Escapees March-April 2019 Vol 40 Issue 5

The oncoming vehicle is a mass of metal hurtling toward you at 70 mph. If you’re going 70 mph, closing speed is 140 mph, about the landing speed of an airliner, or 205 feet per second. The average driver has a perception/reaction time of 1.5 seconds. If the oncoming vehicle veers into your lane 200 feet away (2/3 of a football field), your foot won’t reach the brake before the collision. The head-on collision with another vehicle is the most difficult to defend against. Dividing lines, such as Jersey barriers and guard rails, don’t prevent oncoming vehicles from entering your lane, but there is hope.

going to change? Probably just before you get to the intersection. Be prepared to stop. Neither slamming on your brakes nor going through a red light are wise options, so you should think ahead. The right turn is always a challenge in a town with two-way roads. Can you make the turn without hitting intersecting cars or running over the curb? Perhaps it would be best to use an alternate route rather than risk hitting a vehicle or a pedestrian. Sometimes I find it more reasonable to turn into a large parking lot beyond the intersection, turning around, and entering the intersection from the opposite direction. It may be time consuming, but it makes RV driving easier.  Driving in inclement weather can be challenging for RVers. None of us want unplanned stops. But there are times when the weather should scream at you to “park it!” It’s your home on the road. With food, heat, rest rooms and entertainment, why would you choose to drive in bad weather? Leave bad-weather driving to those poor folks who only have cars, or truckers who are time critical. Find a campground or any safe and legal place and park it. There are other drivers that simply don’t like RVs. Along with the other driving challenges we RV jockeys have to endure, we have to deal with those other drivers’ lousy attitudes towards us. We should be super nice to every driver. Help them out. Let them get by. Let them turn first. Signal them in when it is safe to do so after a pass. Do everything practical to assuage their ill feelings towards us. Whatever you do, don’t intentionally anger another driver. Our main goal should be to arrive at our destinations safely. If it takes an extra day, most often it won’t make any difference. If you must arrive on a specific day, leave early so a delay will still allow an on-time arrival. Drive safely so you can continue to enjoy many years of RV travel.

                               

First, wear seat belts and shoulder harnesses without exception. They may not prevent the collision, but they will increase the chance of survival. Second, drive well ahead of your vehicle. A major benefit of an RV is visibility because of the height. Take advantage of this benefit by watching oncoming traffic. If something seems amiss, start reacting immediately. Slow down and move to the right. (This is another advantage of not having vehicles beside you.) Flash your lights. Even if these moves don’t avoid the collision, they will reduce the impact. Weather is a major factor in many head- on collisions. Always avoid driving in the inside lane of a freeway, particularly in reduced visibility. Wrong-way drivers are more frequent during low visibility, and most often will be driving in your inside lane in the wrong direction. Stay right. Especially, watch for wrong-way drivers at freeway entrances. Intersections are where more accidents happen than in any other driving situation. At intersections, vehicles are beside and behind you, and there are oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, curbs—all of which need to be negotiated by a 40- to 60-foot vehicle. Negotiating intersections requires more attention to detail than any other driving task. When is that traffic light

                                              

                

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