RV / tractor trailer wreck on I-16 near Metter, Ga

[ken&ellen]

:eek: Notice where the driver seat ended up!

[Sid Tuls]

How terrible is this. You can only hope and pray that they made it out alive. I know that I'm not using my cell when I'm driving not to say that happen here but it just takes your mind off what your supposed to be doing.

[ken&ellen]

According to WTOC in Savannah the driver of the RV pulled out in the path of the truck. During the daylight hours, beautiful weather, and straight road. Motor home driver air lifted to Memorial hospital in serious condition. I am glad I drive a Prevost vs. fiberglass.

[garyde]

Its always terrible to see these RV accidents. It pays to be attentive on the road. The 18 wheelers can be daunting , I had a Mad Max driver last night trying to speed up so as to not let me pass another semi. Always have to be on guard I guess.

[Gary Carmichael]

Let me ask a question, Are the H3's fiberglass or some type of composite like Kevlar? just wondered since that what I have, hope to goodness a wreck with a Prevost would not be that bad, of course a lot of factors come into play in an accident. Anybody know the answer?

[dreamchasers]

Gary,

Perhaps I can offer a little current knowledge concerning the H3. I recently visited the Prevost factory in Saint Clair, Quebec and asked that same question to the person, Mr. Nadoux, giving us the tour. He stated that the fiberglass used in the front end construction of the H3 was Kevlar reinforced. When I examined the fiberglass, it appeared to be much thicker than what I remembered with my American Eagle. Perhaps H3 owners can chime in with their knowledge of the H3.

The factory tour was impressive. I will post pictures later.

Hector

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I'm not sure what is going on, but on the return trip we seemed to encounter more crazies on the road than on any other trip.

About 120 miles from home a pickup truck passed us in heavy traffic on I-40, pull in front and then proceeded to spike his brakes. He did this for the next 5 miles, dropping us to 40 MPH before letting off and resuming speed. Changing lanes would have been impossible and likely would not have stopped him from doing it. We ended up calling 911 because we had no clue what this guy was doing. Fortunately he got off the interstate and gave Di a big wave as we went by. It is pretty threatening when forced to hit the brakes hard when there is a lot of traffic, and no matter how slow or fast we went he adjusted his speed to stay immediately in front of us. We have no clue what prompted his actions and can only presume he must have issues with motorhomes or Prevost conversions. Traffic was so heavy everyone was going about the same speed we were going (until the pickup started playing games) and we had just been motoring along in the same lane for miles.

I believe I am going to drive back to the county this happened in tomorrow to swear out a warrant and see if this guy can have some grief for his stupidity. The gal on 911 suggested pulling off at an exit (there was none until he pulled off) and we sure were not going to stop. Are we getting older and cranky, or are drivers getting worse? I understand how things escalate in road rage incidents because if we chose to stop for example I would have wanted my gun in my hand because there was no telling what was going on with this guy.

As an aside we saw two accidents in that general area. One was a semi that evidently got tangled up with a second semi splitting the trailer open and spilling the load all over, and the second was a semi that rear ended a car. It was in the center lane of three, and the semi driver just left his truck there making traffic go around the truck (not good on an interstate) while the car pulled over to the shoulder with the trunk lid in the back window. We were glad to get home and off the road.

[merle&louise]

Alan Hann told me about a similar incident he and Mary Kay had many years ago. I can't remember all of the details (maybe Alan will chime in) but the gist of it was that the guy shook his fist at Alan's bus and followed them for a long time.

I think that some folks are jealous of bright, shiney buses and they figure that they will "threaten the owner" with a little intimadation just for the fun of it. I think that Jon did the right thing in reporting it to the authorites. It might be a good idea to "video" any episodes like this for proof in your case.

[Charles Spera]

Seems like a this is pretty widespread.
As we were heading out of Dallas on I-30 on the way home, an SUV with handicapped plates who had been hanging on my right rear corner for several miles decided to pass on the left and pull back in sharply and spike the brakes just as Jon had done to him. Shaking his fist he proceeded to drive at about 45 mph and change lanes whenever we did. Needless to say, it was disconcerting. I had to put up with this clown for about 25 miles before he exited to avoid the construction tie up the we sat in for the next half hour.
It seemed silly, maddening and benign all at the same time. I thought that having a firearm would be a good idea but it turned out that patience and a full tank of fuel allows for vigilant avoidance.
The rest of the trip went well and we are now home.

[Woody]

The power of air horns.

On my way back from south last year on I 91 between New Haven and Hartford an idiot passed me pulling in right in front and slowed way down.

After about 30 seconds I lost it and laid on my air horns - as he swerved off to the right Joanie could see the wife ranting at the driver.

Probably a dangerous thing to do but it cooled my AAA personality.

[Toy Box]

Jon and Charles: We had an identical experience three years ago while North bound on the Florida turnpike. Around 4 p.m., a woman in a white Ford F150 passed us, pulled directly in front of us and jammed on her brakes. I was able to avoid a rear end collision. Then for the next 10 to 12 miles, she would speed up, hit the brakes, speed up, hit the brakes, etc. I have no idea what caused this, but I have heard other similar tales. Stay tuned.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Di is very opposed to my taking this to the next level and swearing out a warrant in Putnam County TN, but the pickup driver could continue doing this for whatever his reasons are and it could easily escalate.

My curiosity has me determined to find out what laws apply to this. Clearly he was doing it intentionaly, and I cannot believe there is no provision in the law against this. My biggest concern was not in rear ending his truck, but the highway full of semi trucks behind me rear ending me. The traffic was heavy enough that they could not easily change lanes to pass me so they also were affected by this jerk.

Careless driving? Reckless driving? Menacing? I guess tomorrow I will find out.

[Woody]

Please keep us posted!!!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jon, remember when I rode with you and Di to the Spearfish, SD rally and we had a similar experience.

I think in this depressed economy and time of hardship for many that the Coach stands out as a symbol of what those stressed with loss of job and income will strike out against. It was not you per se, but the establishment.

If you put your ear in the right places you will hear a swelling towards rebellion. The masses are getting tired of bureaucratic corruption and white collar crime, etc, etc.

Sorry for the poor verbiage. I am not feeling very literate today.



JIM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Over the years many vehicles have passed us (collectively, all POG members) and then applied the brakes when they pulled back into our lane. We are constantly on our guard against this, and when it happens I doubt if it is intentional and usually attribute such action to carelessness, ignorance or stupidity.

It has happened so often to us that instances such as the one Jim recalls just do not stand out in our minds. We have also experienced people like Friday's idiot that "play" with us. If stupid were a felony the prisons would be bulging at the seams because of people who drive small vehicles assuming they can safely play with large vehicles. Since we were around 10 times what the pickup weighed my guess would be the guy had to be stupid, crazy, or suicidal. If Jim's theory about class envy is correct what we see as increased examples of road rage or menacing or reckless driving is going to continue at increasing rates and maybe a dash mounted camera on our coaches such as the police use may be my next purchase.

[GDeen]

Sounds like we need to get "Q" from the old James Bond movies involved and come up with some offensive capabilities.....

[garyde]

Living in California and driving on the freeways of LA and surrounding areas, we take A--holes for granted. Drive by shootings on the freeway of innocent drivers are almost common place. Someone cutting you off simply goes with the territory. Road Rage is reported daily in California. Irregardlless of what you drive, it does not take much to P-- off the unstable.
I would definately report anyone I could identify, one less jerk with a grudge on the road benefits everyone. The bus is more a shiny magnet for the unstable than a comment on class warfare.

[Reagan Sirmons]

Gang, I am sorry for the bad times on the road. It can be very frustrating. If the actions of the offending driver slamming on their brakes can be proven, I believe an assualt with a vehicle can be charged. I would like to know what you find out, Jon. Some drivers in Austin were charged for attempted assualt as they would pull in front of a vehicle to be hit and then sue the driver that hit them. I am reminded of the quote of some time ago: "Keep honking...I'm reloading!"
Reagan
Pres

[Alan__]

As Tuga said, I had a similar experience a couple years back in Colorado. I had passed a truck who was doing 50 and must have irked him for some reason. I had the CB on the trucker's channel and heard him call another buddy and say let's get him between us and force him off the road. He and his buddy chased us for several miles but I was able to pull the hill before Fairplay faster than them and darted into town and waited 30 minutes for them to blow by. When we returned to the road who should we find sitting on the shoulder about 10 miles ahead but the two SOB's. I told MK to get me my pistol and hold on as we were headed into Denver and I felt I had enough lead to lose them in town. One hell of an afternoon but all turned out safe for us.

[Mark3101]

We just returned from our Grand Canyon trip, and I have never seen so many poor, stupid drivers EVER! We had many instances of idiots going 10 to 15 MPH below the limit and as soon as we start to pass, they put it to the floor to try to prevent us from doing so. Also the ones that sit either on your left or right about by the drive axle and won't pass and make you slow down when you get caught behind slower traffic ahead. Then they will finally go by. Also the left lane lovers that consistently go slower than the flow of traffic. We also had a couple that did the pass and cut in and slam on the brakes routine. Frustrating and very unsafe to say the least. I am glad I have my SMI brake in the Tahoe!

I am wondering if the states have quit driver training and license testing...?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

There will be no acceptable outcome to our traffic incident on Friday. I spoke to the TN Highway Patrol this morning. They cannot issue a citation because they did not witness the event. But they did tell me if I went to the Putnam County Court Clerk's office I could get a warrant that would be delivered by the sheriff.

I contacted the clerk's office and they agreed I could get a warrant issued against the driver of the pickup truck, but it would be mailed, not delivered. The snag is the clerk wants the name of the driver and his address. The Highway Patrol will not release that information. The clerk has no access to that information so short of going through the DMV records via the freedom of information act I am at a standstill. The highway patrol did confirm the plate number was accurate because it met my description of the truck and I had to plead with him to get that.

The offenses were many, confirmed by the officer I spoke to. The driver of the pickup was in violation of TN 39-17-307, Obstructing a highway, 39-17-305 Disorderly conduct, 55-10-205 Reckless driving, 55-8-154 Failure to maintain minimum speed, and Menacing. But every one is a misdemeanor, the equivalent of a traffic ticket and it is our word against his so he would likely walk away.

The bottom line is unless a cop sees someone doing this we have little recourse except to tolerate the actions of those willing to challenge 50,000 pounds of bus moving down the highway. Ironically, as I was researching the applicable laws I ran across language regarding menacing or harassment in which if we showed a weapon so he would know we were prepared to protect ourselves we would have been subject to arrest. We did not show any weapon and never considered doing so. But when we encounter people who are very threatening it makes us wonder if they are armed and what their objective is.

A dash mounted camera is of great interest now.

[Alek&Lucia]

Jon,

Here is one link:

http://thevideocopilot.com/

model VC-100 looks interesting

or this one:

http://www.spytechs.com/spy_cameras/car-camera.htm?gclid=CIHslcLY3KQCFVB95QodW0T9LA

one more:

http://www.spytechs.com/Car-Cameras/dual-view-cam.htm

Model SCI-DR200

Alek

[Denny]

Why not dial 911 while the incident is occurring and hopefully the police will respond. I listen to our local police on the scanner and there are many calls of this nature since we are so close to i80. And they do respond. If they find the vehicle they will pull it over and tell the driver what has been reported. Since they didn't witness the event a good butt chewing is in order.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Denny,

As soon as we realized the pickup driver did not have a mechanical problem, but was intentionally spiking his brakes we did call 911 and I am sure the tapes are available. We were with 911 until the driver tired of playing with us and left the interstate.

The 911 lady told us there were no patrol cars in the area. She even told us since no car was likely to respond if we wanted to get a warrant served we would have to do it since no officer witnessed the event.

The entire event lasted 8 or 10 miles, which seems like forever when you do not know if the harassment will turn into another level with weapons. We had no clue what set this guy off, we just knew he needed to be gone. One suggestion from the 911 lady was to stop or get off at an exit. There was no exit except the one he took, and if I stopped what were the odds this guy would have stopped with us? I'm better off if things got real serious having him steering his truck rather than taking careful aim while stopped. I also felt if it escalated I would just ram him. I doubt his truck would offer any resistance if it got to that.

[Denny]

Jon,
You did the right thing - keep moving. You don't want to be a sitting target. Fortunately, everything worked out with no harm done other than high blood pressure. When I had my Corvette that would happen a lot. Someone would pass and then pull in front and slow down just to say they passed a Vette. The advantage with the Vette is you can put the pedal to the metal and out distance the idiot.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

You have no idea how much I was thinking about the inability of the bus to respond to the gas or brake pedal. You are absolutely correct about if I had my Corvette this whole episode would have been a non-event.

[Gary Carmichael]

Hector look forward to the photo's. Gary