Wrecked coach...

[phorner]

This article was passed on to me by a member of the Monacoers indicating that the accident was believed to be the result of a blown tire.

A good reminder of the consequences of inadequate attention to our tires!

http://www.colletonfire.com/20090820.htm

[rahangman]

A real attention grabber to say the least. How awful. As you say, if it was a tire and coupled with bad weather, a good heads up to all of us when hurtling down the highways in these 20+ ton vehicles. Just luck that no other vehicles were involved. Hope everyone's outcome is good.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Every time I see someone in the fast lane in a Prevost, usually towing a stacker trailer blowing by everyone I think about how bad it is going to be if a tire lets go.

Maybe I'm being silly, but I know up close and personal just what is in those wheel wells and when a tire lets go anywhere in one of them it has the potential to take out air bags and or brake chambers. That tends to make a bad situation (a blowout) turn into a reeeeeaaaalllllllly bad situation.

If I am insulting anyone here, it is intentional. Because even if you never get a blowout, you obviously have no clue about how difficult it is going to be to stop at high speeds and how much risk you expose yourself and others to.

[GDeen]

Wow - between that and the crash of golfer Ken Green, that should be plenty of visual evidence of the downside of losing control in a blowout.

Interestingly enough, I haven't been passed by any Prevost in the fast lane but several plastic coaches. One notable was a safari single axle towing a boat that had to be going 85. I told Jenny to brush up on her emergency first aid because we may arriving on a disaster scene any time.

Steve Bennett who was once a professional racing driver lined me out early on the merits of driving the bus at a reasonable speed. 65-67 usually works out pretty well to stay in the flow of the right lane.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I think the plastic coaches go by us fast because we must intimidate them and by passing us at a blazing rate of speed must restore their manhood.

I think Colorado Bus knew the details of a Prevost fatality as a result of speed and a blowout somewhere near Las Vegas.

[truk4u]

This crash was up close and personal for Nancy and I. We got there just about the time the Firefighters/EMS arrived. I didn't need to get out and help, there were already 20 or 30 people running around. Nance snapped this pic out the window as we went by. I was surprised anyone up front survived.

5372

[Jeff Bayley]

I drove faster than I should have when I first got my coach. Thought I could do what I did in a car. Then I met the driver for the Gibson guitar coach at a service center. He used to be a Greyhound instructor for years. He was old and wise and he said this "Go the speed limit or at a nice comfortable pace and you know what ? You'll get their faster". He meant not literally, but time just seems to pass by more enjoyable I think and when I go too fast, I'm all tensed up and riveted to the wheel. When I slow down, I relax and enjoy the ride more.

Plus all that stuff that Jon covered for me. I going to comment on all the tecnical reasons too but he beat me. he,he.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

My standing joke for which I suffer endless abuse at the hands of the POG membership is my 62.5 MPH speed.

It happens to be close enough in either direction to the 55 or 65 MPH speed limits so it works most of the time to allow me to set the cruise and just sit back and relax. On occasiuon I pass someone, but most of the time everyone passes me by so I rarely have to turn off the cruise. No stress, no braking, no worry about cops, just a steady relaxing pace.

Others may go faster and beat my time, but if owning and driving a Prevost is such a good deal, why would anyone want to go faster so they spend less time driving their coach? Relax, chill out, enjoy the ride, save fuel, and let everyone else beat up their brakes and raise their blood pressure. I'm thinking of dropping down to 61.4 to see if I can get my MPG back up to 8.0.

[phorner]

Jon,

I couldn't agree more.

And, I always smile to myself when the guy in the 1988 Winnebago with a ton of crap strapped to it and towing a 3/4 ton crew cab pickup goes flying by me..... while trying to stay in his lane.

I'm sure he thinks that he sure showed that Prevost Guy just who owns the highway!

[GDeen]

He used to be a Greyhound instructor for years. He was old and wise and he said this "Go the speed limit or at a nice comfortable pace and you know what ? You'll get their faster". .

I thought you and Jon had a special relationship.:)

[Jeff Bayley]

Gordon- First, to be clear, the Greyhound instructor that you quoted was not Jon. Jon is a sex instructor. (Baaaa, Baaaaa)

Jon and I DO have a special relationship. He tells me not to do stuff, I do it anyway, and he sometimes get's to say "I told you so" but only when I own up to the error.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jeff is our special project. We want to keep him safe and healthy. He unfortunately thinks outside the box, so on occasion we have to try (notice I said try) to rein him in.

Jeff does have a new perspective on bus parking, and for anyone that has not read his posts look up about how to park in NYC. His advice is priceless, and is dead on. For our limited attempt, we parked next to Wayne Newton's buses (he flies, the crew uses the bus) and when security came to throw us out Di told him we were with the band. The security guard couldn't apologize more. He left us alone. (The band actually said it was OK to say that)

We also parked in the Opryland parking lot which didn't allow parking either, but since we were there for the weekend and we had Di's sister Nancy Williams in the hotel there so we could spend a weekend we felt entitled. So when the security came to kick us out I told the guy I was Ms Williams driver and I took care of her puppy. I gave him her room number if they wished to check. Since Serena or Venus (I forgot which) had just won a major event I assume he assumed it was one of the famous tennis stars and he backed away apologizing. Jeff has led the way.

[Jeff Bayley]

Jon- I don't think I ever share the detail of parkiing in Rockefeller Center near The Today Show so much that security came one night when I brought my Prevost and also my dog of a bus (comparitivitley) with me to park it there too. They said "Do you know who the other blue bus belongs too ? We know your bus. That bus is always here. It's supposed to be here. But that blue one we never seen before". What a gas. We had poached there so much they got used to us.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I love it. We found out the ability of these buses to impress and awe people when we visited Circus Circus on St. Patty's Day in 1991. We pulled in looking for a space in the campground and were told no room, go away.

When they saw the bus they tore up someone else's reservations and gave us the site.

We don't gamble. But they must have thought we were high rollers.

[hhoppe]

As far as speed and tire safety on the coach I finally saw the light. Actually Shirley shinned it very brightly in my eyes. We both enjoy the travel at comfortable speed more these days. No more firecracker baloon tires on our rims. Another safety tip: If forced between avoiding an animal and running off the road, don't choose a tree they do not bounce.
Happy Safe Trails!

P.S. Jon thanks for not naming names.

[Will Garner]

Harry,

You are spot on with that advice. You can try to reduce speed without heavy braking involved to avoid an animal but NEVER swerve neither right nor left. Keep it going straight down the lane. This was just one of my mantras when making safety meeting presentations to my NCDOT Traffic Services Unit employees.

It sounds terribly cruel but one must resign themselves to hitting the animal instead of the shoulder, ditch, trees or other unforgiving roadside objects.

[Yankee802]

I LOVE to speed in my cars, but refuse to in my coach, I set cruise at 55 and don't care! Let the world pass me, I'm home and I plan on relaxing.

[Will Garner]

Hey Yankee,

Where ya been? Good to see you posting again. Are you going to OKC? If so maybe we could hook up and make the run together. Not sure from VaBeach where you would pick up I-40 but its got to be before Greensboro, NC.

Let's hear back.