Life Saving Information... Please Read!!!

[MickeyMouseGal]

There was a horrible accident near my home town this morning. A man was changing a flat tire on the expressway and was hit by a semi. He was killed instantly. As you can imagine, it was a terribly violent death for the poor man and basically, they had to hose down the road after his body was removed. *graphic description intended*

So, if you EVER have a flat tire on a major highway, do NOT try to change it on the road. My Dad works on cars for a living, and my family has been taught that if you ever find yourself in that situation, pull over into the emergency lane/as far right as possible, and drive slowly to the nearest exit or side road. According to my Dad, it will not damage the rim to drive a short distance on a flat or shredded tire. If the man mentioned above had done the same thing, he would be alive tonight. By the way, he was killed just a few hundred yards from an exit with a service station. Sad.

 

[Aidensmom]

That is awful!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Please pass it on. Many people try to change the tire on the side of the road. This is totally unsafe. Get youself to a safe place first and as long as you go slow, it won't hurt the car.

 

[tmt martins]

I totally Agree DW has instuctions to just drive slow and get off the Highway at all cost .

If the rim gets damaged I can get a new one with the tire no big deal.When driving at high speeds when you see something you veer in that direstion most of the time this is how these things happen.

I drive on the 495 (washington D.C.) to 95 to 695 (baltimore) and see this all the time.

Same thing if car breaks down and you can get up off of highway on embankment do that as well if not just stay in car do not get out.

 

[nwdisgal]

Excellent advice and thank you for passing on this advice. We had a flat the other day and fortunately were near a parking lot.

 

[lucyanna girl]

DH and I own a small trucking company. This is what we tell our drivers.
If you must stop on the interstate DO NOT DO IT ON THE ROADSIDE! Go to an offramp - cross over to the onramp side and stop there. Cars entering the onramp side are not going as fast as those exiting.

 

[twinklebug]

Seems every year you hear about police being hit and killed in a similar fashion. Shame is, if a police officer flashes you to pull over, you have to pull over asap. I'm positive that they would not take kindly to you traveling a little down the road to a safer spot, looking out for their own good.

 

[Minniespal]

That is terrible.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[TSR6]

Seems every year you hear about police being hit and killed in a similar fashion. Shame is, if a police officer flashes you to pull over, you have to pull over asap. I'm positive that they would not take kindly to you traveling a little down the road to a safer spot, looking out for their own good.

Actually, In some cases they don't mind.

I asked a Wisconsin State Trooper this at a presentation he was giving.

He told me that he would not mind a driver staying on the highway for a small distance if there is an exit ramp coming. However, he said to make sure to signal ( arm wave, thumbs up ) and turn on your flashers to indicate that you intend to pull over, and keep it under a mile.