When We Tell You Servicing Your Car Saves Lives, We're Not Kidding ...

I'm going to be harsh here, so I'll apologize in advance, but there are news stories that come out that make you think if any one of a dozen steps had been taken in a situation, soemone would still be alive today. But every once in a while, the imperfect set of circumstances occur, like yesterday on the Long Island Expressway.





for thos of you who haven't ever driven on the LIE, I'd equate it with the I-285 loop in Atlanta, except with probably more traffic - if it's possible. It's 4 lanes and an HOV lane in each direction for almost the entire length of Long Island, and it's the only major highway where trucks are allowed, which is why I avoid it if possible. Yesterday, at about 8AM, a woman was driving her 2001 Dodge Neon from New Jersey to the East End for her 30th birthday party. You will probably know the first thing I am going to say - the Dodge Neon is a bit of a junky car, prone to lots of mechanical problems , especially when they get older.




Naturally while driving eastbound on the LIE, her car began to be unable to accelerate enough to keep up highway speed. Rather than get onto the side of the road, she continued to drive in the center lane. How long she drove like this wasn't mentioned in news reports, but she did have enough time to turn on her flashers, which means she was likely driving under 40 MPH - about 30 MPH less than the rest of the traffic, have several cars pass her, and have her notice a Gas Tanker truck filled with 12,000 gallons of fuel coming up on her. Aside from the truck driver going into the early morning sun, there's no clue why he didn't see her, but he reacted late, and clipped her car while trying to pass on the left. He lost control of the truck, flipped over, and he fuel exploded - the truck finally coming to rest under a gantry for the highway signs crossing both sides of the expressway. Fifteen minutes later, the gantry fell from the heat. A small side note - to you WTC Conspriacy Theorists, we hope this shows that fuel can cause metal to collapse...




The woman in the Neon went to the hospital, but she was released later. The truck driver was killed, and his body remained in the burning truck for six hours. Traffic on the eastbound side of the LIE has been blocked indefinitely, and on the opposite side, it took ten hours to reopen. Not to be too hard on the lady, but too often people ignore a problem on their car: They're too busy, they don't have the money, or they flat-out don't know what a check engine light is. When the car starts telling us there's a problem, we just keep pushing until it's 'more convenient' to check it. Yeah, these kind of things happen to other people, but sometimes they happen to us.





It's simple. If the car is having trouble, pull over and call someone. The LIE has assistance crews on call 24/7. At the time, a repair bill and being late for your own birthday party seemed like the bigger priority at the time. In hindsight, it's pretty minor compared to having to live with the knowledge that your error in judgement (I'll avoid using the word 'stupidity' here) cost someone else his life.



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