The CNN article is incorrect by stating it does not apply to hands free use; the NTSB's web site summary does not make that exception. The only exception to the proposed ban is for emergency communication and devices that are used in the fuction of the vehicle, presumably voice operated controls.

I didn't tell you about the part that involves New York City. See, in NYC, you cannot get the police to do a damn thing for you because they are just busy writing parking tickets. If you have a non-injury accident or incident, you can pound sand before they will show up.

I waited 3 1/2 hours on the shoulder of the expressway, right next to 65mph traffic, and none of them would come out. Two different cars passed right by..........didn't stop however...........donuts are more important.

These people are everywhere............I see these types of accidents routinely now..........fender benders right in the middle of an expressway. You absolutely know some DB caused the accident and you absolutely know that the DB will make up a story and attempt to blame the driver who was simply driving with respect for the others on the road.........

And, they will partially win in court.

Operator malfunction on the part of the bus drivers. Following too closely, not paying attention, or as Huskyman suggested, becoming target fixated and driving straight into the thing they didn't want to hit.

I read an article that said serious problems were identified with the brakes on the school buses, but that these did not contribute to the crash. This leads me to believe the bus drivers never hit their brakes.

NTSB Report on Accident

Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the initial Gray Summit collision was distraction, likely due to a text messaging conversation being conducted by the GMC pickup driver, which resulted in his failure to notice and react to a Volvo tractor that had slowed or stopped in response to a queue that had developed in a work zone. The second collision, between the lead school bus and the GMC pickup, was the result of the bus driver's inattention to the forward roadway, due to excessive focus on a motorcoach parked on the shoulder of the road. The final collision was due to the driver of the following school bus not maintaining the recommended minimum distance from the lead school bus in the seconds preceding the accident. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the lack of forward collision warning systems on the two school buses.

Hey Brian, wana bet $50 on whether or not the driver was picking his/her nose at the time of the accident? :D:eek::eek::rolleyes:

With typical following distances............even if they are reasonably proper ............say 150 feet for 50 mph...........the driver has virtually no chance of stopping safely if the vehicle ahead comes to an instantaneous dead stop.

All reasonably following distances go right out the window in this scenario. There are no brake lights on the forward vehicle and the driver would need a minimum of one second to react. Stopping the vehicle in 100 feet........at 50 mph..........would be a serious challenge for an excellent driver.

Maybe you could call her and ask.............but, I'm quite sure she's lie right to your face............:mad:

Very few vehicles can come to a "instantaneoud dead stop" unless the stop was the result of hitting another vehicle or barrier, but maintaining a safe braking distance depending on the surrounding conditions is still important.

So, if the lead vehicle must also decelerate, the following vehicle should have a decent chance of also decelerating without collision.

If the driver of the lead vehicle, in this case the GMC, is sleeping............he comes to an instantaneous dead stop when he hits the tractor.

It is the vehicles that follow that do not stand a prayer of stopping. I'm not agreeing with "distractions" by those drivers. They could be completely at attention and fail to stop the vehicle.

I think we are in agreement, I did not understand that you were referencing this particular accident's details, so I do agree that in a situation where there is an instantaneous stop resulting from a collision, the following vehicle is at a substantial disadvantage.

...........a hopeless disadvantage..........

I don't know of anybody who maintains 200' distances................

So in fact all the texting driver did was rear end a stopped or slow moving tractor. Remove his mobile phone and he'd probably still have gotten killed by two buses plowing him into/onto the tractor. Again, I'm all for driver focus, but this situation has little to nothing to do with texting. In this imperfect world, texting will be banned but applying makeup and scolding kids in the back seat will still skirt the law.

[edit] Shouldn't the lead bus driver have seen slow traffic ahead of the pickup?

FWIW, my money's on slow moving rather than stopped tractor. The rear wheels would have to be turning to lift the pickup onto the fifth wheel to provide the ramp for the bus to end up in that compromising position.

Sixto
87 300D

Damn test messaging drivers
 

I KNEW it !!!!

I KNEW it !!!!

Can't be done. Someone slips in as soon as there's a 20' gap. Sometimes they make their own gap.

Sixto
87 300D

I let 'em have the space. I'm not following at 20' under any conditions.

I don't maintain 200' either............but, 60'-80' is typical for me.

Yeah..........I might lose two minutes in the one hour trip............:rolleyes: