Texas family dies while driving to Disney

[mi*vida*loca]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Driving long distances worries me - getting tired, dealing with kids, other drivers, etc. my risk tolerance has lowered as I've gotten older. We're always buckled up in the car and make sure belts are snugged up. I have a back up camera and sensors and still make my kids be quiet when backing up or tricky traffic so I can concentrate. Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Once I get into NC, SC and Georgia I can't go more than two hours without feeling very sleepy. Those states are just so boring and all highway.

My kids bicker too much now and I know it wouldn't be a pleasant ride.

 

[AUTUMNSAM]

My prayers are with the family, so sad. My son, DIL and 2 grand daughters left today and are on the road to Disney as I type this. Please keep them in your prayers and anyone else driving this holiday season!!! My god protect them. We fly out on Sat. to meet them.

 

[LMN]

This story makes me SO SAD. I especially feel bad for this poor 16 year old who will relive this whole scenario over and over and over again for the rest of his life. My oldest is 17 and we let him drive a little on one of our most recent drives to Disney, but I never would have let him drive at night- only daytime. We have been guilty of doing overnight drives from Austin to Orlando when we've had 3-4 adults in the car. We didn't think too much of it at the time. I'll definitely think twice before doing it again. Even overnight when the kids are asleep, we make them sleep upright or leaning against the locked door with their seatbelts on. The worst part about this accident is that it was so preventable! Ugh- makes my heart hurt!

 

[lmcarr49]

We leave for any and all trips when the sun comes out. We do not drive at night. We get hotel rooms in those instances.

 

[msdaisy]

This family is from a town not far from my own. I am an insurance agent, and I have seen many accidents over the years. It doesn't really do any good to make judgements. We have all made mistakes in life. I'm sure if they could do it over again....

I am guilty of peeking at a text or two, and I know better due to my profession. My prayers go out to their family and friends.

 

[Bellanota]

I am leaving Sat to make the drive from VA to FL... i have made the drive from VA to TX and from VA to FL a couple of times and I am always super careful... The kid stays buckled and I know I have to pull over for stops... but this is a huge fear every time i get on the road.. no one thinks it can happen to them, but it does... my heart goes out to this family.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

According to this article, some of the children were step children. Prayers going out to the parents that lost children.

The family's Chevrolet Tahoe was carrying eight people, including the couple, their children and step-children. Six of the eight occupants were ejected because they were not wearing seatbelts, police said.

 

[njmom76]

So sad. We drove to FL from NJ this summer. Everyone stayed buckled. We al so made sure both adults were awake while driving as it is safer - I typically recognize my husband's tired cues before he does. Once we were both too tired to drive - we got a hotel for the night.

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[kerplop]

We leave for any and all trips when the sun comes out. We do not drive at night. We get hotel rooms in those instances.

We're the same! We leave just as the sun is about to rise (so 6:30-7?) and drive 12 hours the first day, but there are two of us who do 3 hour shifts at it. And then we stop and get a hotel room! I remember a few years ago on the east coast another family was killed on the way to WDW, though I don't recall now what happened.

 

[wendy1974]

Prayers for the family. It's definitely not worth trying to save time by driving overnight. Get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep and leave early in the morning. I'm not an overnight driver and have only been on one trip where I was with friends who wanted to drive overnight and was so worried the whole way I couldn't sleep.

 

[pmaurer74]

I also think about the kids who lost their teachers too.

 

[larryz]

Very sad news.

 

[Dis703]

I also think about the kids who lost their teachers too.

I was thinking this as well. Our school lost a 2nd grade teacher just last month. It's so hard for the kids. And this mom taught Kindergarten. So very sad these kids have to go through this.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

...

We know several families that drive through the night to Florida. One drives while the others sleep. Not saying this is what the family was doing, but it would be the likely reason they were unbuckled.

...

So if the family was driving through the night, then it makes sense that they were unbuckled? I can't keep quiet on this one. If you need to be unbuckled to sleep then you need to be out of a moving car to sleep - the law doesn't say wear your seat belt except to take a nap!

Prayers for all affected - I know it's generic but this ripples into areas we can't even imagine...

 

[conandrob240]

Sorry for this family.

But who allows an inexperienced 16 yr old to drive a full carload of people on a highway in the first place? And at night?!? And if they do allow him to drive, how on earth is there not an adult supervising/ staying awake to talk to him so that he doesn't fall asleep? And who allows children to drive without car seats or seat belts? Especially given the fact that an inexperienced driver was behind the wheel.

So, yes, life is fragile and can be taken away at any minute. But this is more an example of what NOT to do behind the wheel of a car.

 

[wareagle57]

While it is not smart, I do understand why people would be unbuckled so they can sleep in the back. But I don't understand at ALL why the passenger (surely one of the two parents) would not be buckled in the front seat.

But it doesn't matter. We don't know what happened or why. What we know is that 6 people are dead and many more people's lives are affected because of it. It happens every day but it's heart wrenching to hear about it when families and children are involved.

 

[LBIJim]

Sorry for this family.

But who allows an inexperienced 16 yr old to drive a full carload of people on a highway in the first place? And at night?!? And if they do allow him to drive, how on earth is there not an adult supervising/ staying awake to talk to him so that he doesn't fall asleep? And who allows children to drive without car seats or seat belts? Especially given the fact that an inexperienced driver was behind the wheel.

So, yes, life is fragile and can be taken away at any minute. But this is more an example of what NOT to do behind the wheel of a car.

Yep...shaking my head....so unnecessary...and so preventable. (Although I'm not sure if it was reported that both parents were asleep at the time.)

 

[subtchr]

This story is unbelievably tragic.

As a family, we never do overnight drives, because neither DH or I feel comfortable doing it, and we'd be so tired when we arrived we wouldn't gain any advantage.

In my job as a tour director for bands and choirs, I often have overnight bus trips, from the midwest to Florida or NYC, and many other routes. I have been doing this job about 7 years, and I've gotten very good at "reading" my drivers. These are professionals, so most are prepared and experienced at driving through the night, with the legally required rest time beforehand. But they are still human, and if I get the feeling that they need my help to stay alert, then I don't sleep at all. I talk to them throughout the night. Yes, that means I am exhausted when we arrive, but my priority is the safety of my group, so I can handle some tiredness.

My heart goes out to the survivors of the crash, especially that young driver, plus their families, friends, students, and everyone else whose lives they touched.

 

[Priory]

This certainly adds perspective to some of my petty complaints/disappointments/freak-outs during this trip planning process.

 

[tajz90]

So if the family was driving through the night, then it makes sense that they were unbuckled? I can't keep quiet on this one. If you need to be unbuckled to sleep then you need to be out of a moving car to sleep - the law doesn't say wear your seat belt except to take a nap!

Prayers for all affected - I know it's generic but this ripples into areas we can't even imagine...

We stay buckled at all times. It doesn't make sense, but it might explain WHY.