Snow, that is. It started snowing over an hour ago, just in time for the morning commute. And sure enough, there's a car on its side in the "usual" location - the Seward Highway just south of the Tudor Road overpass.
The very first accident we saw after moving to Anchorage was an obviously new 4x4 pickup, upside in the median at that location. Each year since, there are multiple roll-over accidents at the same spot. The road is straight and level, the median of consistent size ... I don't know why people pick that spot to try their anti-gravity maneuvers, but they always fail.
Part of the syndrome is apparently in the "I have a brand new 4x4 and it's a TANK" mentality, but I have no idea what else is going on. All I know is that there are two spots along my drive to work where accidents happen consistently, and both are straight and level.
Peoples are the craziest critters, sometimes.
6 comments:
Straightaways are places where people typically accelerate to compensate for slow driving on the curves, and realize too late that the road surface is no better on the straightaways.
A 4x4 in the hands of an idiot are a deadly combination.
They probably drop a wheel of the pavement in that spot then over correct. Very narrow or no shoulder?
Bob, I suspect it's the proximity to the Tudor overpass on/off ramps.
Joated: yep. First lesson I learned when I bought my first 4x4 was "it just gets you stuck farther from help." True.
WSF: not this time. Standard two-lane highway with standard shoulders on both sides. Again, it's probably related to merging/departing traffic. Maybe.
When we go to Canada in the Winter, part of the tour is the road-side ditch fail show. Isn't it odd that it happens on straightaways? My only theory is that people aren't as cautious there and go faster than they should.
Two theories:
1. They speed up for the straight, get to a point where they realize they need to slow down again, do so too hard, start "slip-slidin'away" - and the combination with trying to steer, causes them to slide against the median and flop.
2. Part of the first apply, then something (ice or snow) falls from the overpass, the surprise causes them to jerk the steering wheel, slip-slidin' against the median, and flip.
The main problem is of course that people don't realize that 4x4 drive does not invalidate the Newtonian laws, and that even a four-wheel drive can run out of road grip.
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