Anyone who has ever driven Interstate Five Southbound into Los Angeles over the pass knows the road is in serious need of help. Any truck driver or motor home driver who has ever driven in the slow lanes knows that it is dangerous and damaging to equipment due to the bumpy ride. It is no wonder that a 35-vehicle pile up was recorded in October of 2007 during the first rainstorm of the fall season.
The truck by-pass coming down the hill at the 14 Freeway Interchange has a blind tunnel and the road is very bumpy there. With the bumpy road and wet slick conditions and the state of disrepair and utter incompetence of those in charge of maintaining the California mountain pass into Los Angeles along this main artery that extends from Canada to Mexico - the victims were doomed before they started.
My self, well, I was pretty beat up driving along those bumps and pulled off the freeway, parked my Motorcoach in the Wal-Mart Parking-lot in Valencia, CA only 1.5 miles from the Calgrove exit that night. Instead of cruising down the hill, we went to Starbucks and had coffee, before calling it a night. Why? Because we agreed that the possibility for accidents somewhere along that grade, that night was 100%. In fact, my passenger even said that - wow.
In hindsight, it is scary how true that was. At Starbucks we met some California Highway Patrol, who left Starbucks at about 10:45 PM, 15 minutes or so before that big wreck. We talked about the fact that it would be a long night, they agreed due to the first rain and the weather, and the Friday night issues. Little did they know that in 15-20 minutes they would be responding to a multi-car, multi-truck pile-up, with multiple deaths.
You know we live in the greatest nation in the World, but we need to make it better and with a 793 Billion Dollar Transportation Bill that was passed last year, well, you would just think they could do better than that. Are they sorry for their piss poor performance?
Tell it to the families of those who gave their lives, because of the incompetence and the poorly maintained roads. No, I am not calling for a lawsuit, I am not a lover of lawyers, but what I am saying is that we deserve better roads for all we pay in taxes. Sincerely, Lance.
L. Winslow is an Economic, Political and Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur http://www.worldthinktank.net . Currently Mr. Winslow is planning a bicycle ride from Canada to Mexico and in Spring across the US from San Diego to Virginia Beach to raise money for charity. Previously he was a track star athlete, private pilot, involved in politics, community volunteerism and a Franchising Founder. Mr. Winslow has choosen 100 titles of Books he wishes to write and has completed ten thus far. The subjects include; Community Planning, Future Tech, Franchising, Small Business, and Third World Issues.
Tags: deaths, died, Interstate 5, maintenance, Preventable, Transportation Bill, Truck Pile Up, Tunnel, US