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Semi hits van 2 dead.

xiggi

xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Just read this in the Indy Star.

Semi hits van near Edinburgh; 2 die, 17 hurt | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

EDINBURGH, Ind. — Police say a semi rear-ended a van on Interstate 65 near Edinburgh, killing two people and injuring 17.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department said that two of the van’s passengers were pronounced dead at the scene about 30 miles south of Indianapolis about 3:30 a.m. today. The rest of the van’s 18 passengers were taken to area hospitals with various injuries, some critical. The truck driver had minor injuries.

The northbound lanes of the highway were closed for about five hours.

Witnesses told police the van was trying to pull onto the shoulder when the semi hit it from the rear. Witnesses also said the semi was weaving just before the crash.

Sheriff’s Lt. Travis A. Maloney told the Chicago Tribune the van was carrying members of an extended family returning to Chicago after a kite flying event near Atlanta.
 
skyraider

skyraider

Veteran Expediter
US Navy
A sad time for their family members........I try not to pull over on the interstates if I can avoid it. I see 4 wheelers weaving and 18 wheelers weaving frequently. We are either to sleepy or fooling with junk in the vehicle and not paying attention, driving way to fast. I run at 62mph for mileage reasons and let the nitwits run at 75, guess they have more to spend on fuel.
 
greg334

greg334

Veteran Expediter
the other posts the guy/gal made were in 2008, now it seems that here is a post and it makes no sense to see it pop up so who's minding the store?
 
layoutshooter

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
That's ok, OVM. All of your positive posts will offset the negitive ones!!! Just as in nature, we find a balance!! LOL!! :p
 
Brisco

Brisco

Expert Expediter
Anybody else notice this?

The rest of the van’s 18 passengers were taken to area hospitals with various injuries, some critical.
Click to expand...

Here's a link to a video of the aftermath of this collision:

Two killed, 17 hurt when semi hit van

That was a 15 passenger van, but yet it was carrying 20 people, luggage, and everything else associated with a road trip for 20 people. In other words, this van was "OVERLOADED".

Not saying these deaths could have been avoided if there had been only 15 people in the van who all packed "lightly" for their trip. Kind of wondering why the van was trying to pull onto the shoulder. Know what I mean.

There was a huge controversy a while back about these passenger vans. Remember that? A lot of 'em that were being rented by Church Groups, by Schools, by Families for extended travels, that were being wrecked with deaths involved. People were being too quick to blame the "VANS" themselves and not the "Drivers". You take a driver that's used to driving a Honda Civic, place him/her in a vehicle way beyond their driving experience, overload it with people and luggage, and then expect that driver to drive carefully with 15 times more distractions(people talking, sneezing, fighting, farrting, etc) than they are used to is an accident just waiting to happen.

There were/are thousands and thousands of these types of vans out there hauling "Cargo" all over this country that were/are not having the same problems as these "passenger" vans were/are having.

Like I said, my sympathies go to the losses for this family, but I would like to know more about why that van with 20 people in it was trying to "Get on the Shoulder" at 3:30 in the morning.
 
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xiggi

xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Brisco said:
Anybody else notice this?



Here's a link to a video of the aftermath of this collision:

Two killed, 17 hurt when semi hit van

That was a 15 passenger van, but yet it was carrying 20 people, luggage, and everything else associated with a road trip for 20 people. In other words, this van was "OVERLOADED".

Not saying these deaths could have been avoided if there had been only 15 people in the van who all packed "lightly" for their trip. Kind of wondering why the van was trying to pull onto the shoulder. Know what I mean.

There was a huge controversy a while back about these passenger vans. Remember that? A lot of 'em that were being rented by Church Groups, by Schools, by Families for extended travels, that were being wrecked with deaths involved. People were being too quick to blame the "VANS" themselves and not the "Drivers". You take a driver that's used to driving a Honda Civic, place him/her in a vehicle way beyond their driving experience, overload it with people and luggage, and then expect that driver to drive carefully with 15 times more distractions(people talking, sneezing, fighting, farrting, etc) than they are used to is an accident just waiting to happen.

There were/are thousands and thousands of these types of vans out there hauling "Cargo" all over this country that were/are not having the same problems as these "passenger" vans were/are having.

Like I said, my sympathies go to the losses for this family, but I would like to know more about why that van with 20 people in it was trying to "Get on the Shoulder" at 3:30 in the morning.
Click to expand...

I personally would be more concerned why a semi was on the road weaving and driving reckless enough to hit a van pulling over onto the shoulder.
 
Brisco

Brisco

Expert Expediter
xiggi said:
I personally would be more concerned why a semi was on the road weaving and driving reckless enough to hit a van pulling over onto the shoulder.
Click to expand...


Witnesses also said the semi was weaving just before the crash
Click to expand...

Don't see "reckless" mentioned anywhere.

Short article, unknown facts. I have been running the speed limit at night and came upon many a drivers who decided to "slow down" to 20-30 mph before pulling off onto the shoulder. At night, if you're running 60-70 mph (the speed limit) and you come upon another vehicle in your lane only doing 30-40, it's a butt puckering experience. We all experienced it here more than once, trust me.

Article also says:

Witnesses told police the van was trying to pull onto the shoulder
Click to expand...

Not "they were on the shoulder".

Many more questions need to come to light other than "why did that semi rear end that van", period.
 
layoutshooter

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Might have been weaving because he was trying to avoid hitting that van that was weaving on and off the shoulder? Might have been sleepy? Who knows? It would be nice to know the entire story. I don't think we ever will and even if the press follows on they often slant things against the truck driver. Sometimes that driver deserves it, sometimes not.
 
B

blizzard2014

Veteran Expediter
Driver
1. Why do people decide to pull over on the shoulder to take a mini-picnic? I always see mini-vans pulled over on the shoulder when just 1 mile down the road there is an offramp that they could have pulled onto, or perhaps a rest area.

2. I blame the driver of the van just as much as I blame the driver of the truck for not paying attention to the road. We still do not know the details of the accident. The driver of the van could have slamed on his brakes right in front of the truck, or he could have neglected to check if traffic was behind him before pulling onto the shoulder.

3. Imagine if there would have been freight in that van. If it would have been an expediter van fully loaded with 2 48 inch skids. "crunch time!"
 
Brisco

Brisco

Expert Expediter
blizzard said:
3. Imagine if there would have been freight in that van. If it would have been an expediter van fully loaded with 2 48 inch skids. "crunch time!"
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And an "Expeditor" would have not have tried to stuff 4 skids in a van that can only carry 2-3 skids.

I really really really wish I could have seen that van before the wreck. I want to see how they loaded 20 people and their luggage in a van designed for 15. Was the back-end loaded floor to ceilng? Were people sitting on luggage in the back seat? What kind of experience did the van driver have? So On.............
 
xiggi

xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Brisco said:
And an "Expeditor" would have not have tried to stuff 4 skids in a van that can only carry 2-3 skids.

I really really really wish I could have seen that van before the wreck. I want to see how they loaded 20 people and their luggage in a van designed for 15. Was the back-end loaded floor to ceilng? Were people sitting on luggage in the back seat? What kind of experience did the van driver have? So On.............
Click to expand...

I've spoke with many expediters who run over weight, cheat on logs etc. Expediters are people and until that changes rules will be broken.

What about the semi drivers logs? Did he have two sets, was he out of hours. Was he over weight, the list could go on and on. Do you think having 20 people instead of 15 in the van caused the accident?

To be 100% honest I might be a little biased in this case. I was rear ended by a semi once, had to be cut out of my jeep and ended up in the hospital for over a week followed by months out of work. It just sounds to me like your looking for a reason to blame the van, maybe I am reading wrong here and I apoligize if I am.
 
S

sthfl2000

Active Expediter
Why was the semi so close to the van to begin with? Did the van signal their intentions? Why didn't the Semi change lanes? Was the semi traveling at a safe speed? And as others have mentioned, the van should not have been overloaded but I doubt that caused the accident.

I've seen it too many times where Semi's like to "push/bully" four wheelers on the road instead of simply looking ahead and making the proper changes to speed or lane, etc. there is no reason at all to rear end another vehicle if your eyes are working. Safe following distances are for everyone...and I don't see it happening out there.

The shoulders are designed for unforeseen stopping for reasons such as emergencies, flat tires, inoperative or faulty equipment, etc. Bottom line is when you are in that right lane, your job as a professional driver is to expect the unexpected and constantly be on the lookout for "what if" scenarios and have exit plans to avoid the potential incident. And most importantly is keep a safe following distance to allow your depth perception and reaction senses enough time to respond to changes.

I've driven vans, straights and t/t, so spare me any experience comments with regard to this posting.

While all accidents can't be avoided all the time, I firmly believe the driving habits of some in the industry are inexcusable to say the least.

My condolences to that group.
 
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