It's Raining, Slow Down!

I don't know how the weather is in August where you live, but in Alabama, it is thunder showers almost every afternoon. You can almost set your clock by them. I have been caught in several of these showers and have been amazed and surprised by how people drive.

First let me say, I have lost one car off the interstate back in AUGUST of 1985, landing in John Wayne Davis cow pasture. You flip and roll a car one time and walk away from it, you are branded for life.

Two times in as many weeks, it has been the newer, what I call muscle, man trucks that have been the victims and how they ended up in one of these squalls that spring up here. The first was on I459 traveling south and this guy passed me going at least 20 mph faster than I was traveling at the time. It was a 4 door Toyota Tundra, big tires, 4 doors, tool box, fully chromed to the gills. I watched him pull away for me in the far left lane and soon he was out of site. Shortly I came into a curve and there was steam and smoke about a mile or so ahead of me.

All the traffic in all lanes had slowed or come to a complete stop. The Tundra was sitting with the rear tires up on the 4 foot high median separating the North and South bound lanes. He was climbing out of the cab and fortunately was the sole occupant. But his muscle truck was bent in the middle, sitting 4 feet or more in the rear, hanging off the concete barrier. He was shook up and cars in the far left lanes had stopped and were helping him and making that cell phone call to 911 to get him help. He was lucky.

Let's call this guy lucky #2. Again, same senario, but this time a black, 4 door, Ford 150 and with the dealer tag still on it. He was traveling south on I65 with an Adamson Ford dealship tag flapping as he scurried by me. The rain had just started and it looked like this young man was taking his new truck home or about to show it off to friends. I watched him leaving me in his wake, when all of a sudden, his tires turned loose in the rear, and he began spinning around, taking out two or three smaller cars traveling along with him. He snagged on one of them and flipped on the passenger side, sliding along until it came to rest up against the concrete barrier.

Help was directing behind him and three guys climbed on the truck on the drivers side and lifted the door so he could get out. All the lanes stopped as his truck knocked the smaller cars all over the place. I pulled off on the far right but again the driver was lucky and was only shook up. It appeared all the other cars were OK, but all would need towning. Everyone appeared to be OK and soon he was standing beside his truck and I can only imagine the words coming out of his mouth.

Slow down folks. That is oil and grease on the I/S and it slicker than owl manure until it has rained enough to wash it off. Drive safe! Jeff