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Old 10-16-2017, 02:33 PM   #1
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Oh the things you see

You do not need to go to Walmart to see stuff that makes you go huh?
On our trip back from the David Crockett rally in Tennessee not only did we see the normal idiots darting back and forth at high speed trying to gain a few feet.

The real highlights

South Carolina.
We saw a guy in an older small Ranger truck with a huge flatbed trailer that had a small bobcat and a load of blocks. He was trying to keep it in the center lane and was swinging back and forth a good bit into the lanes to either side of him. We finally were able to get by him , there was quite a few vehicles behind him as it was hard to pass him. I called the Highway patrol but they did not seem to care that he was a hazard to himself and others.

Also saw a trailer that had the rear of the one side flapping back and forth into traffic wiz by us. I swung over partially onto the shoulder when he came by as I was not sure what I was seeing in my mirror. And South Carolina seems to have more impaired drivers than I've seen elsewhere. Quite a few road weavers after 2am were on the highways. After the gruff who cares attitude I received about the Ranger we just avoided the obvious drunks.

Georgia
We saw a huge older trailer hooked up to a Suburban. The rear of the Suburban was just about dragging ground and the front was way up in the air. They stopped at the same rest stop as us and the 5 getting out were all quite large. I figure with all I could see in the back of the SUV, the hitch load and them it had to be dangerously overloaded. And they had Virginia tags so they had been on the road awhile. We noticed a few road weavers, but at 5am they might have just been sleepy.

Florida, long line of traffic stopped for an accident, finally worked our way past the trailer scattered along the road and the Suburban on it's side. You guessed it, we suspect it was same one that was in Georgia from the looks. Similar looking decals on the trailer parts and the Suburban was black.
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Old 10-16-2017, 02:50 PM   #2
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Henry Huggins at the wheel

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You do not need to go to Walmart to see stuff that makes you go huh?
When you are towing, concentrating and doing your best, it is indeed scary to have to share the road with some cretins who seem to have a death wish. Glad you made it back unscathed. I saw an old farm truck in Michigan that had broken in half through the rusted frame. It was loaded with scrap iron. Looked to me like the truck would end up at the same place as the load.
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Old 10-16-2017, 03:44 PM   #3
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When you are towing, concentrating and doing your best, it is indeed scary to have to share the road with some cretins who seem to have a death wish. Glad you made it back unscathed. I saw an old farm truck in Michigan that had broken in half through the rusted frame. It was loaded with scrap iron. Looked to me like the truck would end up at the same place as the load.
Dave

Many years ago I owned a real rust bucket. A 1958 Ford F100 that came from Michigan. The bottoms of the doors were gone the fenders were loose at the bottoms , the bed was self cleaning as anything smaller than a gallon of milk would fall through and it was fun to hit water puddles as it would drench the passenger. But it ran fairly well, stopped and started and beat walking to work.
One day as I was leaving work I pressed on the gas and noticed something move to the rear of me. So I looked back and did it again.
One side of the bed neatly raised into the air. Stopping I looked underneath and all that was holding the truck together was the drive shaft and a small amount of frame on the passenger side.
I bought some steel plates drilled through some metal that looked good enough and sandwiched it together.
Then traded it in on a Toyota Hilux.
I saw that truck for a few years around Homestead so my repair must have worked well.
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Old 10-16-2017, 03:58 PM   #4
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Photos

My kids always say "pictures or it did not happen." I think I'll start having Rita snap some of the things we encounter. As an aside, if you are in Iowa and you are anywhere except on an Interstate for the next month and a half it is very common to encounter slow moving, very wide farm equipment. It is legal and they do what they can to share the road but they are still big and can only crowd over so far. Be careful. A loaded 1200 bushel cart pulled by an eight or nine thousand series John Deere Is very heavy. Remeber this old rhyme from drivers ed?
He was right all right as he sped along
But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong.
Dave
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Old 10-16-2017, 07:20 PM   #5
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It's not only land based vehicles that get overloaded. One of my favorite boat photos from Nantucket:
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:27 PM   #6
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This picture is real. It was verified by Snopes who tracked down people that actually saw it and had their own pictures. Beyond words.

Wood You Do This?
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:52 PM   #7
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Minister dunking

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It's not only land based vehicles that get overloaded. One of my favorite boat photos from Nantucket:
Hi Jon
Garrison Keillor painted a picture of a large group of Lutheran ministers taking a pontoon boat ride on a Minnesota Lake. They were seated around the perimeter of the boat until someone noticed a large fish finning in shallow water. "Look at the size of that Northern" was all it took. Impromptu baptism.
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Old 10-16-2017, 09:14 PM   #8
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I won't post a picture of it but there is a guy named Anthony Daniel in Tampa who drives a vehicle with Klan and Nazi stuff all over it , pictures of lynched blacks and lots of the N word.
People assume it is owned by a white supremacist

He's black.
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Old 10-16-2017, 09:40 PM   #9
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Hi Jon

Garrison Keillor painted a picture of a large group of Lutheran ministers taking a pontoon boat ride on a Minnesota Lake. They were seated around the perimeter of the boat until someone noticed a large fish finning in shallow water. "Look at the size of that Northern" was all it took. Impromptu baptism.

Dave


Cant beat a good lake wobegon story, always good to hear him on the radio.


Cheers
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Old 10-16-2017, 09:59 PM   #10
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.....We finally were able to get by him , there was quite a few vehicles. I called the Highway patrol but they did not seem to care that he was a hazard to himself and others..... And South Carolina seems to have more impaired drivers than I've seen elsewhere. Quite a few road weavers after 2am were on the road
.

Sound's dangerous out there; hopefully you weren't driving and calling

Also, driving at 2 AM? It's like Mexico 50 years ago: I don't do dat as there are many times more drunks.
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Old 10-17-2017, 09:47 AM   #11
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.

Sound's dangerous out there; hopefully you weren't driving and calling

Also, driving at 2 AM? It's like Mexico 50 years ago: I don't do dat as there are many times more drunks.
Having passengers or bluetooth connections between the phone and vehicle means drivers do not need to hold the phone. If I knew how to get the phone to recognize "OK Google call Star or Asterisk 47" I could have done it myself. That may take a few more years of phone evolution. Right now it would simply say I do not have an entry for Star or Asterisk in my directory.

I often drive at night, there is a lot less traffic out and as a result less chance of problems. Usually on the highway the drunks are obvious so you just stay away from them.
During the day you have the equivalent to drunks texting and such on their phones so night or day you need to be aware.
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Old 10-17-2017, 01:57 PM   #12
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Regarding talking while driving- never mind towing a 4,000 lb travel trailer:

"Ditch the phone if you drive. That's the bottom line of a new study that found using hands-free headsets while driving doesn't result in fewer accidents, echoing the results of many previous studies."
https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/2...iving-safety#1
Other studies show it is as bad as driving drunk.

Regarding driving at night- yes there are less drivers in most places, however it is a tough thing to dodge an oncoming drunk who gets fixated on your headlights and drives right towards them. I know it can happen anytime, yet defensive driving is to a degree about statistics and "According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 31% of fatal drunk-driving accidents occur on the weekend, and the highest number of drunk drivers is on the road between midnight and 3 a.m. Fatal crashes are also four times higher at night than during the day."
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:14 PM   #13
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Regarding talking while driving- never mind towing a 4,000 lb travel trailer: "

Ditch the phone if you drive. That's the bottom line of a new study that found using hands-free headsets while driving doesn't result in fewer accidents, echoing the results of many previous studies.
https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/2...iving-safety#1
Other studies show it is as bad as driving drunk.

Regarding driving at night- yes there are less drivers in most places, however it is a tough thing to dodge an oncoming drunk who gets fixated on your headlights and drives right towards them. I know it can happen anytime, yet defensive driving is to a degree about statistics and "According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 31% of fatal drunk-driving accidents occur on the weekend, and the highest number of drunk drivers is on the road between midnight and 3 a.m. Fatal crashes are also four times higher at night than during the day."
I love to travel early but I guess I make it 3:30-4:00 . Maybe they will be knocked out by then . Love to see the sun come up and the quiet . Pat
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:25 PM   #14
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Love the 4AM departure- still remember driving from San Diego to Lake Tahoe and seeing the sun come up in Mojave desert. Nowadays am lucky to get Susan out by 9AM, however we're typically not doing 10 hour drives anymore either.
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:36 PM   #15
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Love the 4AM departure- still remember driving from San Diego to Lake Tahoe and seeing the sun come up in Mojave desert. Nowadays am lucky to get Susan out by 9AM, however we're typically not doing 10 hour drives anymore either.
We can't do those long drives anymore either . Need to get a early start if going North to get over the grapevine early . After getting over grapevine , take our time and have plans to be stopped about 1:00pm . The sun rising is a beautiful sight to see. Pat
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Old 10-17-2017, 03:56 PM   #16
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I agree that two lane roads are more susceptible to accidents, particularly those who have been drinking. That said I always try to stay on interstates at night, they normally have a median or jersey wall, they normally have a fence for keeping animals away and they are spread out to where headlights are not directly in your eyes. In addition there is less traffic at night.
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Old 10-17-2017, 04:07 PM   #17
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Regarding driving at night- yes there are less drivers in most places, however it is a tough thing to dodge an oncoming drunk who gets fixated on your headlights and drives right towards them. I know it can happen anytime, yet defensive driving is to a degree about statistics and "According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 31% of fatal drunk-driving accidents occur on the weekend, and the highest number of drunk drivers is on the road between midnight and 3 a.m. Fatal crashes are also four times higher at night than during the day."

True, However a pair of headlights coming towards you on I-95 would be so unusual that even texters should notice it.
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Old 10-17-2017, 04:34 PM   #18
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True, However a pair of headlights coming towards you on I-95 would be so unusual that even texters should notice it.
Sadly it does happen- Google headon I-95....

Here's just one:

Driver in wrong-way I-95 crash that killed five had been drinking, test results show - Sun Sentinel
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Old 10-17-2017, 05:20 PM   #19
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Sadly it does happen- Google headon I-95..

Let me channel someone from Iowa who post this sort of stuff on here.

As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on I-95. Please be careful!"

"Hell," said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"
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Old 10-17-2017, 06:10 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossue View Post
Regarding talking while driving- never mind towing a 4,000 lb travel trailer:

"Ditch the phone if you drive. That's the bottom line of a new study that found using hands-free headsets while driving doesn't result in fewer accidents, echoing the results of many previous studies."
https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/2...iving-safety#1
Other studies show it is as bad as driving drunk.

Regarding driving at night- yes there are less drivers in most places, however it is a tough thing to dodge an oncoming drunk who gets fixated on your headlights and drives right towards them. I know it can happen anytime, yet defensive driving is to a degree about statistics and "According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 31% of fatal drunk-driving accidents occur on the weekend, and the highest number of drunk drivers is on the road between midnight and 3 a.m. Fatal crashes are also four times higher at night than during the day."
We avoid driving on Friday and Saturday nights in our area.
According to a study conducted by the US DOT , The CDC , and the State of Wisconsin, on Friday and Saturday nights in our area 1 in 3 drivers is driving under the influence .
Hardly a statistics to be proud of.

When driving , my cell phone is shut off and stored in the rear of my vehicle where it is out of reach. My vehicle has Bluetooth but I choose not to use it.
It's hard enough dodging the deer at night without having to dodge the drunks and dial my phone !
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