This past Friday (June 22, 2007) there was a vehicle crash that was a true nightmare. 20 year old Megan Bryant was driving a Nissan with a baby on board, and the Nissan was struck by a tanker truck full of diesel. Ms. Bryant and the baby died. I cannot possibly imagine the terror she must have felt when she realized that the truck would strike her car. It's horrifying. I get watery eyes thinking about it. And it leaves the rest of us asking: How could this have happened?
Here's a news roundup:
Tragic accident claims mother, daughter;
Crash kills two; and
Fatal Crash, Midland.
The news reports said the woman was traveling South on Highway 1788 and turned left on the Highway 191 service road. The truck was traveling North on 1788, and the driver of the truck couldn't stop in time to avoid the accident. See inset: Blue line = Nissan route, yellow line = truck route, red "X" = accident site.
It's a dangerous intersection, and if you look at the overhead shot (courtesy of Google Maps), you can see why. A car following that route would have had to make a very hard left, an acute angle that appears to be roughly 52°.
There's the problem, and that's what makes this intersection so dangerous. In a pure left hand 90° turn she might have made it safely, but maybe she misjudged the angle and had to slow down too much in order to make the turn.
So the lesson for the rest of us is to be extremely cautious at those intersections that have a weird angle. And for those people whose job it is to design highways, please give us a break and don't make us navigate those screwy angles when we turn across a busy lane.
Updated 1/10/08: The mother of the poor lady who was killed blogs under the name of Scraptab at My thoughts for the day. Our hearts go out to you, Scraptab . Most of us will never know the loss you've felt, but we feel for you and hope the very best for you.
That is really so terrible and hope it will not happen to other roadways.
Posted by: Truck Step Bars | February 19, 2012 at 11:13 AM