Wednesday, April 6, 2011

'Perfect Lady' Shouldn't Have Been Driving At All

The stretch of I-68 between the I-79 junction and the Maryland state line is gaining (or has already gained) a reputation for carnage. Possible reasons include:

1) Since the surface roads in Morgantown/Mon County are either inadequate, in a deplorable state of repair or altogether nonexistent, many locals use I-68 (and I-79) for quick hops. Moving from 35 or 45 MPH on a city street to 70+ MPH on an Interstate sounds simple enough but many of these drivers display an appalling lack of care or awareness when entering or exiting the freeway. They fail to signal, fail to accelerate adequately (many of the vehicles appear to be incapable of reaching freeway speeds) and of course fail to check their mirrors. The result is a daily series of harrowing near-misses and panic lane changes by those already in the travel lanes (and many of them aren't paying attention either) with a knock-on effect for those in the left lane and those yet to arrive at the merge point.

2) Terrain. Although Interstates are built to certain specifications with regard to sightlines, steepness of grades, etc., routes such as I-68 must pass through mountainous regions. The long hill from Exit 1 (University Ave.) to Exit 4 (Rt 7/Sabraton) is as straight as a sunbeam but its grade and length can and do cause issues for drivers who find themselves well above the speed limit (going downhill) or well below (going up) along with the usual issues of trucks carrying heavy loads effectively blocking half the travel lanes.

3) Unfamiliarity and Inattention. I-68 is the preferred route west for many traveling out of the DC area, especially compared to the expensive and constantly under construction PA Turnpike. But I-68 ends abruptly in Mon County and drivers must travel about 60 miles north (to Washington PA) in order to continue west on I-70. From their erratic driving it's clear that the I-68 terminus generates confusion (even though one only has two choices - north or south!) among out-of-state drivers (most of them sporting MD plates). For those heading home (i.e. east) to MD and beyond they apparently believe I-68 is the 'home stretch' and can be seen topping 80 MPH in the mistaken belief that it's about one hour (but in reality three) to the DC metro area.

The warm months mean migration and tourism and on this stretch of I-68 it also means a regular series of rollover accidents (especially near Exit 4), many involving fatalities.

But back to point #1. Earlier this week a 78 year old lady entered the eastbound lanes of I-68 at Exit 1 (University Ave.). She merged into the right lane. A large truck was in the left lane. This lady decided that a) she needed to be going west, b) that making a U-turn on semi-blind hilltop would be a safe maneuver and c) that she could do so without regard to any other eastbound vehicles. And so she jerked the wheel to the left attempting to reach a median crossover (i.e. the kind labeled 'for emergency vehicles only') and was immediately struck by the large truck. The driver of the truck had nowhere to go and nearly zero reaction time when this obstacle appeared in his lane.

The 78 year old woman, Nellie Kinsley, was killed, sadly. But the story doesn't end there especially when the Dominion Post is about.

Today's edition (April 6) has a front page story on Kinsley headlined 'She was perfect in every way' (a quote from a family member). The bulk of the story is typical of family members who have lost a loved quite suddenly as they remember a sunny disposition etc. But tucked among the fond farewell are some very revealing - and frankly maddening - quotes.

Her sister says "We just can't imagine how this ever happened." Well I wasn't there but I can definitely imagine how! Ms. Kinsley was operating her vehicle in an unsafe manner and made an incredibly foolish decision at a critical moment!

Ms. Kinsley's son, who lived next door, readily admits that "She shouldn't have been driving." (!?!?). But, he says, "she liked being independent" and "there was no quit in this lady." Well, that's all right then! By all means cheer her fighting spirit as she endangers lives simply by taking the wheel. If the son knew of her physical and/or mental liabilities why didn't he step in to prevent her driving, especially when he was next door?

This is not to heap scorn on a grieving family but the myopia here - reported and printed without any sort of objectivity or questioning by the DP - is staggering. What if their indulgent attitude towards a woman incapable of operating a vehicle safely, particularly at high speed, had caused the death of the trucker or caused a chain reaction accident that resulted in more injuries or deaths?

Taken a step further, instead of relying on police and EMTs called out to yet another grisly after-the-fact scene on I-68, why isn't the DMV taking a more proactive role in determining senior and/or disabled citizens' fitness to operate a vehicle? Why are untold dollars funneled to logistics and overtime for DUI checkpoints that make a mockery of the 4th and 5th Amendments while producing a miserable catch rate in terms of arrests vs. the number of cars passing through the checkpoint? Why do we see police vehicles traveling 90+ MPH while the officers chat away on mobile phones? Why do we get lectures about "aggressive driving" by otherwise capable drivers but hear very little about "clueless driving" by those making unsafe lane changes, driving too slow for conditions, impeding traffic flow, etc.?

"Accident" is a convenient catch-all term but from the family's own lips it's clear there was nothing accidental about this very preventable death.