Just got a report of yet another 18 wheeler on its side at the 287/380 cloverleaf in Decatur.
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12.13.2007
Oh The Humanity
Just got a report of yet another 18 wheeler on its side at the 287/380 cloverleaf in Decatur.
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14 comments:
Nothing like a poorly engineered decreasing-radius curve to play havoc with traffic!
Helloooooo my name is Dusty Roads and being somewhat of a road Scholar,I don't think your description of a "Clover" leaf quite fits the picture as clover leafs generly have four leafs for the efficient ingress and regress of traffic onto and off of the National Highway system.
What we have here is your partial bifercated clover leaf and with future funding can be considered a full blown leaf but not until.
Thanks yew
This pic is old as it doesn't have the new exit ramp from 380 Eastbound to South 287. It's also missing the Victory Family Church billboard! Come on Google, get your cameras out to Wise County!
10:24, if it is bad engineering then why do only a tiny fraction of all the cars and trucks exiting have problems? In the mountains, there are switchbacks and grades that are a lot more dangerous than this exit ramp. Are those badly engineered? Is a parking lot at a mall badly engineered because you can't hit it at 70 miles per hour? Before exiting on that ramp, a car or truck should be travelling no more than 55 miles per hour, and from there it is clearly posted that the ramp requires slow and careful driving. It should not be a problem for non-idiots.
10:26 -
Aren't most clovers with 3 leaves....your lucky to find four, thats why they are considered lucky...and with the new ramp that would be 3 ramps...so technically Barry is correct!
Hmmmm...interesting! Only one out of five suggested that BAD DRIVING might be the cause.
I was referin to Highway clover leafs not the real thing but in this case two appear to be unlucky wouldn't you say.
Unlucky...heck yes...I avoid that intersection as much as possible.
I'm not one to take up for bad drivers...and it's clear that people should slow down...but this intersection has been a major cluster #@*^ since its inception. At some point, the sheer number of accidents involving this intersection should speak more loudly than the simple "slow down" chant.
Wise County is unique. Usually the clover-leaf exits are seen in the northern states. (No, not Oklahoma!) We're talking about NY, PA, NJ, MA, etc.
So here comes this innocent truck driver minding his own business. He has already seen about 15 miles of Wise County. There's nothing there to see. He gets tired of the flat land and straight roads. He starts daydreaming about home. Lo and behold; a clover-leaf appears out of nowhere. What's the poor driver to do? Is he back home? There's a clover-leaf or else his eyes are playing tricks on him. He faints in disbelief. Miracles do come true. He's home!
That Yankee wasn't going too fast!
I always go to Decatur to practice driving before heading on down to the metroplex.
I had to generalize but, most of the people who drive the big trucks in wise county, do not have any regard for themselves or anyone else for that matter. i hope they get lot's of tickits, and continue to wreck out. maybe the problem will fix itself in time, without any other citizen having to die.
I wonder what would happen if you had to be drug tested before entering the little clover-leafed area?
11:13 AM, this is 10:24 AM--I agree that bad driving is the main cause--it normally is in most situations. In fact, bad driving and bad drivers drive me crazy!! However, most engineers would admit (perhaps only privately) that the aim to good highway design is to "idiot proof" them as much as possible. If you read race driver accounts throughout the history of road racing, you will note that most will describe a decreasing radius turn as being very "technically difficult" for them (i.e., outright dangerous to idiots). As you are traveling west on 380, then take the exit to go northbound on 287, you take a curve that looks okay at first--but suddenly it tightens up DRAMATICALLY! Yes, the majority of drivers do okay, because they are not idiots--however, most highway engineers try to avoid designing "traps" (like decreasing radius turns) for the careless, unwary, or inattentive driver that comes along (which we all are at some times). Before there ever was an accident at that curve, a huge number of local drivers (myself included) were predicting that it would be an accident-prone curve. The fact that a bunch of non-engineers could predict this high frequency of guardrail-squashing accidents, is a sad commentary on the original design of that curve. I DO admit, though, it takes poor or inattentive driving before these curves bite you.
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