Attention and accidents

[trux]

There's a lot of posts about people dying on the roads here. There's speculation that trucks don't belong on certain roads, speculation that speed is a problem, etc., etc.

It's my personal opinion that not paying attention is the main cause of every accident. Barring equipment failure, I'd bet that in every accident there's at least one driver not paying attention and I'd also bet that in a huge percentage of accidents there's two drivers not paying attention.

And I'd say that one main reason for not paying attention is a severe underestimation of the danger level of operating a motor vehicle at high speeds. I'd guess, barring going into combat in a war zone, that driving or riding in a motor vehicle at high speed is the single most dangerous thing that the average person will do in their entire lives.

[Fozzy]

what were you saying?.. I wasn't paying attention.

[Shawnee]

I was driving through city traffic the other day and 9 out of 10 people were on the phone, other people were eating, reading, laptop etc. I watched a man in a minivan plow into stopped traffic at about 50 mph because he was not paying attention, I saw a truck driver swerve in and out of his lane nearly hitting cars because he was on the cell phone. Damn right most accidents are caused by people not paying attention.

[Drew10]

Absolutly, I agree distractions, not paying attention etc.

I want to add to the list..complacency. Everybody's just to "comfortable" driving their trucks (4wheelers too), day to day routine, and not being alert and attentive to the environment around you.
Theres also the "It wont happen to me" attitude.

[Windwalker]

I got to see a five-car-pileup once because a girl from a strip club was walking down the sidewalk with nothing on but a FISHNET TOP AND "T" BACK UNDIES. (I was looking out the window of the shop I was working in, not driving.)

I know another occasion when a monkey climbing around the outside of a truck caused a few cars to pile up.

Distractions account for a number of them.

[Jackrabbit379]

Cell phones, I think are the biggest distractions today.

Billboards can also be a distraction.
Who is that girl wearing nothing but a smile, and a towel in the picture on the billboard in the field near the big ole highway. :P

sometimes my monkey is being bad and i have to climb back in the bunk to spank it...to get it back in line you know.

[Hat Rak]

Jed you must be an ice road trucker Auto pilot on?

Looking at seat covers can be a distraction too. So is when your cell phone falls onto the floor or your coffee gets tipped over when you're making a turn.

[brian griffin]

i would tend to agree; fiddling with the radio is a big problem as well.


My offical policy regarding night (complete darkness when the sun goes down) driving with a truck:

1) If it gets dark, i DO NOT drive on two-laned routes. Any road with at least 2 lanes in each direction is ok to drive on(hopefully with a median strip) but not only 1 lane in each direction.

It does not matter if it is an interstate or not. At least two lanes in each direction is ok to drive on at night.

That is my official policy regarding night driving with a truck.

[Phantom433a]

\
Billboards can also be a distraction.
Who is that girl wearing nothing but a smile, and a towel in the picture on the billboard in the field near the big ole highway. :P

Gotta love that song.

Last week while getting onto the 215 in Vegas....I heard a motorcycle winding up. A quick glance in my mirror and here he comes, between my rig and the concrete barricade. There was less than 3 feet and I had a car on the other side of me, so I had no where to go. Just prayed he wasn't stupider than I already thought and got his license plate number. Less than 5 miles later, the locals had him pulled over and was reading him the riot act. Man I love calling the po po on stupid people.