Van goes over EW highway - 2 dead

[tommy525]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... u1bv8&NR=1

2 year old boy critical , parents died after van goes over the side on EW highway. Be careful on those mountain roads.

[E04teacherlin]

Did the guy really fall asleep or should we consider speeding. Or both. Or drunk driving. or what. Listening to news reports are not always an accurate indication of what happened. You have a kid and a wife in the car, concentrate!

[Confuzius]

Did the guy really fall asleep or should we consider speeding. Or both. Or drunk driving. or what. Listening to news reports are not always an accurate indication of what happened. You have a kid and a wife in the car, concentrate!

Yah, I don't buy the falling asleep at the wheel for a few reasons:

1. Wouldn't wifey have noticed?
2. He fell asleep at a pretty bad time, he was driving fine until the curve came around.

I bet he simply wasn't paying attention, you watch the video and he is driving fine, in his lane, then keeps going straight, like he was looking for his pack of smokes, changing the radio station or playing angry birds at the exact wrong time (that being while driving!)

[AmoyMama]

That is truly terrible. Poor little baby.

Falling asleep at the wheel is certainly possible--you only have to doze off for a split second for a tragedy to occur, especially on a winding mountain road. And no, his wife may not have noticed--she may have been looking out the window, distracted by the child, asleep herself, etc.

[Omniloquacious]

Falling asleep at the wheel is certainly possible--you only have to doze off for a split second for a tragedy to occur ...

Yes, indeed. My dad fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving home from the airport after a long flight. He was cruising fast and his car swerved into a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle. His Rover 2000 was a write-off, but luckily neither he nor my mum were badly injured. I saw his car after the accident, and the windscreen where his head hit it was as concave as a pregnant woman's belly. It was hard to believe that he didn't suffer any head injuries or even concussion, just cuts and bruising on his forehead and a couple of broken ribs. The fellow in the other vehicle was less fortunate, suffering severe injuries. My dad pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and was deeply ashamed of it as the only blemish on his otherwise perfect 40-year driving record.

I've always kept that in mind and been extra careful about driving when I'm tired.

[E04teacherlin]

Falling asleep at the wheel is certainly possible--you only have to doze off for a split second for a tragedy to occur ...

Yes, indeed. My dad fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving home from the airport after a long flight. He was cruising fast and his car swerved into a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle. His Rover 2000 was a write-off, but luckily neither he nor my mum were badly injured. I saw his car after the accident, and the windscreen where his head hit it was as concave as a pregnant woman's belly. It was hard to believe that he didn't suffer any head injuries or even concussion, just cuts and bruising on his forehead and a couple of broken ribs. The fellow in the other vehicle was less fortunate, suffering severe injuries. My dad pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and was deeply ashamed of it as the only blemish on his otherwise perfect 40-year driving record.

I've always kept that in mind and been extra careful about driving when I'm tired.

Great point.
Better point would be if you had a 2 year old who called you daddy and you had responsibilities, NEVER drive tired.

[asiababy]

My mother dozed off at the wheel when driving the mountain roads in NZ. I was next to her and happened to notice, right before we hit a bridge. Luckily, I was able to yell at her in time and she braked enough we only grazed it, rather than what would have happened if I had turned my head a second or so later. We are all just a split second away from tragedy more often than we care to think about.

[nemesis]

Our brakes decided to die while we were driving down a mountain (c/w terrifying hairpin turns) about three months ago. Luckily, my hubby was driving, and managed to shift down and pull the emergency brake to slow down, then ran into a power pole before plunging to our deaths over the next turn. I wouldn't have known to do that, so am soooo glad he was driving! We got to ride home in our car on top of a tow truck doing hairpin turns at night in the fog. Highly unrecommended. For these people, it may have been a problem with the brakes or steering, too, rather than the driver.

[fh2000]

Many a time, when I felt sleepy, I would try to sing, pinch, yell out loud, open the window let the cool air in, etc. None would work. I found that the only thing that has slight effect is to chew gum. Drink a lot of coffee helps too, not because of the caffeine, but this forces me to stop often to find bathrooms.