Oops! There goes the tarpaper.

"Oops! I think I lost a roll of tarpaper back there by the intersection."

"Better go back and get it or the Boss will be mad. I think I'll just turn around here in the middle of the highway and I don't care who I run into."

"Dang! It has transfats"

Maybe this could wait until getting home?

Captain's Log - Star Date . . . .

Captain's Log, Star Date 2942.7. Scottie and I beamed down to Earth in response to an urgent call from Scooter, (it only takes a nano-second). Scottie noticed that a red car had just pulled out of a side street and into the middle of two double yellow lines. Scooter thought the red car was going to accelerate, using the area as a merge lane, so he slowed down to let the red car in.


Instead of accelerating, the red car hit the brakes, thought about it a second and then accelerated. In the meantime, the white car behind Scooter must have gotten fed up with the situation and passed him on the right side in the grass.

Scooter was too flabergasted to write this Blog and asked us if we would post it. Scottie and I beamed right back up, (out of danger), and sent in the post via InterStellarNet mail. We aren't going to beam down again for a long time.

A Dog's Life

Sometimes I actually envy a dog. . . .

Don't Want to Deal With Either One!

Interesting how both of these businesses are located together. Think about it.

Some Days are Clear and Beautiful

Another beautiful South Carolina day. Notice the tank near the middle-right of the picture above?

It is 13 miles away, (measured by GPS). The tank is near the intersection of I-26 and I-77 as seen from Horrel Hill, (Highway 378 between Columbia and Sumter).

Run a Red Light??

This is why I'm not the slightest bit interested in EVER running a red light!

Merge Mania

The right-of-way rule for merging goes like this. "If he's bigger than you, it doesn't matter."

Lane Switcher, and Switch again, and .....

Monday morning and this driver can't wait to get to work! Here he is is switching lanes in the middle of an innersection and both cars ahead are the same distance down the road. He had been doing this for the last 5 miles and not getting any farther ahead of me than this.
Impatience is the root cause of a lot of motor vehicle accidents. He must be running low on patience to be driving like this.

Wanna Go Fast?

If you like speed, get a car like #6 and see if you can stay on the track with David.

They're Everywhere! They're Everywhere!

School buses are out everywhere. Give them plenty of space and respect. There is precious cargo in there.

Foggy Foggy Morning

I can't criticize this driver for being on the road in this fog. I was there too!

Smart Jogger!

This jogger is running in a low traffic area near Columbia's "Bomber Stadium". This is the "go home rush hour" believe it or not. The traffic isn't bothering him and he isn't bothering the traffic.

Variations on the "Cut-Through" theme.

Yup, a good intentioned driver let this car come out of the gas station on the right only to aid the "cut-through" driver in making a real hazardous situation. You can see several cars bearing down on him. He scooted out into the flow and as he went by I could see the whole family in the car with him.

Be the time you get to South Carolina, your tires are shot.

Tires and Treads Everywhere!

It's embarrassing when visitors come to see me and ask, "Why are there so many tires on the roads here"? I usually tell them the humorous line in the title to this post. I can't bring myself to tell them the real reason, "People don't care enough to stop and pick up their tire debris." It seems to be mostly from big trucks, but there are some pickup tires and passenger car tires around too. It really spoils the charm of this beautiful state.

Lawn Hater?

Does this guy just hate lawns?

One fine Monday morning at my work place, I see the maintenance crew out pouring sand into the tracks left over the weekend by somebody. Going up to the top floor, I got this shot.

Being a previous accident investigator for the USAF, (and curious as to what happened), I wandered outside to see how this was done. The driver went over the curb by the fire plug without having the brakes on, (just drove up on the lawn). Broke through an underground pipe, (see the hole close to the fire plug?), and proceeded up the slight hill consisting of a boggy, soft lawn, (in two-wheel drive; front wheels I think). Coming to a stop and spinning a bit, the driver eased up the lawn a ways before cutting the wheels to the right and exiting the lawn over the curb.

For fun or accidental, this is not commendable.

Not the way to start your day

Bad Bad Day!

What a way to start the day. This is on a long, straight stretch of road through swampland. It's boring alright, but it still isn't a good idea to get through it as fast as possible.

The South Carolina Troopers are good people. I have the pleasure of knowing one personally and I've had them stop to help me when I needed it. I had a flat tire in a high traffic area. A motorcycle Trooper stopped and gave me some protection with a blue light. When I went to put the tire on the rack on the back of my SUV, I found out it was too hot to handle with bare hands. The Trooper picked up the tire with his gloved hands and put it on the rack for me. Is that help when needed or what!

On another occasion, they responded to a cell phone call I made about an 18-wheeler with a set of duals on the trailer which were blown out and the trucker was barely able to keep it on the road. The Troopers had him stopped in less than 10 miles! There is no doubt in my mind that they kept the rig from swinging and slapping a car right off the road.

I was so impressed by the rapid intercept of this truck, (good work by both the Dispatcher and the Trooper), that I wrote a letter of thanks to the Chief of the South Carolina Troopers. After checking the facts, he wrote back to tell me he would put a copy of my letter in their official records. They do a great job in often difficult conditions. They deserve our thanks and appreciation.

Keep It Clean!

Clean tires, clean windows, clean everything. A nice sunny day to cruise around in your big ol' Truck! Pickups are built to take a pounding, and hopefully you won't need that capability in traffic!

Celll Phone Talk Preventer!

If you have the habit of talking on your cell phone when you are driving, do what this driver did. Chew bubble gum, (and blow bubbles). This lady was good, making a new bubble about every 20 seconds or so, (yes it was a long red light).

Who can blow bubbles and talk on the cell phone at the same time? Like the rest of us, I can't even chew gum and walk!

Click Image For Larger View

Pick A Lane, PLEASE!

It would be most helpful if the truck driver would make some indication as to which road is intended. . . . . Turn signals are the usual method.

Following Too Close

Sometimes drivers follow WAY to close. S.F. trolly cars can follow as close as they want!

Bumper Snickers

San Francisco, 2005. You can find great bumper snickers everywhere, but San Francisco has the best!

Construction Hazards

Ever notice what's going on above you when you pass under highway construction? Some projects make me cringe when I go underneath and notice workers up on top swinging hammers or other tools.

On this particular work site, a welder was working and sparks were dropping down on me when I drove under.

Not too much you can do about it when you get this close. Obey the speed limit, watch for signs, workmen, and other hazards. If it's your daily commute, try to use another route.

Picture taken by passenger.

Don't Do This

We have all seen this, or maybe done it ourselves. The truck on the left has stopped to let the oncoming white vehicle to pass through to a gas station on the right.

Sounds like a safe and courteous thing to do doesn't it? Well, it can create an accident. I did the same thing a few years back, but the vehicle I let through didn't stop to check for traffic coming up beside me. You guessed it, a collision happened a second later beside my right front fender. The vehicle I let through was struck by a sports car with a really angry and innocent driver that couldn't see the vehicle rushing through and couldn't stop in time.

I don't do this any more. I get an ugly, glaring look from the drivers which I don't let through. They don't know I'm just trying to help......

Too Fast for Anything

It was a clear morning in 2004, (notice the gas prices), when I was slowing up for the traffic light. I noticed some motion and a cloud of dust to the left of the light. An SUV had gone from the right side of the picture, (see rectangle around the cars on the right), through the intersection, and hit the traffic control box, (rectangle near the center), coming to rest in the blank spot on the left. The box was torn loose from it's mounts on the concrete pedestal, and the traffic light stopped working, (of course).

Click for a larger view.

The SUV's two front wheels broke on impact and splayed out flat when it stopped. I pulled my car off to the left into a bank parking lot and ran to assist the driver along with 2 or 3 other people. The driver was so shaken he could not do anything but grip the steering wheel and stare straight ahead. Someone got him to unlock a door and we asked him if he was OK, but he wouldn't respond. He was very fortunate he didn't get hurt or hurt anybody else.

I always wondered what caused him to go across the intersection and hit that box. Maybe rushing to get through the light before it turned red? Hmmmm.

Not Everybody Can Do Acrobatics With Their Vehicle

How do some drivers manage to do this? The SUV in this picture was driving along a 4 lane divided highway the morning after an ice storm. Admittedly, it is hazardous driving, but how did it manage to cross a ditch and stop upside down near a farmer's field.

Maybe the driver was going a little fast??