fishingwithbob Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 Not just the 400 http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/4387642-vehicles-remain-stuck-on-scugog-causeway/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 Glad I worked from the couch today. No doubt. You'd have been whipping home, passing the overly cautious with abandon, when BOOM all hell would have broken loose. However you may have escaped unscathed since you'd have been leading the pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dara Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Just got back in. Visibility on the side road I was on was reduced to zero, and I mean zero! I was virtually stopped when someone in pickup raced towards me doing 80k minimum. When he saw my headlights he veered to the right, lost control and ended up in the ditch. Stopped to help and it was a young guy, early 20's "maybe". He actually had the audacity to say to me if you can't drive in these kinds of conditions you shouldn't be on the road. He got an earful from me before I called a towtruck for him. He should be charged with "distracted driving" when he asks why distracted, the cop can tell him...if you woulda been paying attention, you wouldn't be in this here ditch...let the judge decide Edited February 27, 2014 by Dara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dara Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 Its nice and sunny here though...only thing that sucks is I have to ride 150 miles on the snowmobile tomorrow and its supposed to be 29 below tonight...does it still beat being at work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 hwy 9 closed west of orangeville again.. christ!! i've ran out of fingers and toes to count the closures on this stretch this winter. back roads to get home once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) What a site this must of been coming a cross Barrie.Kinda reminds me of those sand storms in the south and the middle east. Edited February 27, 2014 by davey buoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Just got back in. Visibility on the side road I was on was reduced to zero, and I mean zero! I was virtually stopped when someone in pickup raced towards me doing 80k minimum. When he saw my headlights he veered to the right, lost control and ended up in the ditch. Stopped to help and it was a young guy, early 20's "maybe". He actually had the audacity to say to me if you can't drive in these kinds of conditions you shouldn't be on the road. He got an earful from me before I called a towtruck for him. Similar thing almost happened to me today on a drifty side road. Just make sure you're not taking your half out of the middle. The number of times this happens to me in a week is ridiculous. Sometimes you need to push back a little to ensure your not going to start biting into the shoulder. Remember some roads are set up so that the yellow line is actually not in the middle of the road, even though people should be able to see it, apparently they choose to ignore it, or don't look too hard. You did the right thing; stopping and making sure he was ok. Drive safe. Entropy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikeslayer Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 I wonder how many idiots are killed by the overly cautious as well... Conditions according to who? The overly cautious ones? LOL!! I hate being in a group of cars doing 80km/h on the 400 because there's a bit of snow on the road. So yes, I'm that guy in the fast lane. I agree that being cautious is good, being overly is just as bad as the guy weaving in and out of traffic. Really Bill? You're 'that guy'?? Sometimes it takes no snow at all and someone who was driving cautiously under the speed limit loses their life and another's life was forever altered because another wasn't. I sincerely hope, you're never 'that guy'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) :EDIT: No disrespect to ch312 meant at all, no idea he had personal ties to the pic he posted. My apologies. Edited February 28, 2014 by BillM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 that's a really neat pic davey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTHM Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Really Bill? You're 'that guy'?? You can keep posting all the pics you want, it's not helping your point at all. Bill, you realize that this photograph is of the accident that Simons son was involved in? Your comment is in poor taste. He has a valid point, as do you. I find it frustrating when people drive uber cautiously in snow, however I just suck it up and follow them because it is more dangerous to pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Bill, you realize that this photograph is of the accident that Simons son was involved in? Your comment is in poor taste. He has a valid point, as do you. I find it frustrating when people drive uber cautiously in snow, however I just suck it up and follow them because it is more dangerous to pass. It would have been in poor taste if I knew the context in which that pic was posted, obviously I did not. I think we can put this thread to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingwithbob Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) image.jpgWhat a site this must of been coming a cross Barrie.Kinda reminds me of those sand storms in the south and the middle east. Watched the CTV chopper take off from buttonville airport and head north, we figured he was going to try and pass the "wall" to get to the 400 pileup. He was smart and took that photo and video of the storm (can see it on the Barrie.ctv.ca website) and didn't try to fly through. He landed minutes before it hit the airport, went from sunny to can't see across the street in a matter of minutes. That is Markham/Richmond hill in the photo. Edited February 28, 2014 by fishingwithbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdougy Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 A simple motto my pop kept telling me growing up "speed kills"! It eventually sunk in, and now I preach it to my children. The other one he would say when some person goes flying by you at 145 or way to fast for the conditions. "What's their hurry? They are just gonna sit down once they get there". The math doesn't lie: 2 slow guys get into a accident or 1 slow guy and one fast guy who assumes he's blessed with perfect driving skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Cliff Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 I had to work in that mess yesterday Lindsay to Barrie to Bowmanville and back home. Lots of people driving way too fast for the road conditions and not leaving enough space between them and the car in front of them. Unless you have been in a "white out" you have no idea what it is really like. One second everything is fine, the next second it is like someone put a white sheet over your windshield and you just can't see anything at all. You don't know if there is something in front of you, you can't see the snow banks or sholder of the road or if there is anything coming at you, you might as well be blind. I tend to slow right down when the conditions get bad, if I am going to have an accident I want it to be at slow speed but sure as god made little green apples there is always some idiot that wants to ride my ass. If I can do it safely, I pull over and let them go, you'd be surprised at how many of them I see in ditches or worse a little further down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Many years ago, probably at least 40 anyways, my brother and his friends were southbound on hwy 400 driving in lousy conditions similar to yesterdays. He said visibility was poor but they were driving carefully and trying to stay out of trouble. Even though visibility was bad, vehicles were passing them going far faster than they should have been, including a large passenger bus. They continued down the road a bit further when all of a sudden there was a huge orange glow showing through the snow right in front of them and they intentionally drove into the ditch to avoid it. Turns out a flatbed tractor trailer loaded with lumber had jackknifed across the road and other vehicles, including the bus were slamming into the truck and one of them caught fire which also set the lumber on fire. A car hit the wreckage right beside my brother and also caught fire and even though they did everything possible to get that driver out, the car was mangled and they watched the man burn to death. I forget how many died that day but there were several and it was something that stayed with my brother the rest of his life. Ed said it was unbelievable how fast people were driving in those lousy conditions. Edited February 28, 2014 by lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burtess Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 I hit that crap driving north to Midland, couldn't see more than 100ft so I pulled off the nearest exit, Innisfil Beach Rd. Sat in the Hortons there and 5 min later heard on 680 about the pile up. Glad I had the sense to exit when I could! Sat there for 3 hours until they opened the 400 south and went back home.... Burt:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Curse of 4wd you can drive faster until you touch the brakes. Now we all play on the same field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Overly cautious, cautious or reckless white outs are killers. This is our 17th year on the shore of Lake Erie. What transpired today along the 400, 401 and 402 London was a result of whiteouts. On a clear sunny day with no snow in the forecast you can be driving along and the wind blows off the lake or from the northwest or both at the same time faster than your' re driving. You can not see 15 feet in front of your vehicle as the wind is picking up the snow that fell last month and throws it across a flat field, usually from west to east. Should I stop and wait for someone to plow into me from behind because he's doing 90 before he hits what I call the twilight zone. I can't pull over anyway because I can't tell where the road ends and the 10 foot ditch is. If I know exactly where I am I might choose the ditch. You can't believe how fast it comes up and will last for hours sometimes, a few minutes others. Some of the 80KPH north south roads out here have snow piled so high you are down to one lane. We love it when it rains and then freezes, then whiteouts only when it snows. Seldom are the roads closed. I'm amazed there are not more fatalities here. I know many of you guys live in north country and are waterside. But I have to tell you not much compares to the Great Lakes. Edited February 28, 2014 by Old Ironmaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 There isn't much you can do in a whiteout.. Slow down, toss the 4 ways on and hope someone doesn't slam into the back of you.. If you can get off the highway, even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch312 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Conditions according to who? The overly cautious ones? LOL!! I hate being in a group of cars doing 80km/h on the 400 because there's a bit of snow on the road. So yes, I'm that guy in the fast lane. I agree that being cautious is good, being overly is just as bad as the guy weaving in and out of traffic. Conditions according to everyone who can comprehend the idea that traction and visibility are both greatly reduced with significant snowfalls meaning lower speeds and greater spacing between vehicles is required. Traveling 80 km/h or slower on a 400 series highway during heavy snowfall is not overly cautious, it's called driving according to conditions. Why do you think there are so many accidents and traffic jams on the 400's with every snowfall? People driving too fast and too close together. Why is it that there are pileups? People driving too fast and too close together. Why would someone get into an accident after avoiding an "overly cautious" driver? People driving too fast and too close together. Notice a pattern? It's amusing (only when it's obvious nobody is injured!) slowing down beside these people that spin out and hit the ditch after driving too fast or irresponsibly and giving a wave and smile as you drive by. A little toot of the horn added brings out the best of dirty looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Who's talking about driving in blizzard like conditions? Of course you slow down and proceed with caution. The ones I'm complaining about are the people who are terrified to be driving on anything but bare, dry pavement. Rain, snow, whatever it doesn't make a difference. Those people are a danger to everyone else on the highway and should stay home. If you want to sit in the middle of the pack with the rest of the lemmings and crawl along, then so be it, why do I care? I'll drive according to the conditions that I feel comfortable in. If you want to keep wasting your breath trying to convince me that I'm wrong, by all means keep at it, lol. Edited February 28, 2014 by BillM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 I've got to agree with BillM on this. Paul and I do alot of driving for our fishing and vacations in all kinds of weather and the accident causers are the ones who are scared to drive. They slow everyone down, cause accidents because people get fed up and pass them, they constantly put their brakes on instead of just taking their foot off the accelerator. They tend to stay in the middle lane on highways instead of the right/slow lane which makes for more lane changes by everyone. My extra favorite ones are the ones that drive too slow (under the speed limit) on the 2 lane highways and then when you go to pass them when you finally come to a passing section, they speed up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 32 years now running that Barrie to Toronto commute.I've seen to much and can't remember everything.But you seem to learn the pattern of slow lane flashers,middle lane slow,fast lane slow etc. makes it easier to navigate having seen this behavior for so long.Not saying it's easy, a struggle at best.Being patient to some extent has so far kept me accident free for 37 years.Hope I just didn't jinx myself .lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Cliff Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Too slow for some is too fast for others! Your driving skills, experience and vehicle may make it plenty safe to do 100 on snow covered slick highways with limited visibility. To someone else that is way beyond their comfort level and 80 is where they feel they have the experience and skill level to be comfortable. I often see the ones that think they are better drivers than they are as I pass them in the ditch and I am always greatful that they are in the ditch rather than head on into someone else that was doing the 80 or whatever. Yesterday I stopped twice to help people who thought they were better drivers than they were, fortunatly they were the only ones that ended up needing tow trucks. If you really think you are a good driver and you should go as fast as you can without going off the road then perhaps you need to re evaluate your driving skills! Driving according to conditions means always having control of your vehicle, that means road and traffic conditions! Max. speed limits are posted for roads that are clear and dry they are not a target that you should try to attain no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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