Crania Cavity Test...

Wot Dem said.

--

John
Apple Valley, MN
'02 FZ1
'73 RD350

 

This individual belonged to the state:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/thu/metro/news_7m20motor.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/thu/metro/news_6m20id.html

If you told people two years ago that the populace of one of the five
largest economies on the planet would be convinced by some Lebanese
guy to overthrow the elected leader in favor of a charismatic
Austrian, you would be accused of writing bad Nazi what-if fiction.

Now you would be an historian.

jg

 

....closed down the freeway for FIVE FRIGGIN HOURS! How long does it take
to figure out that a guy going 65 in the slow lane impacted a garbage
truck doing 40????

barb
inconvenienced

 

Notice how the more this story develops, the slower the truck was going.
Pretty soon, they will claim the driver was backing up.

The cop's estimated speed also dropped when they realized the posted
speed
limit was lower than they first thought.

 

But the cop never saw what hit him.

He never had a chance.

 

It's not clear exactly where on the 163 the crash took place, but for
those who aren't familiar with the road, it is the first freeway in
California and for the southernmost couple of miles retains its 1930s
configuration (think Interboro Parkway, Dem). The speed limit on that
stretch is, IIRC 45 mph, and there are a lot of curves and narrow
lanes where the recommended posted speed is 5-10 mph below that.

North of I-8, the road drops its historic character and becomes a 65
mph standard freeway. The first mile or so north of I-8 is a grade
coming out of Mission Valley, and one can expect trucks to climb
slowly there. Genessee Avenue, where the crash occurred, would be
right near the top of that grade.

The U-T article referenced talks about other recent fatalities
involving motorcycle cops and mentions that the other drivers involved
are now incarcerated. I saw nothing in the description of this
incident to suggest that there would be a similar outcome. The only
way the truck driver might have been at fault is if debris from the
truck caused the officer to lose control of his vehicle.

Regardless of fault, my condolences to his friends and family.

This thread started (if anyone remembers) over a short film that
advocated for the use of helmets. It is almost certain that Officer
Beatty was wearing a DOT-approved helmet when he died in a crash at a
relative speed of 25 mph. While I know that many here feel that the
CHP standard-issue helmet leaves them more at risk than they care to
be, it should at least have had the same risk-reduction effect on
fatality.

CAVEAT OPERATOR.

Rich, Urban Biker

 

If you want to see an interesting coincidence, check the
CHP web site for an explanation of Spike's brother's demise.

 

Not to nitpick, but no. The stretch of 163 that is the "scenic highway"
goes through Balboa Park. When the speed limit in CA was restored to 65,
the word was that this stretch would remain posted at 55. Two lanes,
slight curves, and a median strip studded with mature (and sturdy!)
sycamore trees made me think that 55mph is a Good Thing when applied to
that stretch of freeway. Alas, good sense flew out the window at
Caltrans, I guess, because it's posted at 65 mph. At the north end of
the scenic strip, there's a curve which is posted at 45mph, but anyone
complying with that speed limit is in grave danger of having a SUV
rammed up their tailpipe.

Yes. It's a steep grade, there are slow trucks, and it's one of the
routes to the city dump. It looks to me like the officer just goofed the
floof and made a fatal mistake. It can happen to anyone in a moment of
distraction or carelessness. If anyone claims that they've never come
close to rear-ending a slower vehicle, I'd suspect them of lying, unless
it's their first day on the road...

barbz

 

Try this:

He saw a semi out of the right lane and decided to pass around
its right side. After swooping across the freeway to start his
pass, he discovered *why* the semi was out of the right lane.

The lights were turned on (if at all) *after* his buddies
showed up. (They tried pulling the "pursuit light" bullshit
when Fred Smalls plowed into the *back* of a Honda on the
Pomona Freeway.)

 

There are so many signs on that stretch that I'm not sure what the
underlying limit is. I recall seeing a rectangular white one just
past Quince St that was 55. But every curve in that roadway seems to
have its own recommended speed -- perhaps that's the drawback of
setting a speed limit too high.
Rich, Urban Biker

 

Talked to a cop friend yesterday. He told me that one of the contractors
repairing their house after the fires said that he was a witness to the
incident. It went down like this; the cop was splitting lanes between
two vans, didn't see the truck at all, veered right after passing the
vans and smack into the trash truck. I've heard nothing of this angle
from the media, however. Presumably, this guy talked to the
investigators. Yesterday's paper had a plea from the cops asking any
witnesses to come talk to them.

I'm having a hard time imagining the lane splitting scenario. I can't
really picture how passing a van in the suicide lane could interfere
with seeing a garbage truck in the number 4 lane. But, I wasn't there,
so I can't really say. It sounds like the cop screwed up. Maybe more
information will surface as the investigation continues.

barbz

 

Yeah, no kidding! That's why I generally take 15 or 805 to get past the
south side of Mission Valley. They're like, real freeways with more than
two lanes, and they both intersect 163 farther north, where it's a
proper freeway, too.

barbz

 

And if they don't conform with the "official" version:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/7226139.htm


A few months ago an off duty CHP on a borrowed KZ1000P
slammed into the back of a pickup truck on I15 in Victorville.
The truck was stopped because the CHP had shut down the freeway.
There were plenty of witnesses around (Where were they going to go?),
but a month after the collision, the CHP started asking for witnesses
to call their office.

Clearly, he failed to maintain a High Visual Horizon.

Oh, wait. That only applies to Joe Biker when he's splattered
into center divider by unhitched trailers and car careening
across the freeway.