Louis downtown has the scariest interstates I have been on. On two different trips 10 years apart at one of the many convoluted interstate exchanges a 18 wheeler decide he need the lane I had been in for a log time. They just came right on over. I could be dead right or I could yield. I was driving my 911 on both occasions. I had to yank on the wheel and change lanes in a heartbeat and squeeze into a small spot both times and go across a bride in the wrong direction from my destination. Last year on the way to French Lick, IN I just avoided the downtown area even though my GPS is convinced that is the best way to get through the city.

Garmin needs two additional settings, keep me out of the ghetto and avoid massive downtown congestion when possible even if it adds 10 miles to the trip.

[Seahawk]

The interstates in and around major cities are a pain...DC has actually gotten better in the past 5 years due to massive construction.

The interstate that gives me the most pause, and I have driven probably 90% of the entire system, is I81 in VA as mentioned before.

The sheer amount of trucks on I81 coupled with hundreds of miles of undulating, speed differential inducing hills is a Betty Crocker recipe for mayhem, or at least buffoonery.

Add in rain and welcome to the jungle.

[LakeCleElum]

I've been in like 29 countries and the US has some of the worst drivers I've seen in my travels. We don't take our driving seriously. Lack of manners, distraction and speed make a deadly combination.

I take back roads when possible. A few days ago I had to get from Ft. Walton Beach, FL to the Atlanta airport....I could have went out of my way and taken freeway most of the trip. Instead, I stayed on back roads 2/3 of the distance, getting on the freeway at Auburn, AL...My route was the same time, less miles and traveled thru rolling hills, new pavement, and interesting little towns.....

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

I second the motion for I-81.

A third here. I loathe 81. But it is the best way to get South if you need to be west of 95.