Saw Some Cars Hit Each Other On I-15 This Morning...Could Have All Been Avoided

This morning, around 9am. We're driving north on I-15 after picking up groceries and a McDonald's breakfast. Traffic's not heavy, but not too light, either. Just before we exited in Farmington, I saw the car--a white coupe--try to merge into a lane where a pick-up truck was already merging. They got close and I saw both sets of break lights. I wondered if they hit each other.

A second later, it was evident, they did.

That was the first hit. The second and third hits came after.

And it all could have been avoided.

I've noticed the differences in the way people drive. A lot has to do with the time of day people are driving. Many people hate driving in rush hour traffic, but I've noticed rush hour drivers are more engaged, more aware. Sure, they drive faster than normal, but they're driving with a purpose. They want to get home. That seems to be the opposite of drivers during the other times of day. Many of those drives seem to have all day to get wherever they're going.

Usually, Saturday morning drives are pretty low-key, relaxed. I know we were on our way home this morning. So was the truck hauling a boat in the lane next to us. He was driving basically the speed limit and I saw that I didn't have enough room to pass him before the exit, so I slowed down to make my exit and got in behind him. At the same time I saw a while coupe do the same thing. 

Except the white coupe was in a hurry. He quickly left the slow lane to pass me and the truck/boat combo. As he did this, the truck/boat combo moved left into the next lane. The white coupe punched it and passed it on the next lane over.

So far, so good. Except the coupe wanted to make the exit, one he clearly wasn't going to make. It didn't stop him from merging into a lane the same time as another truck. They bumped, the truck and coupe slowed down, and unfortunately, the truck/boat combo hit the truck as it tried to got to the side of the road. All because the white coupe was impatient and couldn't stay behind me for a quarter mile until the exit came.

It's really too bad, one reckless driver ruining three weekends. Thankfully, no one was hurt, as least, it didn't appear to be the case. When I was younger, I used to drive like that (well, not exactly like that--I was never involved in that type of accident...). Age has mellowed me and I'm so glad it has. Now--most of the time--I'm content with just staying behind trucks and boats and fast-driving coupes, as long as I get home safe.

On The Side Of The Freeway...A Scary Place To Be

I got a call yesterday afternoon. A family member had car trouble and she was stranded on the freeway a mile away. I got in my car and drove to help. For the next hour or so I was on the side of Interstate 15.

Talk about scary.

I haven't spent a lot of time on the side of the road since I stopped driving Volkswagen bugs. Back in high school and college there was a better than 50% chance that I would not reach my destination. Oh, that little green bug. And that was long before we had cell phones.

So when I got out to help yesterday and it was evident we were going to be there for a while, I watched as car, buses, trucks and diesels came flying by. Man, they drove fast! It was very unsettling. I know we were about as safe as we could be, considering we were on the side of a busy interstate. Our lives were literally in the hands of hundreds of motorists we didn't know. The odds that one of those cars, trucks, buses and/or diesels would careen out of control were slim.

"So, you're telling me there's a chance?"

It was one of those situations where you can't think about it. You have to just have faith in your fellow driver. We safely towed the disabled car off I-15 and to our house. We had to drive on the shoulder for a few miles. And as we drove under the sign that notified us of how many people had died on Utah roads since the new year began, it reminded me of how dangerous these roads are. It also gave me a heightened appreciation for those who work on those roads, the repair crews, the highway petrol, even the cleaners. Those are jobs I would not like to do.

And as we passed under the death-tally sign, I was glad we hadn't become a statistic.

Y 2 U, I-15, 70 M.P.H.

For work I'm required to travel to Utah Valley at least once a month. Today was that day...

I took out the Point-N-Shoot to get a picture of the big block "Y" on the mountain, and I just kept going.

I found some signs denoting exits and other I-15 markers.

I found an interesting car...the first of the new Fiats I've seen in America so far.

And even snapped a picture of what I had as a snack...

Once we entered the Salt Lake Valley, there was a lot to photograph.

We saw other things, markers to let us know where we were.

And a mountain range that as a kid, I called "Grasshopper Legs" because to me, that's how Mt. Olympus looked from the vantage point we had when we lived in Holladay.

And, finally, we arrived at the "U" on the mountain...by the way, my favorite letter in the alphabet--all at 70 m.p.h.

(It was recommended that I include one fact of my trip...I was not driving, but was a passenger)