<<Midwest Coffee Talk: The Tens>>

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Close to a 200 car pileup on I-94:

That many people driving so far above a sane speed given the conditions. People are beyond idiotic.

Wait, I know, let's increase the speed limit to 95MPH that will make us safer.

[Cleveland Brown]

^ I know you were being sarcastic with the 95 MPH remark, but Michigan has some of the worst winter weather drivers among the northern states. It's not unusual to have a driving accident fatality there with the first snow (2-3 inches). Coming from Ohio, upon crossing the border, I've literally had to kick my car up to 70 MPH in "can't see the pavement through the snow" weather conditions to get out of the way some pickup truck riding a foot off of my ass. Of course I saw him and a few dozen other idiots in the ditch a few miles up.

And don't get me started on people who I have heard say something like "I have traction control, so I don't slow down until it starts flashing..."

[rockyi]

Yeah, by the end of winter I really start to really hate folks in pickup trucks and SUV's. They're not all bad but a good 75% of them think they're invincible in snow and ice.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Brown

^ I know you were being sarcastic with the 95 MPH remark, but Michigan has some of the worst winter weather drivers among the northern states. It's not unusual to have a driving accident fatality there with the first snow (2-3 inches). Coming from Ohio, upon crossing the border, I've literally had to kick my car up to 70 MPH in "can't see the pavement through the snow" weather conditions to get out of the way some pickup truck riding a foot off of my ass. Of course I saw him and a few dozen other idiots in the ditch a few miles up.

And don't get me started on people who I have heard say something like "I have traction control, so I don't slow down until it starts flashing..."

I won't disagree that there are a lot of idiots out there who drive way too fast. But this stretch of highway has the lions share of tractor trailer traffic in Michigan, particularly coming from Chicago. I think the crash is still being investigated but at least one account I read of the lead vehicles said it was caused by a tractor trailer rear ending a van, which in turn hit another car. Even if you're going 30-40 below the speed limit (which seems to be the case here) and unexpectedly find stopped cars/trucks in all lanes, things are going to happen that aren't good. If you look at the scene, there are tractor trailers 5 across, in all lanes and the shoulders.

Personally I've been in icy/white out conditions that came upon me quickly and unexpectedly on this stretch. It can be treacherous. When this happens and you're actually in a situation like that, it's easy to think you know what to do, but it's tough to know exactly what to do, particularly for the average driver. You obviously don't want to keep going the same speed, but if you slow down too much you risk getting rear ended before you can pull off the road or get to the next exit.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Brown

^ I know you were being sarcastic with the 95 MPH remark, but Michigan has some of the worst winter weather drivers among the northern states. It's not unusual to have a driving accident fatality there with the first snow (2-3 inches). Coming from Ohio, upon crossing the border, I've literally had to kick my car up to 70 MPH in "can't see the pavement through the snow" weather conditions to get out of the way some pickup truck riding a foot off of my ass. Of course I saw him and a few dozen other idiots in the ditch a few miles up.

And don't get me started on people who I have heard say something like "I have traction control, so I don't slow down until it starts flashing..."

I was being sarcastic. My point is that we need to legislate common sense which in itself is sad, very sad.

Traction control helps you start going faster, not stop faster. You need better tires to stop faster. I'm not sure what we can do to help people really understand this. Mandatory license rechecks and defensive driving classes.

No one should feel in danger slowing down for the conditions (i.e. don't drive faster than you can see.) My sarcastic comment was for all of the noise to increase speed limits everywhere. My argument is that our drivers are not capable of understanding how to drive in the first place.

[Cleveland Brown]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I won't disagree that there are a lot of idiots out there who drive way too fast. But this stretch of highway has the lions share of tractor trailer traffic in Michigan, particularly coming from Chicago. I think the crash is still being investigated but at least one account I read of the lead vehicles said it was caused by a tractor trailer rear ending a van, which in turn hit another car. Even if you're going 30-40 below the speed limit (which seems to be the case here) and unexpectedly find stopped cars/trucks in all lanes, things are going to happen that aren't good. If you look at the scene, there are tractor trailers 5 across, in all lanes and the shoulders.

Personally I've been in icy/white out conditions that came upon me quickly and unexpectedly on this stretch. It can be treacherous. When this happens and you're actually in a situation like that, it's easy to think you know what to do, but it's tough to know exactly what to do, particularly for the average driver. You obviously don't want to keep going the same speed, but if you slow down too much you risk getting rear ended before you can pull off the road or get to the next exit.

I somewhat agree that one can do everything beyond what is reasonably expected and still slide off of the road, get rear-ended, etc. And poor truck driving is a huge and growing problem. However, I think something is wrong when, frankly, an unremarkable January snow storm causes multiple pile ups within a state. Although the cause of the I-94 pile up is still being investigated, Michigan State Police point to speed and driver behavior as the primary causes (http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/...le-up_res.html).

• Video Link

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

My argument is that our drivers are not capable of understanding how to drive in the first place.

Indeed! Back during the Toyota so-called "sudden acceleration" crisis I remember thinking "How can people not know how to put a vehicle into neutral?"

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Questions about why cases are mainly in the U.S. have also been raised by international investigations; German publication Der Spiegel reported that similar accidents have rarely occurred outside North America, and although there have been some reports of stuck Toyota gas pedals in Germany, all drivers braked successfully without loss of life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2...ehicle_recalls

[sentinel]

I went to U of M in A2; On a Friday evening, on my way back home to Chicago, almost exactly 14 years ago (late Jan), there was a sudden, severe onslaught of lake-effect snow that iced over very quickly after a quick window of freezing rain. I lost control of my car BEFORE a bridge, even though I was barely going 35mph, near the New Buffalo exit and slid out of control on the bridge overpass (I would have gone over the bridge had there been no metal guardrails, and probably wouldn't be here today).

The point I'm trying to make is that back then, MI seemed pretty lax in cleaning up highways during snowstorms, regardless of regular downfall or lake-effect...this especially in 'rural' western Michigan. Not sure if things have changed much since then, but considering the video above, perhaps not?

[rockyi]

Hopefully my kitchen will be finished tomorrow and I can start cleaning up this mess. I need to get out of here because it seems like I go through this crap every two years. I still love older buildings, I'm just really tired of maintaining them. I'll leave that to somebody that likes doing it.



The antiques are items I got when my grandma died but I'm calling an auctioneer to pick it all up. Not my style and I don't think grandma would mind.

[Ex-Ithacan]

The antiques are items I got when my grandma died but I'm calling an auctioneer to pick it all up. Not my style and I don't think grandma would mind.

I'll give ya $15 for that dinosaur thingy if you pay for shipping.

[HomeInMyShoes]

You have a spinning wheel? You're not Rumpelstiltskin are you?

[rockyi]

Ex, the dinosaur is yours.

HIMS, the circa 1840s spinning wheel was my grandmas. My cousin has dibs on it as soon as I can get it to her, hopefully that will be soon, I really need to get rid of this stuff.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Sell it and say robbers broke in and stole it.

Its just an idea.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Brown

I somewhat agree that one can do everything beyond what is reasonably expected and still slide off of the road, get rear-ended, etc. And poor truck driving is a huge and growing problem. However, I think something is wrong when, frankly, an unremarkable January snow storm causes multiple pile ups within a state. Although the cause of the I-94 pile up is still being investigated, Michigan State Police point to speed and driver behavior as the primary causes (http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/...le-up_res.html).

• Video Link

I just found it a little too convenient that you were picking on Michigan drivers when there was just a 90 car pileup in Sandusky last year and two pileups on January 21st of 2013 outside of Cincinnati: a 103 car pileup on I-275 and a 52 car pileup on I-75 at Middleton. I think it's pretty safe to say these places don't get anywhere close to West Michigan weather.

At any rate, I'm glad there weren't more people killed, and I'm super impressed with first responders and the Red Cross.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by rockyi

Hopefully my kitchen will be finished tomorrow and I can start cleaning up this mess. I need to get out of here because it seems like I go through this crap every two years. I still love older buildings, I'm just really tired of maintaining them. I'll leave that to somebody that likes doing it.



The antiques are items I got when my grandma died but I'm calling an auctioneer to pick it all up. Not my style and I don't think grandma would mind.

Is your house a craftsman style?

[Cleveland Brown]

Originally Posted by rockyi

Ex, the dinosaur is yours.

HIMS, the circa 1840s spinning wheel was my grandmas. My cousin has dibs on it as soon as I can get it to her, hopefully that will be soon, I really need to get rid of this stuff.

Rockyi, I'm sure that you could get top-dollar for that spinning wheel from some hipster wanting to live out his or her antebellum fashion (locally-sourced organic cotton!) fantasies.

[Cleveland Brown]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I just found it a little too convenient that you were picking on Michigan drivers when there was just a 90 car pileup in Sandusky last year and two pileups on January 21st of 2013 outside of Cincinnati: a 103 car pileup on I-275 and a 52 car pileup on I-75 at Middleton. I think it's pretty safe to say these places don't get anywhere close to West Michigan weather.

At any rate, I'm glad there weren't more people killed, and I'm super impressed with first responders and the Red Cross.

I no longer live in Ohio, but I always pick on Michigan drivers and Ohio's stringent speed enforcement.

I'll just leave this here and let you count the Ohio crashes versus the Michigan crashes (and the Windsor crash was close to metro Detroit too). mmmmkay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple-vehicle_collision

[rockyi]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Brown

Rockyi, I'm sure that you could get top-dollar for that spinning wheel from some hipster wanting to live out his or her antebellum fashion (locally-sourced organic cotton!) fantasies.

Yeah, that crossed my mind, but I promised my cousin I wouldn't sell it..

[rockyi]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Is your house a craftsman style?

The inside has many craftsman touches (stair banisters, stained glass, inside doors) but being this is a 38 unit apartment (now condo) built in 1927, well passed the craftsman era, I'm guessing they simply got a discount on all of those craftsman touches which at that time were probably piled in warehouses. The outside of the building is classic revival.

Inside stairs - somewhat craftsman




Outside - Not craftsman

[Cleveland Brown]

^ Those "pit of death" type of open stairways scare the living hell out of me. I always think that I'll fall over into the center.

[Ex-Ithacan]

rock, does that fountain work? If so I want a pic of you reclined and sipping a cool drink in that rascal when the weather warms up.