NOTE TO Mods....pls leave this posted here -- but feel free to post in other sections as well.....I hope what follows may one day save a life..........



Hannan Road in Canton Township, Michigan is a contradiction in many ways……


There are warehouses --

--there are housing developments --

………..and yet there are also acres and acres of green fields and trees.

The fields and woods give this area a sense of peace.

That peace was shattered earlier this week when 1 young lady and four young men had their lives suddenly ended……all because of what appears to be a disregard for common traffic laws.

Jessica Sadler was only 14 -- she was riding with her friend, Eddie Gross. Joining them were brothers Sean and Terrance Harris. And driving the Black Ford Fusion was 19 year old Dan Broughton.

It was a warm July day -- not too hot, not too cold -- sunny -- a day of promise.

Coming from Pontiac, Michigan -- and traveling at over 60mph was Amtrak #353 -- heading to Chicago with 170 people on board. Many of the passengers had been in Michigan to attend a conference on Blindness -- many of them were, in fact, accompanied by their seeing-eye dogs.

The Norfolk-Southern Tracks intersect with Hannan Road.

A white SUV saw the lights begin to flash -- and the gates to drop -- and thus came to a complete stop.

What will never be known is why the Driver of the Black Ford Fusion decided to ‘blow by’ the white SUV -- at least 20 seconds after the gates had dropped………

The Amtrak engineer was following all protocols -- and of course blew the horn on the engine as required before every grade crossing.

We Camaro Enthusiasts have a good friend, "Turtle" Young.... who is a Railroad Engineer and lives in Austin, TX. He tells me that it’s unbelievable as to how many people try to outrun a train….and barely make it. I can’t imagine what it must do to a Railroad engineer’s adrenalin system each time this happens………..


As fate would have it, a video surveillance camera was operational at a nearby building and captures the horrible moments……..

……..one can see the white SUV stopped --

………..suddenly the black Fusion appears traveling at a high rate of speed……

…………….it swerves around the SUV ……….still moving at a high rate of speed…..


…………..and then there’s the Amtrak train --

…………………and it hits the Fusion squarely in the B-pillar -- carrying it down the tracks for nearly 1,000 yards before the train can come to a complete stop……the Fusion practically ‘welded’ to the front of the train.



…………and you have to ask yourself: “Why is it that intelligent people refuse to pay attention to traffic signs and signals?”


Five young lives snuffed out in an instant.

Four Families grief stricken.

Several communities in shock.


………and I cannot imagine the horror that the Amtrak Engineer has had to endure -- even though he is faultless.

It would be easy to say: “well -- it’s fate”

……..and it would be easy to say “….oh no, more senseless deaths….” -- and then go on with our lives.

---which, of course, brings me to my rant:


People are becoming more and more lax in their driving habits.

I’m tired of seeing people “slow” to 10 miles an hour at stop signs.

(IT SAYS STOP! SO STOP! COMPLETELY!!!)

I’m tired of people blowing thru red lights.

I'm tired of people who have evidently never been formally introduced to the turn signal lever in the car or truck in which they're driving.......

I’m tired of seeing people ‘yammering’ on their cellphones while driving…..

…………and don’t EVEN get me going on those who think it’s their God-given right to ‘text’ while behind the wheel -- or read their mail -- or put on makeup…….

Stop signs and Traffic Lights and Railroad Grade Crossing signs ARE NOT SUGGESTIONS!!!!



It’s time for us (…that’s you and me…) to lead by example.

It’s time for us to call others out for their bad behavior. (and don’t try to tell me that you or anyone else is capable of talking on a cell-phone and driving at the same time….I’ll bury you with facts and video!)

.......

I was walking out of a Kroger Store this evening with my arms full of groceries…..

Luckily I’ve learned to look both ways -- even on a one-way street --

…….because sure enough -- a Lexus SUV was coming into the parking lot THE WRONG WAY on a one-way street…the driver ‘yammering away’ on his cell-phone.

I called out: “YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!…”

(…………no, I did not use the word ‘***’…..)


The Driver of said SUV gave me the finger………..


What happened next was absolutely priceless:

A woman who appeared to be in her 70s marched over to the SUV and proceeded to tear this guy apart verbally…….. And as she did, several people applauded her…..(me being one of them…)


So -- how ‘bout it?

Are you tired of reading about senseless deaths and injuries due to negligence?

It starts with us. (…….that’s you and me…….)

Speak up!

Talk to your children!

Talk to your nieces and nephews and neighbors!

..but do NOT think that it’s an ‘age’ thing.

People in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s are just as bad if not worse!

So call people out!

You MAY just save a life.......



It starts with us.....

……and that’s you and me…

 

One further note, to amplify...

If you ever want to see humanity at it's worst relative to driving, ride a motorcycle.

Because there is no steel cage around you, you become acutely aware of other motorists, and particularly those in cars.

In effect, you treat every car around like they are trying to kill you, because most likely they are.



My personal favorite? A car travelling 80mph on I-75, weaving to and fro, unable to stay in a lane because the driver is TEXTING on a cell phone.

If you ever see a Blue 2008 Hayabusa go by at a relatively exceptional rate of speed, with the rider shaking his head, it may be me... and I am probably trying to get away as quickly as possible from some knucklehead who is texting while driving.

 

Yeah, texting is pretty damn crazy while driving. IMO getting caught texting should be an instant reckless driving ticket.

 

Since I have owned my Camaro (a little over a month), I have nearly been t-boned in it twice by people blowing through red lights. One would have surely put me in the hospital or killed me.

Both drivers had their hand to their ear.

I'd love to see someone try to explain to my wife and son how they lost a husband and father because talking on a cell phone was more important.

If you cannot talk and drive simultaneously, do one at a time.

 

This sentence bewilders me. The people that do these kinds of things are not intelligent.

There are accidents (incidents, really, because most accidents are preventable) and then there are acts of stupidity (i.e. ignoring flashing signals and gates at the train tracks and passing another vehicle that is stopped and waiting for a train to pass. The driver of the Ford Fusion is stupid. Thank God it was a train and not a sedan full of orphans that the Fusion collided with. The whole incident is tragic, but there is definitely blame to place on the driver.

Instead of larger predators with sharp claws and teeth, the biggest threat to humans these days is...humans. And disease. But aside from disease, it's really about stupidity and choice. "Chance" happens when the rest of us are unable to avoid the stupid ones.

I'm all about better drivers' education programs. Or ongoing training and certification for seasoned drivers. But I always wonder--will it actually help, if people aren't smart enough to simply pay attention?

 

I couldn't agree more and I appreciate you being brave enough to post this.

I say brave because I can almost guarantee that there are any number of people who will just think you are being an old fart who doesn't get it and there are probably others who will read your post, nodding in agreement who will then go out and drive 80 in a 50 zone or blow through a yellow (or entirely red) light or weave in and out of traffic on a multi-lane interstate so they can get to where they are going 30 seconds earlier or just because they want to because they think such rules are for "other people" who "don't know how to drive".

Your story made me remember of F-Body Gathering in Atlanta (I forget what Roman Numeral it was but I think it happened around 2003 or 2004)...when (I think) three people were killed right by the Mariott host hotel. How many lives were ruined that night aside from those that were killed?

These guys (the drivers) were not "bad" people. I'm sure they had done similar things in their cars many times before with nothing bad happening. Unfortunately, all it takes is one tiny little or unexpected thing to happen or go wrong and suddenly people are dead and lives are destroyed.

We all need to take the responsibility of driving more seriously and most especially when we have passengers with us no matter what we drive; any vehicle is large enough and fast enough to kill (either us or someone else) and we'd all be better off if we remember that.

If we want to prove our driving skills or how well our vehicles perform then do it on the track or the drag strip or the autocross course; it doesn't belong on public highways - EVER.

 

Thanks for posting this.

I like to think that I follow the rules as well as I should, but I realize that there are times when I am guilty of the '10MPH rolling stop' and occasional cell phone talk.

I will be doing my best to set an example, effective immediately.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

glad someone posted something like this. its crazy how many people still talk on the phones while its "illegal" now in california... so many accidents could have been avoided if they were just obeying the law...

 

Good call, Scott. A very sad story, and you are right, we should all work to be the examples of good drivers.

However, do we really think that buyers of a 426 hp fire breathing sports coupe are going to obey ALL the traffic signs, all the time?

 

They've made new cars so...so very safe.

People are comfortable at a certain level of risk, and they've adjusted accordingly by filling the void with risky driving behaviors.

 

funny you should post about the Gathering.....and people thinking that I'm an old fart. (...I AM ancient....but still feel like I'm 26 and act -- sometimes -- like I'm 18....)

I wrote a very similar piece three days after that tragedy in Atlanta -- and yes, I had some people get 'uppity' -- with comments like "...well, you designed and engineered high performance cars so YOU'RE just as responsible..."

......and that served to re-enforce one truism...you cannot fix "stupid."

People can call me all kinds of names - and I don't care -- as long as it saves one life --