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Keep right except to pass, regardless of the weather conditions.
As a retired trucker that spent many miles and hours on I-80 here are some of my pointers to help motorist reach their destinations safely.
1) Pay attention to weather forecast. If you don't absolutely have to drive in the bad weather - don't; why take a chance. Sometimes hours can make all the difference where you might leave early to avoid a coming storm or leave later after the storm is over.
2) Pay attention to changing conditions when driving. Watch your windshield and rear view mirrors. If ice is starting to build on cold, rainy, days; you could be on black ice. Especially pay attention to the road spray coming off other vehicles - when the spray stops and the road gets quiet; then take your foot off the gas and slow down (don't panic and brake hard).
3) Slush is very often overlooked as one of the major dangers on our roads. No matter how many wheels you have driving your vehicle; three or four inches of slush can easily hydroplane you out of control. In my experience I feel I saw far more accidents caused by slush than black ice. People fear black ice but, with 4WD and AWD vehicles they think they can go through any conditions and they end up wrecked! Many times our interstates will have only one open lane and these, go in anything vehicles, will not wait behind slower vehicles - bad move!
4) Take alternate routes when available. From the Poconos our dispatchers would give us a choice in inclement whether to travel to the Harrisburg area. We could go over the top (I-80 to I-81) or the southern route (33, to 22, to I-78, to I-81). Sometimes the storms would come up from the south and it was 'safer' to travel over the top and many times the northern route was more dangerous because of snow, ice and fog. But this takes us back to 1) "Pay attention to weather forecast." Avoid when possible.
I drove on I 80 just east of there in early January and saw three tractor trailers that had skidded off the road and were left there in trees or off the road. One actually crossed the divider area and ended up heading in the opposite direction on the other road, narrowly missing rolling down an off ramp.
I hate I 80. In a driving rainstorm, cars were flying doing 70 MPH with low visibility. They fly during snow squalls. Trucks seem to be the main causes of accidents. They can't stop or they leave the road. Maybe its sleep deprivation, maybe its distracted driving. Plus at night, deer cross and I've seen them disable a tractor trailer from the impact.
I drove on I 80 just east of there in early January and saw three tractor trailers that had skidded off the road and were left there in trees or off the road. One actually crossed the divider area and ended up heading in the opposite direction on the other road, narrowly missing rolling down an off ramp.
I hate I 80. In a driving rainstorm, cars were flying doing 70 MPH with low visibility. They fly during snow squalls. Trucks seem to be the main causes of accidents. They can't stop or they leave the road. Maybe its sleep deprivation, maybe its distracted driving. Plus at night, deer cross and I've seen them disable a tractor trailer from the impact.
I have a friend whose parents were driving out that road. They stopped to change positions, and her mother was hit by a truck...killed, awful...they do drive awful on those interstates any more, way too fast for weather conditions....I don't know what is wrong with people that they don't have more sense than that?
Honestly? When ever I hear about a pile up, it really annoys me, b/c people get killed in those...and still it doesn't slow people down?
I watched one on FB, someone had video tapped it, maybe you've seen it? It was extremely foggy and it looked like an interstate, and people were sliding all over the place, they could not stop, going way to fast for conditions.
I've said this before and will say it again, people don't know how to drive safely any longer. They run red lights, coast thru stop signs, text and talk on the phones constantly, and drive way to fast for conditions...so totally oblivious to anyone else.
And as far as a deer, people also tail gate, driving way too close to the person in front of them, oft times on my way to work, it's dark, and you always have these arse holes who have to drive right on your tail. It's a back country road, lots of deer.
We're getting a storm starting early tomorrow morning, into tomorrow until noon. So, we'll see...
I narrowly missed a white-out about ten years ago, in which six were killed. I too hate the interstate not because of the road, but because of the drivers. As for the deer, there was an incident where someone hit a deer, and the person behind him who was following too closely was killed by it. The truck that hit catapulted the deer into the air, and it crashed through the windshield of the person behind.
I narrowly missed a white-out about ten years ago, in which six were killed. I too hate the interstate not because of the road, but because of the drivers. As for the deer, there was an incident where someone hit a deer, and the person behind him who was following too closely was killed by it. The truck that hit catapulted the deer into the air, and it crashed through the windshield of the person behind.
yeah, it's crazy....and scary, I'm not afraid to drive in snow or bad weather, it's the crazy drivers....
One time I was traveling interstate, from West to East, and it was pouring down raining, I got behind this rig who was driving very sensibly, and followed him all the way thru....
but honestly, there are people on the road that I swear got a mail order drivers license from PEP Boys.
I drove on I 80 just east of there in early January and saw three tractor trailers that had skidded off the road and were left there in trees or off the road. One actually crossed the divider area and ended up heading in the opposite direction on the other road, narrowly missing rolling down an off ramp.
I hate I 80. In a driving rainstorm, cars were flying doing 70 MPH with low visibility. They fly during snow squalls. Trucks seem to be the main causes of accidents. They can't stop or they leave the road. Maybe its sleep deprivation, maybe its distracted driving. Plus at night, deer cross and I've seen them disable a tractor trailer from the impact.
If we have one good slushy snow look at who has skidded off the road. It is usually the 4WD's or AWD's that thought they could go anyplace.
Of course there are some bad truck drivers; like there are bad car drivers. However; truck drivers are constantly tested. Many of us have (in my case 'had' since I am retired) to go through random drug screening. Constant vehicle inspections that can cost us dollars or our license. Physicals every two years to see if we are healthy enough to drive. We also have to drive safely in front of other 'professional' drivers because they will report their own for driving tired.
I am not saying that trucks are not dangerous. I lost one friend, driving a truck, to truck tire that came off another truck. Also my sleeper team partner was almost killed from a 2X4X8 that came off a lumber truck as it went past - it missed his head by 6 inches. Everything on most commercial trucks could be potential lethal weapons at highway speeds - which is a very good reason not to tail gate. When I was young and dumb I was too close to a commercial truck when it blew a tire and the retread rubber flew over the top of my car - that could have been fatal because that rubber weights almost 100 pounds.
By the way, when I use to drive 100,000 miles/year I hit several deer during the years I drove. Most did no damage to the truck. However; one did hit our Achilles heel - our brake line fittings. Trucks depend on air pressure to apply our brakes and also to keep our brakes off. It is the safety system - we loose air pressure and our brakes come on from powerful springs. We have small brass fittings where our airlines attach to our brake chambers and they can snap off from impact with a deer carcass. We then loose air pressure and our brakes come on. So, if you ever see a truck hit something (like a deer), give them even more space.
As a retired trucker that spent many miles and hours on I-80 here are some of my pointers to help motorist reach their destinations safely.
1) Pay attention to weather forecast. If you don't absolutely have to drive in the bad weather - don't; why take a chance. Sometimes hours can make all the difference where you might leave early to avoid a coming storm or leave later after the storm is over.
2) Pay attention to changing conditions when driving. Watch your windshield and rear view mirrors. If ice is starting to build on cold, rainy, days; you could be on black ice. Especially pay attention to the road spray coming off other vehicles - when the spray stops and the road gets quiet; then take your foot off the gas and slow down (don't panic and brake hard).
3) Slush is very often overlooked as one of the major dangers on our roads. No matter how many wheels you have driving your vehicle; three or four inches of slush can easily hydroplane you out of control. In my experience I feel I saw far more accidents caused by slush than black ice. People fear black ice but, with 4WD and AWD vehicles they think they can go through any conditions and they end up wrecked! Many times our interstates will have only one open lane and these, go in anything vehicles, will not wait behind slower vehicles - bad move!
4) Take alternate routes when available. From the Poconos our dispatchers would give us a choice in inclement whether to travel to the Harrisburg area. We could go over the top (I-80 to I-81) or the southern route (33, to 22, to I-78, to I-81). Sometimes the storms would come up from the south and it was 'safer' to travel over the top and many times the northern route was more dangerous because of snow, ice and fog. But this takes us back to 1) "Pay attention to weather forecast." Avoid when possible.
Great advice. I drive I-84 and I-81 through PA a lot (just came down there last week actually) and I have been in a lot of snowstorms, icy conditions, slushy conditions, whiteouts, etc. there and many other places north/south/east and west of there.
I have a lot of truckers (not all of whom are perfect, mind you but there are lot of great ones out there) to thank for my safety going north on I-81 in winter from NC to the Canadian border over the years, many of them in the PA hills. When there were sudden unexpected storms, they have helped me get to an exit (which can be few and far between in those parts) more times than I can count by going slowly and steadily, and being a beacon in the night for me with their back lights all on through whiteouts that I was scared to even pull off the road to avoid. I am pretty sure they knew I was there and did what they did not just for themselves to stay safe but to guide people behind to safety. I always keep as much distance as I can while making sure I am still able to see the truck in front but when the snow got thicker or I was forced to slow a bit for some reason and nearly lost them a few times they slowed down so I could catch up a bit.
I am constantly checking weather forecasts and I now get right off the road as fast as I can when there is any stupid traffic or really bad weather. I encountered that situation this time a bit further east in Rhode Island on I-95 - at one exit the snow was beginning to fall and people sped up. I got off to get gas and check weather .. was told that it wouldn't stick for a while so I got back on and went a mile or so before I saw a bad accident that had just happened - 4 vehicles torn apart and most in the ditch - and the road was suddenly very slushy and yet people were still going well over the speed limit. I got off at the next exit and took a room for the night. Next day all was fine and clear again. And I was right to go on the further north route to I-81 too because apparently the storm that hit the east on my latest trip didn't do much damage that far up this time - in many spots I didn't even see any snow along the roadside through PA.
Great advice. I drive I-84 and I-81 through PA a lot (just came down there last week actually) and I have been in a lot of snowstorms, icy conditions, slushy conditions, whiteouts, etc. there and many other places north/south/east and west of there.
I have a lot of truckers (not all of whom are perfect, mind you but there are lot of great ones out there) to thank for my safety going north on I-81 in winter from NC to the Canadian border over the years, many of them in the PA hills. When there were sudden unexpected storms, they have helped me get to an exit (which can be few and far between in those parts) more times than I can count by going slowly and steadily, and being a beacon in the night for me with their back lights all on through whiteouts that I was scared to even pull off the road to avoid. I am pretty sure they knew I was there and did what they did not just for themselves to stay safe but to guide people behind to safety. I always keep as much distance as I can while making sure I am still able to see the truck in front but when the snow got thicker or I was forced to slow a bit for some reason and nearly lost them a few times they slowed down so I could catch up a bit.
I am constantly checking weather forecasts and I now get right off the road as fast as I can when there is any stupid traffic or really bad weather. I encountered that situation this time a bit further east in Rhode Island on I-95 - at one exit the snow was beginning to fall and people sped up. I got off to get gas and check weather .. was told that it wouldn't stick for a while so I got back on and went a mile or so before I saw a bad accident that had just happened - 4 vehicles torn apart and most in the ditch - and the road was suddenly very slushy and yet people were still going well over the speed limit. I got off at the next exit and took a room for the night. Next day all was fine and clear again. And I was right to go on the further north route to I-81 too because apparently the storm that hit the east on my latest trip didn't do much damage that far up this time - in many spots I didn't even see any snow along the roadside through PA.
I did not become a trucker until later in my life. I also spent many trips following the tail lights of truckers. What I did not realize, until I started trucking; was that truckers do have better visibility in some cases. Fog is an example. Sitting four feet higher in the trucker's seat makes a difference: Earth Sense: Visibility becomes a challenge when driving in night fog. "When one drives in fog at night, the headlight beam causes a gazillion reflections on the water droplets in the air. Turning on the high beam makes it worse. If a vehicle has low-mounted fog lamps, they can help some because the reflections occur below the driver’s line of vision.
This is why truck drivers often have better visibility from their high perch than people in cars. Riding a motorcycle in these conditions turns out to definitely be a poor choice."
I only drove for 15 safe years. I knew some truckers that had driven for 30 years and one trucker that had driven for 40 years without one accident. But the world is changing and we have more distractions on our roads than we ever had. This wave of opiate addition cannot help. Perhaps we need random drug testing for all drivers on our roads?
There is one other problem with I-80: Although PennDOT is responsible for snow and ice removal on the entire road; it varies from one district to another how they respond. Besides that I-80 is over 300 miles long in PA and driving conditions and snow/ice accumulations vary as you cross our State. Drivers can easily be mislead when they leave one point thinking that it is safe to continue their travel - it doesn't always work out that way.
I still liked traveling on I-80 compared to traveling on I-87 north of Albany. I have been in worst white-outs traveling up to Plattsburg, NY. The winds could rally howl in the Adirondacks and I had many trips where my wipers could not keep up with the snow. Then I would be in a bind because it was disorienting and hard to determine if I was stopping to clear my wipers while facing an uphill or downhill section of road. If I choose wrong I might not be able to get my rig moving again without waiting for the plows or chaining up.
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