the changing climate and interstate travel

[Rocketman]

I live in AR, but I'm far enough north that we got mostly snow, but they didn't do a good job with that either. I don't feel like there is a need for southern states to invest in all the equipment that the northern states have unless we have more of these crazy winters.

It does seem to me that the southern states should stockpile more of the materials (salt, sand, chemicals). We probably have enough equipment to distribute the materials although we may not be able to get it out as fast as the northern states, we should be able to do a LOT better.

As for the regional crews. I think you may be onto something there. You could keep several millions dollars worth of equipment very busy for 1 or 2 months out of the year, well at least during the 1 or 2 bad years out of 10.

 

[Moot]

Rocketman, I defer to you. You were there and I wasn't, but in my experience 2 to 4 inches of ice is a tough row to hoe.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Why not just have private contractors on stand by contracts? Surely they love the extra work...

 

[scottm4211]

I just don't think it makes a lot of sense to jump the gun because of a couple of bad storms in southern states.
Fix the effin roads first.

 

[denny2010]

i agree with layoutshooter........shovels in hand.....but not political correct....lol

 

[layoutshooter]

Road salt alone starts to become ineffective at around 20F. Much below that and you have to "sweeten" it with other chemicals. Direct sunlight and friction from tires can help it as well.

Break out the shovels, no need to have people sitting on their duffs collecting FREE money. They can earn it like the rest of us. I me, after all, WE are paying them out of OUR pockets. We should get SOME kind of return on our money!!

 

[Moot]

Why not just have private contractors on stand by contracts? Surely they love the extra work...

Yeah, kinda like the custom combine crews that work your neck of the prairie. They could travel west to east following in the path of the storm. They could even work up into the snowbelt states offering relief to weary overworked snowplow drivers. Come harvest time they could park their snowplows and climb into the combines.

O beautiful for snowy skies,For amber waves of grain,For blackice pavement majestiesAbove the frozen plain!

 

[scottm4211]

Give Carny workers something to do in winter

 

[layoutshooter]

"Expedited" snow removal crews, good idea!! I wonder if someone will pick up on this? Lots of out put money wise to start. That will be a big draw back. I don't know about the helping out in snowbelt areas, most of those state crews are union, I doubt that they will go for that sort of "help".

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Road salt alone starts to become ineffective at around 20F. Much below that and you have to "sweeten" it with other chemicals. Direct sunlight and friction from tires can help it as well.

Break out the shovels, no need to have people sitting on their duffs collecting FREE money. They can earn it like the rest of us. I me, after all, WE are paying them out of OUR pockets. We should get SOME kind of return on our money!!

Yes..In my salting days for the DOT salt is redundant at cold temps......I just followed the plow and dumped almost pure sand with about 10% salt....at daybreak because the salt will now become active...we'd switch over to 100% salt and just literally dump it on...

 

[RoadKing06]

That is a very nice feel good statement but in the real world placing a value on life can not be avoided.[/QUOTE]

Yes I am very well aware of the real world and the value that is placed on human life or actually the lack of value placed on it. You see we are the parents of one of those statistics out there. We lost our son due to the incompetence of the railroad.
My son hit a train in our rural area where we live. It was Dec. 22. 2000 we lost our 4th child who had only been 18 for a month. It was 9pm at night very dark out and the wind was gusting causing almost white out conditions in patches.
The railroad crossing that he hit the parked train that had been sitting there for 3 hours blocking the crossing had that particular crossing registered as to have had gates and lights for over 3 years at the time of our son's death. When in fact there were no lights nor gates at that crossing.
The train car that he hit was a white car so it blended in with the landscape, until the last minute.
He did see it just before hitting the train. He swerved his car so that the driver's side of the car took the brunt of the force from the crash. He did this to save the life of his girlfriend who walked away from the accident with a broken collar bone.

She went to get help and had to crawl under that parked train in order to go to the nearest house for help which was over a 1/4 mile away. The people there wouldn't answer their door, so she had to go further down the road for help.

When the railroad was trying to defend themselves from blocking a crossing for over 3 hours they tried to say the train was moving at the time of the collision. That would have made it very difficult for the young lady to go for help wouldn't it.

The reason I tell you this story is to say I know what value big companies and government places on human life when it comes to safety of the general public. It is very easy to say that you have to weigh the cost of things before doing what is practical for safety. My son was part of the cost of a law that requires train cars to have reflective tape on them in order to be seen at night.

I am sure the families who lost loved ones during that ice storm wouldn't care how much Arkansas had to pay in order to have put rock salt down if it would have saved their love one's life.

Sometimes things isn't about numbers, sometimes it is just simply about being smart and proactive.

Sorry didn't mean to sound like a crazed woman here. But I hate how people have to die before things get accomplished, especially things that are so common sense and would save the lives of people.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[layoutshooter]

I am sorry about your loss. Things like that are hard. I lost one of my grandfathers to a "bad" company.

As to the salt problem in Arkansas. I don't know if it that easy to fix. It would be difficult for them to stockpile salt. It is very hot and humid down there and it would go bad after just one or two summers. It is almost impossible to get salt on short notice. Most northern states order it over the summer and the mines are working over time in winter to keep up with the "spot" orders that come in. It can take as much as 2 to 3 weeks for orders to get filled. I don't think that there is an easy solution to this. IF these kinds of winters become a trend that will become easier to deal with.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

i would also say...after the first inch of ice...what the heck these trucks even doing out there?...and if it were like 2-4 inches why didn't the state close the highway in W. Memphis instead they left it open to cause this mess and make it even worse...total lack of coordination on the states part...

 

[layoutshooter]

Also a lack of brains on the part of some drivers. When it gets bad, I stop. No excuse for running in extreme conditions. It is the responsibility of each driver to get off the road as soon as possible even if the state has not closed the road. Carriers are to blame as well. They should be far more proactive than they are. They ALL claim that safety comes first. THEY should be watching weather patterns, change routing to avoid bad roads if possible or get their trucks off the road if they cannot. The blame can be spread across the industry and the state governments. In the end, every driver should take responsibility for his or her self.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Also a lack of brains on the part of some drivers. When it gets bad, I stop. No excuse for running in extreme conditions. It is the responsibility of each driver to get off the road as soon as possible even if the state has not closed the road. Carriers are to blame as well. They should be far more proactive than they are. They ALL claim that safety comes first. THEY should be watching weather patterns, change routing to avoid bad roads if possible or get their trucks off the road if they cannot. The blame can be spread across the industry and the state governments. In the end, every driver should take responsibility for his or her self.

Basically..that is what it all boils down too...

dare i say...common sense....

 

[layoutshooter]

Basically..that is what it all boils down too...

dare i say...common sense....

There are lots of "cowboys" out there that just have to "get 'er done" no matter how bad it gets. NOTHING stops them, they are BETTER than the rest and not even ice can stop them. I seem them in the ditches all the time. With any luck they did not take out someone with them.

Many times I have been passed by a truck or 4 wheeler that blows by me at, or above, the speed limit in a snow or ice storm. I am looking for the first place to stop, they are "getting it done" at highway speeds. Go a mile or two up the road, and there they are, in the ditch. I poke along to the first exit, get off, go to sleep and start back up when the roads are cleared and it is SAFE to drive.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I can understand..."to a point" that some drivers have to put food on the table and pay the roof over their families head and the load they are on will do that and make the pay check.....You and I are not quite that bad off and have more leeway to make the call.....it is a tough one for some.

 

[layoutshooter]

I can understand..."to a point" that some drivers have to put food on the table and pay the roof over their families head and the load they are on will do that and make the pay check.....You and I are not quite that bad off and have more leeway to make the call.....it is a tough one for some.

Even harder when they lose their truck or get killed. There is little leeway when safety is concerned. Yeah, it can be tough. I know, I have been there more than once in my life and most likely will be there again. I have never used that as an excuse and will not in the future. They should also keep in mind that when they do wreck, and they are likely too if they keep that attitude, that there is a good chance that they will take out some others with them. What about the family of that guy they killed while "getting 'er done". Are they going to support them?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Even harder when they lose their truck or get killed. There is little leeway when safety is concerned. Yeah, it can be tough. I know, I have been there more than once in my life and most likely will be there again. I have never used that as an excuse and will not in the future. They should also keep in mind that when they do wreck, and they are likely too if they keep that attitude, that there is a good chance that they will take out some others with them. What about the family of that guy they killed while "getting 'er done". Are they going to support them?

Joe..this is just one of them issues that could be debated back and forth all day....what is right for one is not right for another and so on....
The way this situation appears the way it was...they should have headed for the sidelines a lot sooner or the troopers just take that choice away from them.

 

[layoutshooter]

Joe..this is just one of them issues that could be debated back and forth all day....what is right for one is not right for another and so on....
The way this situation appears the way it was...they should have headed for the sidelines a lot sooner or the troopers just take that choice away from them.

Yeah, but it drives the post count up!! Most of the time we should be heading for the sidelines faster than we are. We should not HAVE to depend on troopers to take away that choice. Like you said, common sense. Like I said, personal responsibility. When you lose those you should not be on the road.