Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 12/13/18> Just because you live in Texas doesn’t mean you can drive like A. J. Foyt.
Listen up folks...
Listen up folks, especially those of you in Texas; it is about time that we have a talk about speed. Just because we happen to live in the same state of Texas as four times Indy 500 winner A. J. Foyt doesn’t mean we all possess the skills and reflexes that A.J. did when he was wheeling those race cars around the speedways.
Wednesday afternoon I...
Wednesday afternoon I left Austin on my way back home to Spring, TX. it is 150 miles give or take a couple depending on which roads I decide to take and my normal drive time is right about two and half hours. At Waller, Texas I have the decision to make if I want to cut off the Hwy 290 and take the last 30 miles on the old farm to market road through some small communities out west of Tomball and then through Tomball to Spring. Seeing how it was time for the school buses to be dropping kids off I decided to take Hwy 290 a little further in towards Houston and then catch the Hwy.99 Toll Road back up to Spring and that should have saved me from getting caught behind a bunch of school buses on the two lane road.
I made it...
I made it all the way to within 5 miles of the house without any problems or delays; that last five miles took me as long to navigate as the whole rest of trip from Austin. The toll road doesn’t have a lot of entrances and exits and it is a high speed road. The speed limit on that stretch where I am talking about is 75 MPH and it is smooth concrete with two lanes going both north and south.
It seems that some people just don’t believe that 75 MPH is fast enough and that was the case Wednesday afternoon.
When all the ...
When all the crashing, banging and flipping was over from the five car accident three people were dead, and three others were in nearly dead condition and had to be air lifted by air ambulance to Houston for medical treatment.
Eye witness reports...
Eye witness reports say that two cars were speeding and were estimated to be going close to 90 or 95 MPH headed north on the toll road, one car in each lane. The witnesses said it didn’t appear that they were racing they were just both driving extremely fast and when they came over the small rise in the road they came up on car that was doing the speed limit and couldn’t slow down in time. That car traveling the speed limit wasn’t alone, there were a couple others in close proximity to it and so all told, five vehicles were involved in the wreck.
That wreck shut down...
That wreck shut down the north bound lanes of the toll road and that had me stuck out on the toll road for over an hour without moving one inch. Whenever there is a fatality accident here in Texas the county coroner has to come out and investigate and since Harris County is the county where the accident was it was a real long wait for the coroner. There was still one exit between me and the wreck location but about three miles of cars in between me and the exit. Plus that section of the toll road doesn’t have an access road running along side of it so you just couldn’t cut through the grass and get to some pavement.
After sitting out there...
After sitting out there for over an hour and watching the air ambulances come and go the highway patrol and the sheriff decided to officially shut the road down and start forcing people to exit the toll road. Once I started the truck back up and started inching my way to the exit it ended up being an hour and half to go five miles to the house.
In the grand scheme of the things I didn’t lose anything but some time; three people lost their lives and at least three were seriously injured and no telling how many others in their families will be affected by those deaths and injuries.
So the question...
So the question of the day is; just how fast is fast enough for driving on the roads? Seventy five in my opinion is just too damn fast but that isn’t even the highest speed limit we have here in Texas. We have another toll road over in central Texas that runs from north of Austin south to just east of San Antonio and the speed limit on it is 85 MPH.
Last I knew we also had some highways up in the panhandle of Texas that some 80 MPH speed limits on them but I haven’t been up that way in over twenty years so I couldn’t swear to it now as to what the speed limits are up there.
I do know this...
I do know this much, with as much plastic that has been added to these cars now days those cars aren’t nearly as safe as cars from decades ago when they were all steel. These cars being made now no longer have front bumpers, they have airbags on the inside that are supposed to deploy and save you if the they don’t kill you when they deploy.
I am serious...
I am serious and not joking around when I say, “if they don’t kill you”. There have been several people die from the air bag deployment that in all estimations from automotive engineers and medical examiners would have survived if not for the airbags deploying.
It turned out that...
It turned out that the company that was making the detonation device for the airbags had a serious design flaw and the canisters that held the propellant charge were more like hand grenades than launching devices. If memory serves me correctly the company that made those devices went by the name of Takata. I remember reading an article that put the number of recalled vehicles for these faulty devices at over 35 million cars and trucks and was spread over a several years period.
I kind of got...
I kind of got side tracked there, sorry. The speed limits here are seriously too fast and the crazy part is that no matter how high those speed limits are people seem to think they still need to go faster than the limits. I would like to see them start hauling people off to jail when they do stupid dangerous things like being an idiot.
Now some of you...
Now some of you who have been reading the Daily Dose for a while might be a little confused right about now since I have on multiple occasions said that the speed limit signs only apply to commercial motor vehicles; “so what difference does it make what the speed limit is 75 or 60 Sultnpapper if it doesn’t apply to cars?” is a good question to ask. Most people here in Texas don’t know the speed limit signs don’t apply to them but they believe they do apply.
Reckless endangerment is...
Reckless endangerment is the charge I would like to see levied against these people not a speeding charge. I don’t know what type of fine that charge carries with it but if I were the King of Texas and I had things my way it would be a automatic five days in jail plus a fine if the accused was found guilty by a jury of the peers for reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle. There are several other forms or means that reckless endangerment can take place but with a motor vehicle it would be five days in the pokey and a fine.
What are the...
What are the maximum speed limits where you live? How does the government handle speeders where you are? Does most of the drivers pay attention and drive the speed limits where you are?
Inquiring minds (mine) want to know.
Note: This month a SBI Saturday and the “Will Eat BBQ 4 U” Texas BBQ review fall on the same day, this Saturday, so be sure to be here for a double Daily Dose.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
Note: Thanks for reading the Daily Dose.
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Ah, Mr. Foyt. Number 14 on the track but number 1A in my heart.
Speeding is a big deal here in AZ. We have 75 mph freeways due to low traffic and straight roads, but I often see people at least 10 over.
30 over is automatic in AZ. It is called felonious speed and it is a felony. You are arrested and taken to jail and your car impounded. Automatically.
If you are convicted it can mean up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Amazingly, they write a few of those every year.
In Washington, Reckless Endangerment is the real deal. I plead to that charge over my last DUI. It was part of the agreement so I would know I had a year in jail coming if I violated probation. When I had two years without violation it was wiped as was the DUI charge. Also part of the agreement was that I complete a 2year clean and sober program. It was where my sobriety today started.
So. We have speeders. When we were a traffic camera state they were set to nab you at 11mph over posted speed. Yes, I set them off a few times, always speed trap locations far removed from the actual city but inside the limits. I always wear a helmet so never got a ticket because they could not identify ME with a helmet on. But I did see the lights flash a few times.
Anyway, probably because of that people in AZ now think that 10 mph over is legal. The percentage isn't too large, though. I think there is a far larger percentage in California.
I'm guessing that not a single one of those 6 people would have thought themselves in that big a hurry all things considered.
How horrific! I've always been quite a fast driver, but I do try to keep within the speed limit. Most of all, I try to relax when I'm driving. I'm always extra careful when I have passengers.
A few months ago a fellow hillwalker offered to give me and three others a lift. On the way back, I unfortunately mentioned that I was going out for dinner that evening, and he started speeding like a maniac. It was terrifying! He's a lorry driver, and he said that because he has to keep to 50mph all the time when driving for his job, he likes to let rip once he gets into his car. Then a guy overtook him, and he got dreadful road rage. He kept saying, "I go fast, but at least I know what I'm doing! That idiot could have killed someone!"
He kept up a torrent of anger for the next 20 miles, and when we arrived at a town and had to slow down, he caught up with the car that had dared to overtake him, rolled down the window and started shouting abuse at the driver. The other car turned a corner to get out of the way, but then the car behind started peeping its horn, as we were holding up the traffic. At this, our driver got out of his car and started shouting abuse at the car behind! I just didn't dare to open my mouth! Neither did the other two passengers!
The guy is a character and I'm quite friendly with him, but I won't be accepting any more lifts from him!
I was never a fan of fast driving or those that drive fast. It is just not my thing. I do realize that there are people who can drive fast and be good and safe at it but just because they drive good does not mean that everyone else does so again, not good :D Anyway, my country is one of those where rich kids who have powerful mommies and daddies get away with everything, even killing people on the road and do not get me started on politicians in cars... Terrible.
There are places for fast driving; race tracks. People who want to go fast need to go there and have at it.
The rich get away with the same stuff here. One juvenile kid from up in Fort Worth who came from a wealthy family drove drunk and killed two or three people and ended up being given probation. He couldn't even at that appreciate he had been given a pass and ended up violating the terms of the probation and he and his mother fled to Mexico.
They were finally caught and brought back and he and his mother ended up in prison. Not sure for how long but they did both get time in prison.
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That sounds like a horrific accident that could have undoubtedly been avoided. Here in the uk our country roads (which are probably the most dangerous due to no lights, being extremely narrow and windey) have a max speed of 60mph and our motorways are a max of 70mph. Most motorways now have speed cameras so people are fined if they go over an average of say 75mph. If someone is caught going over 100 they get an instant driving ban for a number of years. It is quite strict here in the uk but then again a crash like the one you describe here, would definitely make the news because of the rareity.
I hope the surviving parties recover and I hope no children were involved 😢😢
BB ♥️
I like the bans on driving when people just flat out blow the speed limit out of the water. Last I know of no children were involved in that wreck so that is a good thing, if some had been and survived I would imagine that the nightmares would be life long.
Oh wow.... that's terrible. Im glad you were okay and missed being in the actual crash! How awful that lives were lost due to something so preventable. I agree, sounds like the speed limits are already quite high there. It seems to me that no matter what teh speed limit, people will always go faster...
Ugh.
Ugh is right. It seems no matter how fast the limit is people will always push past it without any regard for safety.
I don't know how long after the wreck I actually came upon it, but then when you are end the end of line you hope someone doesn't plow into you from not paying attention.
Howdy sir sultnpapper! That is very sad indeed, what happened down there. And needless, that's what's bad. I think 75 is plenty fast enough but most of the time people pass me like I'm standing still even at that speed!