Another cross the centerline fatal

glhs837

Power with Control
http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/1017/seriousmotorvehiclecrashcausingmorningrushhourdelays.html

Preliminary investigation revealed a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, operated by Andrea Denise Ridgell, 31 of Dameron, was traveling southbound on Three Notch Road when for unknown reasons her vehicle crossed the centerline. Ridgell’s vehicle continued into the path of a northbound 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, operated by Edward James Buser III, 59 of Ridge. Buser was pronounced deceased on the scene. Ridgell and a juvenile passenger were transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Sure glad I've seen State and County working the speed enforcement so diligently these last two weeks since this spate of similar crashes, none of which actually involved speed. When are we going to see enforcement focussed on the behavior that is really killing people. What, three or four in less than 30 days?
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Unless you have a medical emergency, your car will only cross the center line because you were not paying attention to your driving and were doing something else instead.

When are we going to see enforcement focussed on the behavior that is really killing people. What, three or four in less than 30 days?

Cops can't be everywhere and it's not their fault people drive like crap.

Today I was on the way back to Solomons from Callaway during rush, and not far after where the lanes merge on Rt 4 this psycho comes rolling up past everyone on the shoulder. Someone a few cars ahead of me let him in, then he proceeded to pass on the left (yes, that would be into oncoming traffic). Again some good soul (or dumbass, you decide) let him back in, and he took the right onto S. Pax Beach Rd, presumably to run that up and avoid the crawling and stopped traffic, because he was pretty sure some enabler would let him cut in when he came back out onto Rt. 4.

The other day I was behind a dump truck that hadn't secured their load properly, so stuff was flying out. I slowed to put some distance between us because I didn't want his junk hitting my car. The guy behind me gets all pissed off, honks at me, then zips around me to crawl up this truck's ass. As karma would have it, junk came flying off the truck and hit the car, bounced off the windshield and hood. Ha ha.

Not that you all have a lock on poor driving skills, because Monello and I have seen it all over the US - there are a #### ton of people who have no business operating a motor vehicle.
 

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
(snip) Not that you all have a lock on poor driving skills, because Monello and I have seen it all over the US - there are a #### ton of people who have no business operating a motor vehicle.

My wife likes to quip that no matter where we have been in the country (between the 2 of us, we've visited 42 states, plus DC, PR and the USVI, Canada, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), the world's worst drivers have got there ahead of us.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
My wife likes to quip that no matter where we have been in the country (between the 2 of us, we've visited 42 states, plus DC, PR and the USVI, Canada, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), the world's worst drivers have got there ahead of us.

And, hopefully, they do get ahead of us so we are not involved in their stupidity. I thought my world was small when I lived in St. Leonard with the shopping 15 mins away, either way to PF or Lusby; Rt.4. I had so many near misses because of distracted drivers, but, thankfully, was never involved. You would think living in Mont Cty, now, would be a nightmare, but as luck would have it, I only have to drive 5 mins to the shopping down a residential street that has speed bumps, and I am there in no time. I hate living in Mont Cty, but it does have it's positives.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
And again, the at-fault driver walks away while another family has to bury their loved one.

Thanks, og, I got off track about myself, and the traffic nightmare I don't miss. It is very sad about the loss of life. I posted in another thread, lately, that I was kind of numb to death because of 3 fam related deaths (not due to vehicles) in the last 2 weeks. My bad. Thanks for snapping me out of it. :smile: And, yes, very sad.
 

MR47930

Member
I recently purchased a big ass vehicle due to the nut jobs on the road these days. I want to be the one to walk away from an accident if, god forbid, this was to happen to me. I'm fine with the high cost of gas and the sh*tty MPG's to feel just a little safer.

If you're ever a passenger heading down 235 or RT 4 during heavy rush hour, make sure to take a look around at the other drivers as they go whizzing by. It's likely that ~30% of the folks I see aren't even looking at the road.

If they had a LEO in an unmarked car driving up RT4 looking for cellphone use we could pay for a new bridge with the fines in a short time...
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
I recently purchased a big ass vehicle due to the nut jobs on the road these days. I want to be the one to walk away from an accident if, god forbid, this was to happen to me. I'm fine with the high cost of gas and the sh*tty MPG's to feel just a little safer.

If you're ever a passenger heading down 235 or RT 4 during heavy rush hour, make sure to take a look around at the other drivers as they go whizzing by. It's likely that ~30% of the folks I see aren't even looking at the road.

If they had a LEO in an unmarked car driving up RT4 looking for cellphone use we could pay for a new bridge with the fines in a short time...

Were you the one that almost plowed into the back of this morning?
 

MR47930

Member
Were you the one that almost plowed into the back of this morning?

Huh?
Did I almost plow into you or did you almost plow into me, think you're missing a word or two in that sentence?
Nevertheless, no, I didn't have any issues on my morning travels. I don't drive like an asshat. Always wondered why people are in such a hurry to get TO work in the morning..
 

Grumpy

Well-Known Member
If they had a LEO in an unmarked car driving up RT4 looking for cellphone use we could pay for a new bridge with the fines in a short time...

I've bitched about distracted cell use for the last 7,8 years. Last week, I decided to count the number I see around 4pm when I am heading home, between Gate 2 and the 235/4 intersection, counted 21 on phones, 4 texting, 17 with phone on shoulder/or in hand. Quit counting at that point. I know of no one that has gotten a ticket for cell phone use, possibly one of my friends have gotten one but might be too ashamed to admit it. In my opinion, all these head-ons and single cars off into the trees can be only be explained by distracted driving, of which, cell use is the main culprit.
 

Restitution

New Member
C'mon people. You can't honestly expect the sheriffs to enforce simple violations during rush hour. It is FAR too dangerous for them to be operating during that time period! :sarcasm:
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Unless you have a medical emergency, your car will only cross the center line because you were not paying attention to your driving and were doing something else instead.



Cops can't be everywhere and it's not their fault people drive like crap.

That was my point. That it's a pretty safe bet that these drivers were doing something else. Coulda been adjusting the radio, or trimming their eyelashes, but Ima bet on cell phones. Which brings me to where officers can and cannot be and what is their fault. They cannot be everywhere, true, and bad driving is not their fault. And they don't decide where to spend enforcement time, the Sheriff does that, I assume based on advice from his senior traffic safety officer. But what the Sheriff could do is the decide to spend enforcement time on distracted driving. Now, he'll lose grant money, and his traffic enforcement metrics will suffer, meaning he cannot place well in the annual rodeo that is Smooth Operator, which will cost him more grant money. Because grant money flows based on amount of citations written, which is the metric used to determine performance, not crash stats, sadly. Do we want great citation numbers or safer roads? Because what they can do by enforcing the cell phone laws is practice deterrence. Just like DUI and speeding, the enforcement you practice makes a difference in how people drive.



And again, the at-fault driver walks away while another family has to bury their loved one.

Always seems to work that way.

If you're ever a passenger heading down 235 or RT 4 during heavy rush hour, make sure to take a look around at the other drivers as they go whizzing by. It's likely that ~30% of the folks I see aren't even looking at the road.

If they had a LEO in an unmarked car driving up RT4 looking for cellphone use we could pay for a new bridge with the fines in a short time...

This. Would take a very small amount of work to fit patrol car dash cams with a "side feed" from a lipstick cam mounted above the drivers side door. This distracted driving is killing people, far more than DUI, I think.
 

Restitution

New Member
Hell... if they actually started enforcing and ticketing for improper passing, evasion of a traffic device, running red lights, and cell phone use..... we could not only expand the TJ bridge..... there could be a person in every lane handing out breakfast to drivers!!!
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
Huh?
Did I almost plow into you or did you almost plow into me, think you're missing a word or two in that sentence?
Nevertheless, no, I didn't have any issues on my morning travels. I don't drive like an asshat. Always wondered why people are in such a hurry to get TO work in the morning..
Yup, I missed a word: me.

I was in lane 3 going the same speed as the traffic in front of me (40ish?) and the car in front of me braked hard, therefore I braked as well. I had plenty of room between the two of us, so no issues there. The big ass SUV behind me was traveling too closely and he/she almost hit me. If the travel lane wasn't free, they would have. They swerved over and then backed WAY off after that and turned off at BWW.
 

MR47930

Member
Yup, I missed a word: me.

I was in lane 3 going the same speed as the traffic in front of me (40ish?) and the car in front of me braked hard, therefore I braked as well. I had plenty of room between the two of us, so no issues there. The big ass SUV behind me was traveling too closely and he/she almost hit me. If the travel lane wasn't free, they would have. They swerved over and then backed WAY off after that and turned off at BWW.

Nope, wasn't me. As I stated, I'm in no real hurry to get to work to jockey a desk all day so I take my sweet ass time. Plus at 0445 when I was pulling into gate 1 traffic was pretty scarce.

Edit: I drive a big ass truck (not one of those douchbag-mobiles that blow smoke and have a Hollyrock sticker on the back). SUV's are for soccer moms.:razz:
 
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MR47930

Member
This. Would take a very small amount of work to fit patrol car dash cams with a "side feed" from a lipstick cam mounted above the drivers side door. This distracted driving is killing people, far more than DUI, I think.

Wouldn't even need that to start out. Take the 4 most junior guys in the PD, one driver, one passenger, stick them in a 2 plain cars that have been impounded. Have one "crew" start in Solomons and drive north, the other at the AA county line and drive south. When they reach the other end of the county and turn around and start over. Passenger gets a decent digital camera to take "evidence" photos of the offending driver looking down, sideways etc for the court cases, make the stop, issue the fine and continue on.

These guys would clean up in the revenue generating and surely nab some warrants and drug busts while they're at it. Biggest expense would be gas.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Wouldn't even need that to start out. Take the 4 most junior guys in the PD, one driver, one passenger, stick them in a 2 plain cars that have been impounded. Have one "crew" start in Solomons and drive north, the other at the AA county line and drive south. When they reach the other end of the county and turn around and start over. Passenger gets a decent digital camera to take "evidence" photos of the offending driver looking down, sideways etc for the court cases, make the stop, issue the fine and continue on.

These guys would clean up in the revenue generating and surely nab some warrants and drug busts while they're at it. Biggest expense would be gas.

Yep, the key is to actually do it in some way or the other. But the system we have set up now is based on the old "speed kills" mantra from the 70s, when it was promulgated to ease acceptance of the 55mph national limit. That, combined with the fact that patrol officers are generally not fond of traffic enforcement as opposed to getting "real bad guys" and prefer speed enforcement over other kinds because it's more likely than other enforcement to let them find said "real bad guys". So, if they have to do traffic work they want to do speeding and checkpoints because that lets them get into more cars to sniff for drugs and such.

Now, I really believe that the use of cell phones has become so endemic that they really could make just as many stops as they do with a laser/radar, but it seems we still just park them on the side of the road pointing that device. And the revenue thing really doesn't matter, and it shouldn't. Doing it for money is a Bad Idea, due to the competitive nature of humans and the natural greed of politicians, including elected law enforcement leadership.

I know that Sheriff Evans is a bit more vocal about traffic than Sheriff Cameron, who pretty much stopped talking about it once he couldn't get his red light cameras. But he answers failure to yield crashes with speed enforcement, and so misses the chance to reduce crashes.
 
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