Oto Cars

It seems like just about everywhere in Brevard County and Indian River County (perhaps the rest of Florida too) old traffic lights are being replaced by a new breed of presumably hurricane resistant green monster poles reaching out over the road where lights were once hanging on cables to sway wildly in a good wind.

I am just guessing about the reason but I know that when strong hurricanes hit many traffic lights get blown away or just end up dangling where they aren't supposed to be.

Even the old style mounted on smaller poles are being replaced with the monster poles

I've actually been seeing them in Florida for a number of years with lights hanging perpendicular to the poles on the newer roadways

But the new poles have lights mounted parallel to the poles which will further prevent wind from affecting the lights.

I also noticed they all have cameras conveniently mounted on them as well, hmmm, wonder what they are for.



I also wonder what happens when a car hits one of the poles, are they break-away like the old ones, and if so what about the guy under the falling pole?

Looking at the size of the poles, I imagine it will be more like hitting a concrete abutment than a break-away pole.



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I've seen a lot of stupid moves on the highway by a lot of people that should not be allowed on the highway but a couple of nights ago I saw what absolutely had to be tops in stupidity and the most dangerous stunt I've ever seen.

I was driving along in a construction zone at night in fairly heavy traffic where 3 traffic lanes were re-aligned several times over a couple of miles. The lanes shifted suddenly along the stretch with uneven pavement and poorly marked lanes.



Suddenly, a motorcycle passed me doing a wheelie at about 75 miles an hour in the inside lane. That IDIOT was followed by a Honda Civic passing me in the outside lane swerving in and out of traffic with about twenty seven kids hanging out the windows shooting videos with their cell phones. I guess it will be all over youtube by now, maybe I can find it and include it in a follow up post.

This stunt could have turned fatal so quickly in so many ways.

The motorcycle was totaly invisible to me as it approached because his headlight was pointing upward, he continued on passing a number of other cars after me. He passed me where the lanes shifted and the uneven pavement shifted across each lane at an angle and where the lanes were not clearly marked. I could have drifted in front of him without realizing and it would look like it was my fault.

I wonder if any of those kids would volunteer their videos if there was an accident.

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This accident may have been a case of driver fatigue or perhaps health related.

The tracks leaving the road were gradual and straight with no skid marks at all.

The area where it occurred is near the end of a very long stretch of highway bordered only by fields and wooded areas for miles, a fertile area for tunnelvision to occur.

Drive Safe

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I spend a lot of time on busy highways all day and I'm seeing more and more driver distractions develop.

I commute one hour into the city in my car in the morning, drive a truck intercity through the day then commute one hour home to the burbs in my car.

From my car, I see what everyone sees, lots of drivers talking on cell phones, some drivers eating or drinking, maybe putting on makeup or fixing hair.

From the truck though, I can see that drivers aren't just reading the newspaper and eating cereal, they are absorbed in their Blackberrys or trying to "text" on a cell phone or type into their laptop while they drive.

Between adjusting the music, talking on the phone, dealing with kids in the back seat or a thousand other distractions, it's amazing that there aren't many more accidents on the roads and highways.

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There is a dangerous behavior I encounter occasionally while driving a truck past highway entry ramps. Vehicles entering the highway racing past the end of the on ramp to get in front of the truck.

A guy in a pick up truck did it today when I was already going 60 mph in solid traffic, he almost clipped me as he passed then instantly slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of me when the shoulder narrowed and he had to merge.


Luckily I wasn't carrying an unstable load because I had to hit my brakes to avoid hitting him.

He has stolen MY SAFETY SPACE and could have potentially caused a serious accident.

Some people just don't get it when it comes to road safety.

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Well, I was heading into work today in heavy traffic bound for Toronto when I started to feel this sickening feeling "in the seat of my pants" then the dreaded sound like a small propeller driven airplane. A rapid flat tire, and I'm in the middle lane going 50 mph.

As I begin slowing and manage to get into the right lane, I see there's nowhere to go. No shoulder whatsoever but an entry ramp is coming up in about a quarter of a mile so I kept going to the ramp and got off as far as I could. Then got out and looked at my chewed up tire.

I don't get flat tires very often, so I wasn't really prepared to deal with it. The spare tire is mounted under the van, WHAT A STUPID PLACE to put the spare, rusted into place, there's no way I'm getting it off so I had to get towed in to get a new tire.

Luckily, (the only good thing about my day) Canadian Tire covered it and another tire under their road hazard warranty.

So, I get to work about three hours late, but at least I got there.

Things could have been much worse, It could have been snowing or raining, it could have been my front tire, I could have been going much faster and It could have caused an accident.

It goes to show that you have to be ready for anything while you are driving, you can never "let your guard down" in highway traffic.

Drive Safe,

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Well the winter blast of snow and ice we got before Xmas has melted away with the recent warm weather we've had. Now you can see all the ugly stuff that was hiding in the snow piles. There is a good size chunk of concrete that the snowplow left at the bottom of my driveway, looking down the road from my house I don't see anything missing so I have no idea where he got it. I just hope the city picks it up.

When the snow first arrives each year, it seems like all the fools want to go play in the snow. There are so many accidents and cars in the ditches, you wonder how it can happen when traffic is just creeping along. Does everyone forget how to drive in the snow?

SLOW DOWN, KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! and maybe you'll stay out of the ditch. It's too bad the authorities can't come up with a way to test drivers in winter conditions before issuing their license, it would be a lot safer out there.

Now that the snow and ice are gone, speeds have gone back to normal on the roads and highways. Unfortunately with the increased speeds come increased damage and injuries if there is an accident. With higher speeds, you need to increase your following distance to allow room for safety.

Remember that anything can happen anywhere and anytime so be aware of what is behind you and what is beside you as well as traffic ahead of you. Keep a mental picture of where vehicles are in your blind spots, they may be there for a while and if you forget that they are there and change lanes, you may just end up as another statistic.

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