Advocacy & Safety - Cars That Crash...

I am baffled. Maybe the drivers on Long Island (where I live) are worse than anywhere else.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/suv-slams-into-roosevelt-post-office-wall-right-where-worker-sits-1.2485977

I hope this isn't too far off-topic. It seems this SUV drove into the wall of a Post Office.

I can't guaranty this link will work. But it seems there are a lot of cars crashing into buildings, on Long Island:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/cars-driven-into-li-buildings-photos-1.2041668

Newsday, the local paper on Long Island (albeit the editorial offices are in Albany), has a Car Crash Gallery. It's absolutely sick. I can't imagine what drugs these drivers were using.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/li-car-accident-photos-1.180

I meant to post this a lot sooner. The car crash gallery has been around a long time, but the "cars into buildings" gallery is new.

I hope I'm not too sarcastic here when I ask "what can I do to avoid having a car plow into my building?"
1) Put blinkies on the outside walls of my house? Or wrap the house in christmas lights and leave them on all year?

2) I knew it. These property owners are at fault. They should have taken the lane... Call a house mover, make sure your house is in the middle of the road so the motorist can see it.

3) Wear a helmet ALWAYS! Even when you are at home, eating , sleeping, in the bathroom, etc...

I could go on.

The number of drivers crashing is incredible, I hope some of you take the trouble of looking at the Car Crash Gallery from Long Island's newspaper, Newsday.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/li-car-accident-photos-1.180

4) These houses are always running red lights and blowing through stop signs, Property Owners should learn the rules of the road, etc...

I live a block away from a heavily traveled arterial road, and have friends that live right on the road itself... they have solid cinder block walls facing the street at the edge of their property. They and their immediate neighbors suffer regularly from motorists crashing the walls.

About a year ago a motorist managed to breach their 4 foot wall and went right into their RV, which is parked at the corner of their house, inside the walled area. Massive amounts of damage.

Just noticed one of the neighbors has a whole downed section of wall... must have happened in the last week or so.

Where I live I have a view over this road as it descends into one of the many local canyons, where it Ts up with another road at a stoplight. In the warmer months (when my windows are open all the time) I regularly hear screeching tires, followed by the inevitable crunch of metal. If the crunch sounds particularly violent, we take a look and call 911. This happens at least once a month.

Bottom line... just goes to show that some motorists are real idiots... they keep hitting walls and running red lights... just basic stuff.

Oh its not just Long Island...

http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2004/03/24&section=campus


Edit: This one was down the street from my house:

http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/drunk-driver-crashes-into-house-in-west-lafayette-after-vehicle-pursuit

Oh its not just Long Island...

http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2004/03/24&section=campus


Edit: This one was down the street from my house:

http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/drunk-driver-crashes-into-house-in-west-lafayette-after-vehicle-pursuit


No, it's not just Long Island, but on LI it's getting to be almost a daily occurrence . You neighbor's house got hit a year ago (to the day, in fact). That other article was dated 2004. The Long Island gallery shows 51 photos from just the past couple of months.

We had a driver crash into a neighbors living room many years ago. This is on a normally quiet residential street with 25 mph speed limits. What made it so startling far me was I was two houses away in the driveway lowering my car off the jack stands at the time of impact. For a brief moment I almost jumped out of my skin as it seemed my car had fallen. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

In another instance two young girls slammed their econo car into my full size vehicle which was parked at the curb. They did get hurt and my car was totaled.

I’m not sure what this has to do with cycling though. In both cases I doubt the same drivers would have not noticed and avoided me had I been there in the center of the lane with Hi-vis clothing and flashing lights.

A few months ago a car crashed in the house two doors down from me. Straight road. No traffic. Guy was drunk. He came clear across the sidewalk, front porch and ended up in their living room. Fortunately the family was out back having a BBQ. The guy tried to leave but the neighbors grabbed the steering wheel and took his keys.

No, it's not just Long Island, but on LI it's getting to be almost a daily occurrence . You neighbor's house got hit a year ago (to the day, in fact). That other article was dated 2004. The Long Island gallery shows 51 photos from just the past couple of months.

Wow, yeah that's crazy, I didn't realize it was that much. The news website you linked is subscribers-only, so we can't actually see the gallery you're referring to. Sounds like an epidemic up there.

IMO, if someone crashes into a stationary object, ESPECIALLY a building, that is a very telling and dramatic indictment of their driving abilities.

Wow, yeah that's crazy, I didn't realize it was that much. The news website you linked is subscribers-only, so we can't actually see the gallery you're referring to. Sounds like an epidemic up there.

IMO, if someone crashes into a stationary object, ESPECIALLY a building, that is a very telling and dramatic indictment of their driving abilities.

Or their drinking abilities.

And it's not just houses that get plowed into. many of the nation's top trucking companies have rules that prevent the driver from stopping on a highway shoulder unless the truck is totally disabled. It's called "The Sitting Duck Rule."

When you drive on an interstate and see shredded tire on the highway, there is a reason the trucker didn't stop immediately to deal with it.

Truckers have learned the hard way that a stopped truck sitting on the shoulder has a bullseye on it. It's not a question of if it will get hit, only how long it will take.

And it's not just houses that get plowed into. many of the nation's top trucking companies have rules that prevent the driver from stopping on a highway shoulder unless the truck is totally disabled. It's called "The Sitting Duck Rule."

When you drive on an interstate and see shredded tire on the highway, there is a reason the trucker didn't stop immediately to deal with it.

Truckers have learned the hard way that a stopped truck sitting on the shoulder has a bullseye on it. It's not a question of if it will get hit, only how long it will take.

"Sitting Duck Rule", Eh?
I think this does get us back to the issue of Bicycle Safety, in a roundabout way. (no pun intended). I think many bicyclists refuse to stop at red lights and stop signs, because they will become "Sitting Ducks".

Who else is having a problem with the links to the Newsday car crash gallery?
What if you go to http://www.newsday.com and click on the "car crash gallery " button?
Oh bummer, I think I get it for free because we are subscribed to cablevision, and cablevision has some kind of deal with Newsday.
I think there is a problem, because I never posted a link to the car crash gallery before, and I would have if there wasn't a problem.

But today, I have seen a separate "cars into buildings" gallery, in addition to the "car crash gallery".

On Long Island, there has also been an upsurge in the number of cars crashing into the second story of buildings. (i.e.-airborne)

Well, I guess the message is, you can never be completely safe. Yes, a car could hit you while you are cycling. But a car could also hit you when you are lying asleep in bed, or sitting in your living room, watching TV. Sometimes, a car ends up in a bathroom, but fortunately, no one was using it at the time.

Cars plough into buildings for the same reason they hit pedestrians and sidewalk cyclists - loss of control. It's hardly surprising, given that so many drivers are on the phone or otherwise distracted. But no one wants to take the initiative and make driving a hard-won privilege - it would be political suicide to suggest stricter testing, mandatory re-tests and mandatory bans for drivers who are routinely involved in crashes. The fact is, Americans want the right to drive unsafely, and God help any politician who tries to take that right away from them.

Actually, last week someone did die in bed when an suv went too fast around a corner. I forget where it happened.
In Edmonton 25 years ago a woman, in a smaller car, was on medication and blanked out while headed to a T intersection of a freeway with a high berm alongside it. So, the car sped up to 80 mph or so, hit the curb, went up the berm, and flew OVER THE HOUSE and safely landed in the street beyond. She wasn't hurt too bad IIRC. Must be 200+ ft. Evil Knevil would have been proud. haha

As for drunks, I think the major problem is the fad of shooter drinking. They only serve the illbegotten desire to get drunk as fast as possible, and bars to make as much money as possible. There is way too much peer pressure between youth these days. When I went to bars in my 20s and 30s, I always sipped my drinks and avoided getting drunk. Most people were there to hear the bands, watch sports, play pool and pin-ball.

Who else is having a problem with the links to the Newsday car crash gallery?
What if you go to http://www.newsday.com and click on the "car crash gallery " button?
Oh bummer, I think I get it for free because we are subscribed to cablevision, and cablevision has some kind of deal with Newsday.
I think there is a problem, because I never posted a link to the car crash gallery before, and I would have if there wasn't a problem.


Cablevision owns newsday now, you can add that to madison square garden, along with the knicks and rangers.

As soon as they get Park Place and the water works theyll have the whole monopoly board.