Yaris in a fatal accident

[DebbyM46227]

http://fox59.com/2015/07/24/fatal-ac...s-interestate/

A tanker truck slammed into the back of the Yaris, sending it off the road. You can see the Yaris at 1:20 in the video. The Yaris driver was killed, his passenger injured.

This happened 75 miles to the north of Indy.

[bronsin]

Yikes!

Interesting there were also fatalities in other larger vehicles also involved in the crash.

The Yaris's Ive heard of in accidents seem to do pretty well in terms of protecting their owners. However statistically small cars like the Yaris have higher fatality rates than bigger cars. Theres no getting around that.

As a long time motorcyclist with ZERO accidents and injuries Ive developed a highly developed program for self preservation. You got to be very defensive in your riding habits.

Ditto for a car like the Yaris...

[nookandcrannycar]

Wow. Other than the Yaris driver, the other victims succumbed to the fire....a worse way to go I'd think. If the cooking oil truck driver was an operator for a large fleet, rather than an owner operator, that firm is going to be on the hook for big buck$.

[bronsin]

With all the texting, emailing, and distracted drivers on the road today you really have to watch your 6 when you slow down or come to a stop.

Especially in the situation described.

[DebbyM46227]

I'm constantly looking at the rearview mirror when stopped. With no trunk behind us with the hatchbacks, almost everyone looks too close!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

With all the texting, emailing, and distracted drivers on the road today you really have to watch your 6 when you slow down or come to a stop.

Especially in the situation described.

Last week I pulled into a McDonalds parking lot to use the wifi to look up a phone number I got the number and dialed the number. It was ringing as I was holding the phone and driving through what appeared to be an empty parking lot, and then noticed a cop around a corner. I hung up the phone, pulled into a space, shut the engine off, and redialed. In Texas, the ban is only in school zones but, IIRC, California must now be hands free while driving. This was the first time I'd driven while holding a phone in years and I was only doing it re that particular situation.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

I'm constantly looking at the rearview mirror when stopped. With no trunk behind us with the hatchbacks, almost everyone looks too close!

In the early 2000s, I got rear ended at a stoplight in my 2001 Suzuki Swift by a 4-door Ford F-series pickup. I had a bunch of heavy stuff in the cargo area and in the back seat. Fortunately, I was fine, and so was my passenger. Amazingly, the Swift was repaired with no after effects.

[edmscan]

The one thing I have seen in my trips to the US .. the speed limits are much higher than here in Canada. Mind you .. the climate is such that the roads are also in much better shape down south, and that gives drivers the ability to drive much faster.

Here .. in construction zones, speeding fines are double. So .. getting a $500 plus ticket for speeding helps to help people slow down. But not everyone as there is just not enough enforcement .. and they know that their chances of getting cause are slim.

I think that semi driver should lose his license .. for a long time, at least 5 years.

[DebbyM46227]

The semi-driver that caused the accident died in addition to the mom, her 2 kids, and the Yaris driver. So the semi-driver DID lose his license, in a sense.

The Yaris passenger survived with non-life-threatening injuries according to a report I just read.

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

The semi-driver that caused the accident died in addition to the mom, her 2 kids, and the Yaris driver. So the semi-driver DID lose his license, in a sense.

The Yaris passenger survived with non-life-threatening injuries according to a report I just read.

Thanks. I guess I missed that part. I was too busy looking at the pictures.

[invader166]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Yikes!

Interesting there were also fatalities in other larger vehicles also involved in the crash.

The Yaris's Ive heard of in accidents seem to do pretty well in terms of protecting their owners. However statistically small cars like the Yaris have higher fatality rates than bigger cars. Theres no getting around that.

As a long time motorcyclist with ZERO accidents and injuries Ive developed a highly developed program for self preservation. You got to be very defensive in your riding habits.

Ditto for a car like the Yaris...

Exactly right. A vehicle is only as safe as it's driver.

I trully believe that being a good driver isn't just a matter of controlling you vehicle and being aware of your surroundings. A good driver should be able to do all of that, but also anticipate events and situations that are going to happen around them, and take an apropriate action to resolve things before they become critial.

[bgkz25]

Sad news. Probably the driver which caused this trajedy either might have fallen asleep or something else. Construction sites have enough warning signs and an ample distance to safely ply the roads. It seems the truck just continued ramming those poor vehicles in front of him until it hit another truck.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

The one thing I have seen in my trips to the US .. the speed limits are much higher than here in Canada. Mind you .. the climate is such that the roads are also in much better shape down south, and that gives drivers the ability to drive much faster.

Here .. in construction zones, speeding fines are double. So .. getting a $500 plus ticket for speeding helps to help people slow down. But not everyone as there is just not enough enforcement .. and they know that their chances of getting cause are slim.

I think that semi driver should lose his license .. for a long time, at least 5 years.

In Texas, fines double in construction zones as well. Can't recall off the top of my head re other states.

[dj92]

No one can defy physics...

Originally Posted by edmscan

The one thing I have seen in my trips to the US .. the speed limits are much higher than here in Canada.

Be assured that our german speed limits (60MPH country roads / highway limitless) aren't that dangerous if you drive careful enough (just driven home doing 100, no problems at all ;) )

What I can't understand:
Why should one buy a vehicle with far more than 90hp/ton if you can use just a small amount of that power over a long time (keeping hauling jobs out of mind)

(however, if I had your fuel prices (half of ours) fuel efficiency wouldn'T be such an important thing to me
In fact, we had them about 15...20 years ago )

[bronsin]

[QUOTE=dj92;766010]What I can't understand:
Why should one buy a vehicle with far more than 90hp/ton if you can use just a small amount of that power over a long time (keeping hauling jobs out of mind)
QUOTE]

I drove thousands of miles across western Canada in my Yaris on my trip from NJ to AK and back in 2011. Yes the speed limit seemed pretty low (usually 100 kph) and not only that the local citizens obeyed it! Especially in towns were EVERYBODY went like 20 mph! It was VERY hard to do that! But obviously if I knew what was good for me Id better OBEY!

Having said that once out of town the roads were deserted of cars. I saw virtually no police cars the entire 5000 miles but didn't DARE exceed the speed limit. Also at 60 mph I was getting 42 mpg and gas was as much as $7 a gallon (Yukon)

As a motorcyclist riding 117 hp sport touring motorcycles (about 300hp per ton) capable of 150 mph (100 mph is like sitting on your couch in the living room) I frequently come up against the moral question of obeying the speed limit. My policy is to go 10 mph over either the speed limit or over what the traffic is doing. (to keep ahead of traffic so I don't get cut off...which could be fatal)

I LOVE it out west especially Montana where the roads are empty, the posted speed limit on secondary roads is usually 80 mph outside of town, and I can and do go as fast as I want with They Call Me The Breeze blasting in my helmet speakers.

[why?]

Nothing anyone can do when a semi driver is incoherent, you're probably going to die.

No driver can control everything, or even all that much. All it takes is a split second of someone doing something moronic and that's the end.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have been rear ended. Its insane. And all my cars are neon colored, so that is not an excuse.

[Yaristeve]

Originally Posted by dj92

What I can't understand:
Why should one buy a vehicle with far more than 90hp/ton if you can use just a small amount of that power over a long time (keeping hauling jobs out of mind)

Because punching the accelerator and getting out of the way can often be a better way to avoid accidents than jumping on the brakes.

[BLKHILLSGUY]

Sounds like the Yaris driver was a post-Doctoral student. Quite a bit of education and still driving a Yaris.