Desert Captain
Payson
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Joined: 02/19/2011
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Highway 87 aka the Beeline Highway runs north from Mesa {just east of Phoenix} north 75 miles to and through Payson continuing on to provide a good route for the RV crowd to the I-40 corridor {Flagstaff, Winslow and Holbrook}. From Mesa it is good 4 lane {with wide paved shoulders} of mostly divided highway. It does however have a lot of steep climbs {6 to 7 percent} as it winds up through the mountains.
We live in Payson and drive it often for our frequent trips to the Phoenix area. Yesterday I had an 1100 appointment at the VA Medical Center and planned some shopping while we were in Phoenix. The forecast accurately called for heavy rain throughout the day and they got that spot on.
About 20 miles south of payson and in heavy rain some fool from the shallow end of the gene pool blew by us doing 80+ mph. My bride and I noted that we would look forward to seeing this moron receiving a ticket somewhere down the road... he should have been so lucky.
On a long 6 percent downhill he lost control on a right hand sweeper. The rear end smashed into the concrete barrier which propelled him at a 90 degree angle across both lanes and the shoulder into the the opposite barrier. He spun back across both lanes and between the debris that used to be the front and rear ends of his car blocked the entire highway straddling the line between the lanes.
We were about 6 cars and one large truck back and in just minutes the Beeline was shut down with the backup stretching for miles {no alternate routes are available, everyone was stuck}. Volunteers cleared the debris and a dually pickup managed to tow the car far enough to finally clear one lane and the road was partially opened after 30 minutes.
As we crept past the wreck the driver was laid out one his back, a blanket covering him from his chin to to his feet. Eyes closed he was not moving and a man was carefully holding his head with both hands. I'll never know if he survived, frankly I doubt it but when I told another driver that he had blown by us at 80 + {in a 65 mph zone in heavy rain} he said that moments before the wreck he had just passed him doing closer to 90.
Ten miles further south we came across another bad wreck involving 3 northbound cars two of which looked to be totaled. Several hours later as we returned home we encountered 3 more wrecks... at the first multiple northbound cars had been cleared and we got by OK. 20 miles later the southbound lanes were closed due to another involving at least two cars and then we came across a large box truck laying on its side blocking all of one lane and a portion of the other but we were able to skirt around it.
Folks these were wrecks, not accidents. Excessive speed and and lack of the proper following distance were all too obvious throughout out our trip and the consequences were tragic. While the Beeline is generally pretty good road for all types and sizes of RV traffic give yourself plenty of time and think twice if the weather is severe {and it often can be}.
Because there are no alternate routes {frontage roads or intersecting highway} once the Beeline gets shut down due to a wreck it is difficult/next to impossible for emergency vehicles to respond. After 30 minutes there were still no LEO's or paramedics on the first scene and those that we encountered further down the highway were all involved in other wrecks.
Be safe out there... no reason not to. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/eek.gif "eek")
Just sayin,
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way2roll
Wilmington NC
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Chaos? Were they driving or pulling RV's? Trying to understand the correlation to the forum.
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bgum
South Louisiana
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They were driving like fools on the highways we DRIVE/PULL our RVS on. Thereby endangering others lives.
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mleekamp
Washington, IL
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I get it. It's just another reminder, pulling / towing / driving our RV's or not, that we must be fully aware of our surroundings at all times. Nothing you could have done to prevent him from hurting himself...but I guess we can be glad he didn't seem to hurt anyone else.
And I agree it's a wreck not accident....90 MPH on a dry sunny day is still asking for trouble, let alone heavy rain doing 80/90.
He must have been using rain-x ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/awink.gif "awink")
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toedtoes
California
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Most law enforcement, etc, no longer use the word "accident". Instead they use "crash". Because in 95 percent or more of incidents it was not an accident.
I am always amazed at how some people drive.
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dapperdan
Milwaukee
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Of all the places to get stupid, I guess that’s what happens when you lose respect for the road. Being from the Midwest that’s type of highway that one needs to pay attention on especially in bad weather conditions! I hope the person you saw survived and hopefully those that witnessed those crashes take something positive away from those incidents!!
Unfortunately there’s a lot of bad drivers most everywhere. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/frown.gif "frown")
Dan
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Desert Captain
Payson
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way2roll wrote:Chaos? Were they driving or pulling RV's? Trying to understand the correlation to the forum.
Where the heck is spell check when you need it? ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/doh.gif "doh")
The subject of driving the Beeline/Highway 87 comes up from time to time as it is a major RV access road. Many question whether or not it is too steep, traffic flow etc. so I felt sharing this experience could/would be instructive/useful to a segment of this Forum.
Also hopefully it will serve as a reminder to all of us {including me} to back it down a tad especially in inclement weather.
![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/cool.gif "cool")
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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toedtoes wrote:Most law enforcement, etc, no longer use the word "accident". Instead they use "crash". Because in 95 percent or more of incidents it was not an accident.
I am always amazed at how some people drive.
Because you're around alot of LEO's and "crashes?" Lol
Maybe in your infinite toes, you can tell us exactly what the differentiator is between an "accident" and a "crash." If any traffic law was broken, is it not an accident? If it was caused by someone else, is it not an accident because you can't be sure they didn't do it on purpose?
Nevermind, no one actually cares....
But we should start a thread about all the people who drive too slow, too. They cause accidents, I mean crashes, sometimes too.
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RetiredRealtorRick
St. Augustine Beach, FL
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way2roll wrote:Chaos? Were they driving or pulling RV's? Trying to understand the correlation to the forum.
This is not a real question......right?.....can't be serious......can it?
Somebody introduce this guy to Captain Obvious.....PLEASE!
. . . never confuse education with intelligence
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dedmiston
Coast to Coast
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RetiredRealtorRick wrote:way2roll wrote:Chaos? Were they driving or pulling RV's? Trying to understand the correlation to the forum.
This is not a real question......right?.....can't be serious......can it?
Somebody introduce this guy to Captain Obvious.....PLEASE!
I think the point has been made (more than once now).
Let's please move along.
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