Just a Reminder

A Reminder to take care on the roads out there,

accidents aren't fun,

people get hurt,

emergency service personnel are usually needed,

property gets damaged or destroyed,

what a waste time, resources, property and LIVES.

Slow down and pay attention, especially in the snow!

Hanging around in Florida

Well,

I have arrived in Florida. (a couple of weeks ago)

and YES, I saw Ruby Falls,

pretty cool.



I'm always amazed at the abundance of wildlife when I reach Florida.


From the Sandhill Cranes and Lizards that hang out at my mom's house


The Peacocks, Peahens and Lizards that hang out at my sisters house.

The Rabbits, Squirrels, Lizards and big bugs at my brothers house



to the fish, birds, Lizards and alligators along the River.


Oh and there are Lizards in Florida too, if you look closely you might see a few thousand,
pretty cool, they keep the bugs down.


anyway . . .

I like the local traffic.



NO TRAFFIC JAMS AROUND HERE!



See other photos at donssite.com, my photo blog or see Truck photos, optical illusions or web animations

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
Listen to Pete Harris while you surf.

Wheelies on the Highway

I've seen a lot of stupid moves on the highway by a lot of people that should not be allowed on the highway but a couple of nights ago I saw what absolutely had to be tops in stupidity and the most dangerous stunt I've ever seen.

I was driving along in a construction zone at night in fairly heavy traffic where 3 traffic lanes were re-aligned several times over a couple of miles. The lanes shifted suddenly along the stretch with uneven pavement and poorly marked lanes.



Suddenly, a motorcycle passed me doing a wheelie at about 75 miles an hour in the inside lane. That IDIOT was followed by a Honda Civic passing me in the outside lane swerving in and out of traffic with about twenty seven kids hanging out the windows shooting videos with their cell phones. I guess it will be all over youtube by now, maybe I can find it and include it in a follow up post.

This stunt could have turned fatal so quickly in so many ways.

The motorcycle was totaly invisible to me as it approached because his headlight was pointing upward, he continued on passing a number of other cars after me. He passed me where the lanes shifted and the uneven pavement shifted across each lane at an angle and where the lanes were not clearly marked. I could have drifted in front of him without realizing and it would look like it was my fault.

I wonder if any of those kids would volunteer their videos if there was an accident.

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See Truck photos or my other photos at donssite.com
and my photo blog or see optical illusions or web animations

Driver fatigue

This accident may have been a case of driver fatigue or perhaps health related.

The tracks leaving the road were gradual and straight with no skid marks at all.

The area where it occurred is near the end of a very long stretch of highway bordered only by fields and wooded areas for miles, a fertile area for tunnelvision to occur.

Drive Safe

More on Road Safety or on Forklift Safety or Optical Illusions, Web Animations, My Photography, or Truck Photos.

Oh yeah, you can check out my Smoke Tree too.

Victim of weather or fatigue? - Maybe both.

Another victim of the last winter blast . . . or was it?


The tracks from this truck were straight as the road started to take a gentle
bend. Maybe the driver was suffering from fatigue or tunnel vision and did not notice the bend till it was too late.

This region is notorious for white outs, so perhaps the driver could not see the bend in the road.

The driver may have been trying to look through a dirty or snow covered windshield.

Whatever the reason, the damage is done and it becomes another learning opportunity and an example of winter hazards drivers deal with in northern a climate.


More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See Truck photos or my other photos at donssite.com
and my photo blog or see optical illusions or web animations

One last blast

That's it, No More!


I don't know where this cold white stuff came from, I was sure it was gone for the year.

I spent all day Sunday outside doing spring stuff in reasonably warm weather then suddenly back into snow and cold.

I heard something like 400 accidents reported on local news, how quickly people forget how treacherous snow and ice can be.

DRIVE SAFE!

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See Truck photos or my other photos at donssite.com
and my photo blog or see optical illusions or web animations

Tailgate party on the Freeway

I haven't written much lately about my favorite pet peeve - "Tailgating"

If the guy in front of you stops real quick,

CAN YOU STOP TOO?

Maybe not so easy in the winter.

I was on the highway yesterday and couldn't believe there was not a serious accident.

A pack of cars (maybe six) came flying onto a highway ramp behind a slow truck. Several cars were severely tailgating as they entered the highway and panic ensued as they caught up to the truck. A couple of them managed to merge across into a middle lane but one guy who may not have seen the truck till the others moved, slammed on his brakes and spun off the road in a cloud of smoke and dust. I think he hit a road sign but I'm not sure as it was happening behind me now.



If this had happened today in the snow, the one car that spun out wouldn't be the only one to lose it.

On the highway in the snow, dangers of a collision are increased exponentially so you have to add that "exponential" factor to your defensive driving techniques.

This winter has been pretty brutal in some areas so far but there's still more to come so take care out there.

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca

Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See Truck photos or my other photos at donssite.com
or see optical illusions or web animations


.

Winter has arrived!

Well, it's here. The snow has arrived and ten minutes into my first flurry a car spun out in front of me as I was turning through an intersection.



The driver looked like he saw a ghost, he did a 180 and was facing me (driving a truck right at him) when he stopped.

Winter driving is much different than warm weather driving with some obvious hazards but sometimes there are hidden hazards as well such as "black ice". Black ice is a thin layer of ice that forms on the road that is invisible and causes a tremendous number of accidents each year (mostly vehicles in the ditch).

Whenever the temps drop below or even near freezing drivers must adjust their driving habits to suit the conditions. SLOW DOWN, LEAVE MORE DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES and PREPARE TO STOP SOONER.

Drive safe!

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca/
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See my photos at donssite.com or see optical illusions or web animations

What caused this collision?

How did this happen?



Was he following too close?

Was he fiddling with some GPS gadget?

Was he making a call on a cell phone?

Was he trying to send a text message?

Was he too tired to be driving?

Was he suffering from a medical condition?

Was he looking for his next delivery information?



Was he distracted by something he saw?

Maybe he was checking out the architecture and marble work of this building when the brakes went on.

Could you imagine if there was a car between these trucks.





More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
See Truck photos or my other photos at donssite.com
or see optical illusions or web animations

Road Rage

There are road rage incidents happening all around these days but this time it's deadly.

Yesterday in the early morning an incident in Milton Ontario caused a fatal accident when a car cut in front of this SUV and slammed on his brakes.

The SUV driver hit the median wall and rolled while trying to avoid the car and was ejected and killed.

Unfortunately, However trajic and unnecessary this accident was, it won't effect many people's habits after a few days when the news stories calm down.

Drivers need to relax, leave a little more space between vehicles and be a little more considerate of other drivers needs. It's stressful enough for most people just driving on the highways not to mention the dangers of radical actions taken in the heat of a moment when someone gets pissed off at another driver.

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
Or see my photos at donssite.com

Cell phones and gadgets in the car

I spend a lot of time on busy highways all day and I'm seeing more and more driver distractions develop.

I commute one hour into the city in my car in the morning, drive a truck intercity through the day then commute one hour home to the burbs in my car.

From my car, I see what everyone sees, lots of drivers talking on cell phones, some drivers eating or drinking, maybe putting on makeup or fixing hair.

From the truck though, I can see that drivers aren't just reading the newspaper and eating cereal, they are absorbed in their Blackberrys or trying to "text" on a cell phone or type into their laptop while they drive.

Between adjusting the music, talking on the phone, dealing with kids in the back seat or a thousand other distractions, it's amazing that there aren't many more accidents on the roads and highways.

More on road safety at http://www.ezee.ca
Forklift Safety at liftright.net
Or see my photos at donssite.com