State trooper killed in head on crash

[richard wysong]

Last Wednesday a Massachusetts State Trooper was killed in a head on crash with a wrong way driver on US rt 1, young guy, only 30yrs old. I operate a Highway assistance truck for the state and had worked with him in the past, I remember thinking how young he looked. Sad day today for his funeral, over 1000 officers from all over the country showed up to honor him. When they transferred his body from the medical examiners office to the funeral home last week the highway was lined with cruisers, fire trucks and tow trucks for the 20 mile journey, pretty moving sight.                                                                                                                                                            That said he was driving a new Chevy Tahoe and from what I could see on the news photos it looked like the whole engine assembly ended up in the passenger compartment. I realize that the force of a head-on collision will cause unpredictable results but you would think that the power train would have been forced under the truck rather than into the cabin. Thoughts?                                                                                                                                                                                                                          He collided with a newer Jeep Wrangler, that driver died at the scene

[Jsdirt]

Yeah I saw that a few days ... or a week ago ... can't remember. All I do is work to survive in this hellhole, so they all blend together. Yeah he looks like he's in middle school to me! VERY young. Sad as hell.

 

So many IDIOT drivers in this state!! I don't know WTF is going on lately, but it is off the charts! People driving the wrong way constantly, hitting parked vehicles, sleeping at green lights, stopping in the MIDDLE of a highway, etc..

 

For example on the way into work yesterday this woman stopped at a stop sign at a 4-way intersection and REFUSED to move ... because on a SIDE ROAD over 150' away a school bus had its red lights on letting kids off! They were nowhere near us!! She only moved when I started backing up to go around her stupid ass! MY LORD!!!

 

Anyway ... having wrenched on motor vehicles my entire life, plus running a shop for 14 years (closed a few years ago after realizing I HATE - with EVERY FIBER of my being - motor vehicles built after 2006), I've watched the steady decline in quality across the board, along with pricing reaching the stratosphere. It's pretty clear not one automaker gives a crap about their customers anymore. "Customer First" is a 20th century relic, unfortunately. So, I'm not shocked in the least that completely unexpected things will happen in the event of a major collision. Stuff just isn't built worth a damn anymore. The dollar has taken precedent over EVERYTHING, including safety, IMO.

 

All that said, if you were to rate every manufacturer from worst to best ... with the best today being FAR below the worst in the 20th century ... I'd say GM sits right at the bottom of that pile of ...

[richard wysong]

I too have been in the "trenches" my whole life, have a garage still but have gotten away from the automotive end of the trade other than an occasional brake job, I'm in my 70s now and don't need the headaches. I have a small scrap metal business that makes more $ with less headaches than the auto repair did

Edited May 14 by richard wysong

[Jsdirt]

Amen to that, brother.

 

I took on building maintenance. Doesn't pay too well but I still do side work here and there, and it is painfully easy compared to searching 10 billion miles of low-bidder wiring for a short. MUCH less headaches. My only headache now is the commute. I'm learning to manage morons, lol. 

Edited May 14 by Jsdirt

[Atlas]

Midsize body-on-frame SUV's and trucks are safe for occupants but can be more dangerous than other vehicle types for other people involved in collisions with them. They weigh nearly their fullsize counterparts but have more concentrated mass when they hit things. Narrower frame width, sometimes overall shorter. Wranglers, Dakotas, Colorados, etc.

 

Crash tests (and the resulting ratings) are based on highly controlled scenarios, specific speeds, and points of impact. Vehicle safety has improved a lot, as a side note, once the tests started considering more common offset crashes and glances with fixed objects. Side note side note, vehicles have also gotten a lot safer since the testing agencies started considering occupants of different sizes. A perfectly squared-up frontal collision with a similarly sized object only provides so much information about the overall safety of a vehicle...

 

I haven't seen any crash tests where the vehicle separates, engine or subframe is completely removed and thrown from the vehicle. 35 or 40mph is all they test.

 

Reality is a lot different from perfectly-staged crash testing...its hard to say what could have happened or what failed without seeing both of the vehicles from the wreckage up-close and how the incident occurred.

Edited May 14 by Atlas

[richard wysong]

I tried Googling pictures of the vehicles at the scene with no results, probably redacted due to the fatalities. The footage I saw on the news was probably taken from a drone