TTQ B4U Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Some of you know my wife and I have property in the NW and plan to eventually move there. We go there often for vacations and to see our family and over the years our family has been close and friends with many in the Springfield/Eugene area of Oregon. Monday we got word via a frantic call that our good friends and neighbors there were involved in a serious accident while vacationing. Sadly they lost their son and a nephew due to a careless semi-truck driver whereby texting is suspected but not yet confirmed. Their son Cyrus (who was ejected from the vehicle was killed instantly) was sleeping in the back bed with his 15yr old cousin as the family headed towards Flagstaff, AZ. The cousin was lucky that he escaped with only minor injuries. The other cousin who was killed was having breakfast and at the table with his sister in the center of the RV as they talked about what they were going to do at their next stop. The remaining family and parents were towards the front of the RV and while some seriously injured lived and are dealing with the losses at hand. A brother and sister each lost a child that day in a split second at no fault of their own. We knew them well and I watched the boy grow up over the years and enjoyed time with him. My son is a bit in shock as are my wife and I. Not sure what I expect by sharing but perhaps if the story and reality of this resonates with just one more person and one more cell / text message are left to be addressed later, another family just might actually make it back from their vacation without harm. Today marks the day it's really hit home for me and thus I have made the decision to put my phone in "drive mode" going forward. GPS is fine but other than that, I think I'll just put my phone calls aside and enjoy the time behind the wheel without yet another distraction. Thanks for reading and bearing with my grief. Here's the story for those that are interested in following it. http://www.abc15.com/news/region-northern-az/other/dps-2-13-year-olds-die-in-crash-on-northern-arizona-roadway http://media2.abc15.com/photo/2016/06/28/motorhome_1467159131093_41272417_ver1.0_640_480.jpg http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/d206d7dc2d214bf5a65d2d605cee210e2b9a9c4f/c=4-0-3260-2448&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2016/06/28/Phoenix/Phoenix/636027496063980951-IMG-0173-2.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Damn that is terrible, man I feel for those parents, worst fear in life. Wow. Heartbreaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 That is a HORRIFYING story. I truly mourn for the family. Sorry for their loss and your family's grief, Tim. It's been said and worth mentioning: hearing about the senseless loss of innocent children has definitely been the source of most of my heartbreak as a parent these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiji ST Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Holy shit! So sorry for your loss Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 That is a HORRIFYING story. I truly mourn for the family. Sorry for their loss and your family's grief, Tim. It's been said and worth mentioning: hearing about the senseless loss of innocent children has definitely been the source of most of my heartbreak as a parent these days. Exactly this. Sorry to here, Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sol740 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 I'm truly sorry to hear this, I can't imagine how devastating this must be to a family. My condolences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dammit Charlie Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Absolutely horrific. I'm so sorry for your loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 For those who want to take action; there's lots of controversy regarding the autonomy of driverless vehicles and their impact on the world economy, but with the current shortage of long haul truckers causing unnecessary risks to occasionally be taken, this sort of thing serves as a source for action. Write your congresspeople, write your leadership, and do what you can to support businesses that are investing in autonomous driver technology. While I don't like the idea of losing the ability to drive my own car and have fun, I don't believe there's any need for long haul truckers in today's economy. Driverless trucks will use fewer resources and pose less of a threat to the safety of other drivers. My thoughts are with the family, with you OP, and hopefully some good can come of this tragedy, like the attention Dom Tiberi brought to central OH regarding texting/driving after the death of his daughter. EDIT: Just read the article and saw the age of the truck driver. 25 years old is certainly an adult, but this adult was unable to control his truck and killed 2 young boys. The age of the driver is an indication of what I wrote above; the market for long haul truckers is desperately undersupplied and as a result, some otherwise "non-competitive" candidates are probably being handed the keys to some expensive and heavy equipment with less than ideal training. tragedy no matter how you cut it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 I'm sorry Tim, I hope your family heals from this sooner than later. On a somewhat related note - I saw a woman on my drive home from work texting in traffic with her baby in the back seat. I became very frustrated with her. You can always identify a texter by their leaving late on acceleration and braking extremely early to avoid collisions. Just you wait until you finally mess up. Hopefully the baby survives and still has a mom too. They piss me the f*** off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 For those who want to take action; there's lots of controversy regarding the autonomy of driverless vehicles and their impact on the world economy, but with the current shortage of long haul truckers causing unnecessary risks to occasionally be taken, this sort of thing serves as a source for action. Write your congresspeople, write your leadership, and do what you can to support businesses that are investing in autonomous driver technology. While I don't like the idea of losing the ability to drive my own car and have fun, I don't believe there's any need for long haul truckers in today's economy. Driverless trucks will use fewer resources and pose less of a threat to the safety of other drivers. My thoughts are with the family, with you OP, and hopefully some good can come of this tragedy, like the attention Dom Tiberi brought to central OH regarding texting/driving after the death of his daughter. EDIT: Just read the article and saw the age of the truck driver. 25 years old is certainly an adult, but this adult was unable to control his truck and killed 2 young boys. The age of the driver is an indication of what I wrote above; the market for long haul truckers is desperately undersupplied and as a result, some otherwise "non-competitive" candidates are probably being handed the keys to some expensive and heavy equipment with less than ideal training. tragedy no matter how you cut it, though. here's the part I don't understand, My CAR has Adaptive Cruise Control, plus Collision Avoidance systems where my car will automatically apply the break if I don't, it will automatically correct me if I start veering off the road, etc... WHY AREN'T SEMI TRUCKS REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS??? My car is 6 years old and does this and it works flawlessly... simple things like this as well as that guy staying off his damn phone could have possibly saved this families life as well as my counsin's (on my wife's side) who was hit by a semi truck driver when he fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road and struck my cousin while he was operating heavy machinery on 71 north bound. We have all this technology yet it's not required to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace1647545504 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Losing children is not the natural order of things , my sister has lost all 3 of her children, 1 still-born and 2 in accidents....Yes it sucks mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 here's the part I don't understand, My CAR has Adaptive Cruise Control, plus Collision Avoidance systems where my car will automatically apply the break if I don't, it will automatically correct me if I start veering off the road, etc... WHY AREN'T SEMI TRUCKS REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS??? My car is 6 years old and does this and it works flawlessly... simple things like this as well as that guy staying off his damn phone could have possibly saved this families life as well as my counsin's (on my wife's side) who was hit by a semi truck driver when he fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road and struck my cousin while he was operating heavy machinery on 71 north bound. We have all this technology yet it's not required to be used. the short of it is because money. too many decision makers promoted because networking rather than via merit, can't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS69 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Tim, Sorry for the loss, I can't even understand the feelings for all involved. Prayers out to all. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Semi truck drivers glued to their phones are terrifying. Often on vacations I hear other truckers bitching about other drivers just eyes on the screens over the CB. I figure they are side by side just seeing if the other driver has their CB on. "Theeese mutherfackers just texting away...." "Look-at-dat...still got is facking head down...." "Cant even keep it in the lane..." ect. Very sad. Not saying its more OK at all to do in a car, but a semi is some serious hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Reason #243 why I don't want kids. I'm not sure I could deal with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted June 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Thanks everyone. To Austin's point it is extremely tough. I've been on and off emotional all day thus I can't imagine how my friend/father is doing. I've not talked to him as he just can't....not yet. The wife spent some time on the phone with us tonight. She is released with some broken ribs and a wrist. Her other son is being released tomorrow but has a fractured skull and some broken ribs. Thankfully the younger boy, age 10, doesn't remember anything from that day. He doesn't yet know about his brother. They are waiting to meet with counselors tomorrow before they tell him and that's not a for sure yet given the extent and possible impact with his head injury. Our brother in law and sister in law who are also close with them flew down from Oregon to help. My wife may head out west here soon too. Really terrible thing. Even tonight on the way back from dinner I saw people texting on Sawmill while rolling in traffic. Nothing "official" has come back from the investigation but the the trooper on-site eluded to distracted driving and said there was enough present to warrant taking the guys phones - he had two and his GPS unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 here's the part I don't understand, My CAR has Adaptive Cruise Control, plus Collision Avoidance systems where my car will automatically apply the break if I don't, it will automatically correct me if I start veering off the road, etc... WHY AREN'T SEMI TRUCKS REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS??? My car is 6 years old and does this and it works flawlessly... simple things like this as well as that guy staying off his damn phone could have possibly saved this families life as well as my counsin's (on my wife's side) who was hit by a semi truck driver when he fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road and struck my cousin while he was operating heavy machinery on 71 north bound. We have all this technology yet it's not required to be used. Heavy trucks are spec'd a lot different than cars and they are incredibly expensive. You can get ACC and ESC on most (if not all) new trucks but I'm not sure how many actually buy it. More recently they can demonstrate a fuel economy savings if they fuse it with a GPS map, which makes the payback quicker and more will opt for it. They need electronic power steering to do lane keeping. Not only are people texting, but truckers are using laptops (I believe legally) and running on less sleep. This story is incredibly sad and it hits me hard. I can't image losing one of my kids. I hope they all find the strength to get through this, no doubt with the support of their friends and family. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 I hate to admit that I am someone who will typically respond to a quick text while driving, but this story did it for me man. I got 7-8 texts last night on the way home from work and didn't read a single one. Same thing this morning...2 texts on my way in, didn't even bat an eye. It makes me sick to see these stories and I hope if nothing else, it gets just one more person to "take the vow". Thanks for sharing, Tim- you'll be in my families thoughts and prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8tn Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 man....this really hits home for me. I tow our 5er all over and these stories are always in the back of my mind. I have 3 kids and wife in the truck and to be honest it scares the shit out of me knowing how much responsibility I have when towing and how easily people can be taken from you while traveling. Thoughts and prayers go out to those families. I can't imagine the pain their in and hope I never have to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Heavy trucks are spec'd a lot different than cars and they are incredibly expensive. You can get ACC and ESC on most (if not all) new trucks but I'm not sure how many actually buy it. More recently they can demonstrate a fuel economy savings if they fuse it with a GPS map, which makes the payback quicker and more will opt for it. They need electronic power steering to do lane keeping. Not only are people texting, but truckers are using laptops (I believe legally) and running on less sleep. This story is incredibly sad and it hits me hard. I can't image losing one of my kids. I hope they all find the strength to get through this, no doubt with the support of their friends and family. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk Don't make it an option but a requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Alex- Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 My parents own a funeral home and a monument business, so I deal with death literally every day. Hearing about the death of a child never gets easier. My thoughts are with you and all friends and family involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKilbourne Posted July 1, 2016 Report Share Posted July 1, 2016 I have no idea how anyone could deal with the loss of a child. My aunt passed at 40 from cancer. My good friend lost his 19 year old son to cancer. I still remember how I felt when he passed and I didn't have kids yet. Side note, the morning after I heard about Kenny passing my wife came into the bedroom to tell me she was pregnant with our daughter. Life just sucks sometimes. I don't know that I could handle losing one of my kids. I hope you can find a way to support your friends and yourself through all of this. Very sorry to hear this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted July 2, 2016 Report Share Posted July 2, 2016 The auto-braking and steering systems don't do nearly as well with vehicles that bend in the middle, have wildly variable weight and load distribution, and are 60+ feet long. Airbrake ABS is inherently less precise as well, and until that is replaced with another system, that's going to be a big hurdle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted July 3, 2016 Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 Man this is very sad, sorry for your family's loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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