Be Careful

[Brian M.]

Re: Be Careful

That must have been a white knuckle drive.

my view today when driving home from work in the C5

[Michael W.]

Re: Be Careful

Some additional facts for your discussion.

The guy was working third shift at Goodyear. When he went to work there was no precipitation falling, and only rain was in the forecast. Air temps were above freezing and expected to stay there, but the lows the previous several days were in the low 20's.

The roads in that area are in good condition, and had been brined before 11:00 pm.

The other guy, who may have been driving a pickup, is facing possible charges. Speed is suspected to have been a factor.

These conditions happen very seldom in that area, and people there are not skilled at handling them.

From reading, the driver of the Corvette did nothing wrong.

I would suggest after looking at the photos that it was not just the one vehicle speeding.........

And again, I'm amazed at the number of people who have commented that 'he had to drive' Gimme a break.

[Paul S.]

Re: Be Careful

Sad, yes. Being in a Corvette--I agree with the comment of "irrelevant". I used to own a C4 (1994) Coupe and live in Dallas. At the time it was my only car. Dallas, like NC, doesn't often get snow, but we do occasionally.

We had a fairly significant snow fall--it took me 2 hours to drive 13 miles to get work. I must say, the C4 was quite capable in the snow/ice. Saw plenty of vehicles spinning include a DART bus.

It wasn't the car the guy was driving--it was the truck that lost control and that can spell tragedy if you're driving a Corvette, a Hyundai, an SUV, whatever.

I grew up in NW Ohio, and I tell everyone, some of the worst road conditions I have ever seen are down here in Dallas when we get snow and ice because there is no road salt (they throw sand with de-icing agent in it, on the road) and no snow plows. And when I drive to work, I'm always more afraid of the other drivers around me, many of whom have no clue. They think they are driving slow enough, but rarely are. And then they hit a slick spot, and instantly hit the brakes and all the other dumb things that make matters worse.

I know it sounds fatalistic, but when it's your time, it's your time. Sure, if you can stay off bad roads, it makes sense to do so. Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do. Whether it's driving home from work, when the weather went sour while you were working (happens to me often here), or going to work because you need to be there. If your number's up, you could be killed on a bright, sunshiny day on perfect roads.

[Terry M.]

Re: Be Careful

I have a job that some folks might think is important to get to, and there have been times when I stayed overnight at work because traveling conditions were just too bad to go home -- and at the time I lived three miles from work. More recently, when my workplace moved to 37 miles from home -- my employer put us up at a motel close to work so we could get back the next day. That had nothing to do with where I lived -- they knew if they let us go home we wouldn't be able to get back.

I was once called to work and I told the dispatcher the only way I would get there is if they sent one of the 4-wheel drive trucks to get me. There was no way I was taking my own vehicle because I wouldn't get there.

Mike is right there are options and there is a time to consider not traveling as one of them. I think that is the message we should take from this tragedy. And Paul is right in that the vehicle he was driving would make no difference -- unless he had a semi. It is a shame to lose a fellow Corvette enthusiast, and my sympathies go to his family.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Be Careful

WHERE do these BOSSES exsist?
It was hard to get a job in the midwest when I got out of school and I landed one with the phone co. I had multiple BOSSES and none of them cared how I got there, they just said 3 times and your out.
Hell or high water you showed up and ON TIME. The doorman WAS the BOSS.

DOM

[Joe C.]

Re: Be Careful

I was a fireman for 21 years, and I know what it means to get to work during emergency conditions. There were times when you would spend days at the firehouse without going home. There were other times of extreme emergency when the City of New York would institute a recall, whereby all off-duty emergency workers would be required to be available to report for duty.

On those occasions when it was not possible to remain at the fire house, the consumption of copious amounts of adult beverages would supply the sense of comfort, security and warmth to enable a man to endure all sorts of hardships, tribulations, and challenges in his journey to protect the public interest..............

[Clem Z.]

Re: Be Careful

Sure there is, dog sled, snowmobile, horse and wagon, donkey, sking, and lastly walking with snow shoes.

i had to go to the UP of mich one winter on business and there were more snowmobiles in the parking lot than cars.

[Dennis O.]

Re: Be Careful

Sure there is, dog sled, snowmobile, horse and wagon, donkey, sking, and lastly walking with snow shoes.

Snowmobile? Yah, Right. About 30 years ago Minneapolis was shutdown because of a blizzard. I was checkng the computers at my business, and at 10 AM, they went down. I couldn't even get the car out of the garage because the drifts were so high. I lived in South Minneapolis at the time, but the buses had been taken off the streets. I fired up the old Yamaha, and took off for work. I was just getting to down town (where my office is), and I came upon a Highway Patrolman trying to assist a women who was very stuck in a snowbank. He flagged me down. I thought he wanted me to help him get the car out of the ditch, but after I stopped, I found out what he really wanted; he gave me a ticket for operating a snowmobile on a public street and impounded my sled. I had to walk the rest of the way to work. (Have you ever walked a mile in a snowmobile suit and boots? It's not a lot of fun.)

I know this is a little O/T, but I have wanted to do this rant for the last 30 years. I don't wonder that I have a very low opinion of the police. The worst part of it was that after I got home (the buses started running again at 5 PM), the evening news was full of "cute" little stories of all kinds of people using their snowmobiles in Minneapolis for all kinds of usual business.

I had to pay $260 to get my sled out of impound. The only good thing about this is that when I went to court to protest the ticket in April, the judge gave me a suspended sentence; "No same or similar violations for 6 months". I was able to keep off my snowmobile until the next October quite easily.

[Don H.]

Re: Be Careful

When I started my current job over 36 years ago, my '60 was the only vehicle I owned. The job requires traveling to the customer's offices in Iowa and Illinois. I had many "thrills" that first winter driving a 1960 Corvette with bias ply tires (of course I took off the radials w/ Crager SS wheels for winter). I still drive an average of 150 miles a day BUT not in a Corvette with bias ply tires. You are definately at the mercy of other drivers in any car. Merry Christmas. Don H.

[Ridge K.]

Re: Be Careful

I was a fireman for 21 years, and I know what it means to get to work during emergency conditions. There were times when you would spend days at the firehouse without going home. There were other times of extreme emergency when the City of New York would institute a recall, whereby all off-duty emergency workers would be required to be available to report for duty.

On those occasions when it was not possible to remain at the fire house, the consumption of copious amounts of adult beverages would supply the sense of comfort, security and warmth to enable a man to endure all sorts of hardships, tribulations, and challenges in his journey to protect the public interest..............

Same here, Joe. It was 29 years for me (1976 to 2005). There are around 1.1 million firefighters in the United States, with about 335,000 of them being full-time career positions. These firefighters, as well as a million-plus other public safety (police, EMS, emergency medical personnel, etc) do not have any option to "stay home" ...off icy roads.
Traffic levels do lighten in severe weather, but never completely go away.

I spent a three-year tour of duty on the busiest engine company in my hometown of Tulsa. Busy, as in the aspect of massive running on car crashes, along our intersecting expressways. I've sadly witnessed some horrific crash injuries,that to this day, I still try to block out of my mind.
I've also seen first hand one of the dirty little secrets in this nation, that those who have crossed our borders illegally, never have liability auto insurance. Out of hundreds I've encountered, I've never seen one single example insured. And, virtually never have valid driver's licenses. A national problem often ignored by unethical policians, with their hidden agendas. That fact might just interfere with a ..."sanctuary city" local policy.

Stay in if you can. If you can't, please be extremely careful. Now back to technical Corvette issues.
Ridge