Ten Vehicle Mass Casualty Crash, Mooresville

[indyjohn]

It's part of life out in the country, but I hate driving rural roads this time of year. Tractors, combines, and grain trucks coming in and out of fields, taking up both lanes, driving slow. And let us not forget, I believe grain truck drivers are exempt from CDL licensing, aren't they? As long as you have a driver's license and affiliation with the farm, you're suddenly qualified to drive a multi-ton semi!

I'll take a WAG that you didn't grow up in the country.

 

[Ingomike]

I'll take a WAG that you didn't grow up in the country.

I’m betting it is not even a guess, it’s all but certain. LOL

 

[Creedmoor]

I'll take a WAG that you didn't grow up in the country.

Some dogs don't hunt.
Like taking financial advice from someone that filed Federal Bankruptcy.
Or a city boy on a tractor.

 

[Brandon]

It's part of life out in the country, but I hate driving rural roads this time of year. Tractors, combines, and grain trucks coming in and out of fields, taking up both lanes, driving slow. And let us not forget, I believe grain truck drivers are exempt from CDL licensing, aren't they? As long as you have a driver's license and affiliation with the farm, you're suddenly qualified to drive a multi-ton semi!

People with a cdl still can't drive well. Cmv or their personal vehicle

 

[indyjohn]

Or a city boy on a tractor.

When does such a thing even happen?

 

[Creedmoor]

When does such a thing even happen?

Phylo put his new tractor on its nose in a ditch awhile back. And posted a picture.
Look... look at what I did.








He was lucky.

 

[Ingomike]

Phylo put his new tractor on its nose in a ditch awhile back. And posted a picture.
Look... look at what I did.








He was lucky.

We all had to learn a few lessons, some of us as kids, some later in life.

 

[indyjohn]

Phylo put his new tractor on its nose in a ditch awhile back. And posted a picture.
Look... look at what I did.








He was lucky.

THAT is funny stuff,right there!

Phylo is a friend of mine. He needs a good jab now and then.

 

[Ingomike]

Has anyone seen any update to the crash with details?

 

[KellyinAvon]

1-3-
R
2-5
R
4-7
6-8

 

[Timjoebillybob]

THAT is funny stuff,right there!

Phylo is a friend of mine. He needs a good jab now and then.

How is he doing?

 

[bwframe]

Tuning in to see how this turns out.

I've seen more than my share of cocky driving harvest season farmers, thinking it's everyone else's job to wait or make way for them.

At the same time, none of us have to look far to find a DOT engineering disaster.


.

 

[Nugget]

I’m betting it is not even a guess, it’s all but certain. LOL

Man, you guys jumped on me pretty quick there with your incorrect assumptions. I didn't grow up on a farm, but in a small neighborhood surrounded on all sides by fields. Moved to Plainfield for a while, but moved back to the countryside 10 years ago. Been driving country roads since I got my license.

And my wife did grow up on a farm. Her dad farmed til the day he died. I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of farming, but I've seen my share of farmers in vehicles and heard plenty of stories... farm-hand clips row of mailboxes in grain truck pulling out of a field, farm-hand roles a tractor off a bridge too narrow to cross, farmer killed crossing railroad tracks on a combine.

Sorry, I obviously hit a nerve for you guys. And sorry for partially derailing this thread. Back to it...

 

[indyjohn]

Has anyone seen any update to the crash with details?

Have not. Probably won't see any more on it, no one was killed.

From the pics I saw, the semi tractor is trashed. If that was the only truck the farmer had, he is screwed. No way to move grain until he gets it fixed or finds a substitute. Either way, he is now losing money.

 

[femurphy77]

I live a few minutes from this intersection and use it multiple times per week. I'd say that on average of my trips thru it that easily 1/4 of them sees cross traffic on 144 just completely ignoring the red light coming down the hill and another 1/4 that are caught off guard when it turns red but manages to stop.

It's not just big trucks, I see cars, light trucks, heavy trucks and motorcycles all just ignoring it. Just last week I watched a duramax heading east and he was seriously pouring coal as he came down the hill my green light was VERY green, but it was obvious he had no intention of stopping. This accident was just a matter of time. The light does kind of "appear" even when you know it's there but like all accidents there are many links in the chain. The most egregious factor I see is speed. That stretch of road requires 60-65 mph to prevent the guy behind you running up your tail pipe.

This is already a dangerous mile of pavement with at least 6 fatalities in the last 10 years, 3 at this intersection before the light went in.

They reopened the intersection yesterday morning early so I rerouted a trip to Menards to check it out; not one skid mark anywhere. Farmer John was updating his status or some such other nonsense besides watching where he was going. He is VERY lucky he didn't kill anybody.

Edit: Wife said 10 in the last 10 years. One other thing, it was suggested that this is a bad place for a light, 4 of the 10 died there trying to cross 144 traffic.

 

[manifest destiny]

The light at that intersection is also hung a little low. Eastbound, even in a vehicle that sits higher, it's tough to see the actual lights if there are even a few cars backed up. If cars were to be slowing or stopped for the light, heavy vehicle crests the hill, it takes another second or two to identify which light is lit. One or two seconds at highway speed eats up a lot of space and further shrinks the reaction time. Many of us are familiar with that particular light. Imagine the heavy load driver that isn't...

 

[Frosty]

This is already a dangerous mile of pavement with at least 6 fatalities in the last 10 years, 3 at this intersection before the light went in.

With the dump trucks pulling out of the pit and traffic moving 60+ I am surprised there haven’t been more. It’s just a dangerous stretch of road.

 

[Twangbanger]

Yeah, it's sort of a dumb place for a light, but the light is there because local yokels had a habit of just hopping across 144 on the North-South road without watching what was coming. I watched some old putz and his wife in one of those stupid CanAm scramblers dart across in front of an SUV coming _up_ the hill, and the SUV slammed his brakes and missed the back end of that toy by inches, on his wife's side. He never knew it was there. Boy, I bet she lit him up for that one.

They do need to put an advance-warning flasher there, because people are habitual-driving idiots going through the motions like robots, and don't anticipate conditions or even look at what is f_cking in front of them.

 

[04FXSTS]

A bit off topic but still dangerous because of fashon and/or stupid. Going north on US 41 north of Terra Haute and this pretty new pick-up starts slowing down, not coasting but braking. But no brake lights, until I was right behind him as he turned right. Then I could see his brake lights go off. the truck had one of those super dark covers over the tail light assembly. He will get rear ended sooner or later. Jim.

 

[bwframe]

Yeah, it's sort of a dumb place for a light, but the light is there because local yokels had a habit of just hopping across 144 on the North-South road without watching what was coming. I watched some old putz and his wife in one of those stupid CanAm scramblers dart across in front of an SUV coming _up_ the hill, and the SUV slammed his brakes and missed the back end of that toy by inches, on his wife's side. He never knew it was there. Boy, I bet she lit him up for that one.

They do need to put an advance-warning flasher there, because people are habitual-driving idiots going through the motions like robots, and don't anticipate conditions or even look at what is f_cking in front of them.

To give that it's due, not all but, most folks out there on three wheels of any sort should be avoided like the plague anyway. As stated, some are fine to be on the road, but a LOT aren't.