I-75 South in Pasco closed after trucks crash

Update: Due to the damage to the road, the southbound lanes are expected to remain closed until at least 6 p.m., troopers said. Asphalt must be replaced.

Southbound traffic on Interstate 75 in Pasco County is shut down this morning after a fiery crash involving a semitrailer and dump truck near State Road 56.

Neither driver was injured, troopers said.

Southbound lanes are expected to remain closed until noon, troopers said.

Motorists will be diverted onto State Road 54 (exit 279). Traffic south of that exit and north of the crash will be diverted back to State Road 54 or southbound on the shoulder to State 56 to exit.

Other motorists should avoid roads in the area.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash occurred about 6:30 a.m.

According to investigators, the tractor-trailer was traveling south in the outside lane of I-75 in a construction zone, where it collided with a crash attenuator, troopers said.

The collision caused the truck to partially jackknife and collide with the center median guardrail, troopers said.

The dump truck, traveling behind the tractor-trailer, was unable to stop or avoid a collision, striking the rear of the tractor-trailer, troopers said.

Both drivers were able to exit their vehicles before a fire erupted on the tractor-trailer.

The tractor-trailer, operated by Pat Salmon & Sons of Jacksonville, was transporting mail, troopers said.
 

Lucky Corvette driver survives trailer crash that experts call too common

A fortunate Chevy Corvette Z06 driver in California last week came away from a horrifying crash with only a few scrapes and a story he'll never forget after smashing into the rear of a semi trailer — exactly the kind of crash that a new report says results in death too often, due to lax standards for the trailer guards that are supposed to protect drivers.

This accident, caught by the Los Angeles Fire Department on Interstate 405, wasn't fatal thanks to the Corvette driver ducking just as his car rammed into the rear of the moving van. As the pictures from the department's Flickr page show, the Vette was destroyed by the impact, as the car dove under the trailer nearly into its rear axle. In the photo above, you can see the trailer guard jutting from the wreckage of the Corvette, which it sliced like a mandoline.

Those underride guards are mandated by the United States and Canada on all semitrailers to help prevent such accidents, and according to new research from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, they usually do a better job of stopping cars. Such crashes claimed 280 lives in the United States in 2011, the most recent data available, and by the IIHS' reckoning, most were due to cars sliding under trailers.

But the IIHS says those guards perform far worse when a vehicle strikes them off-center. To demonstrate, it staged several crash tests using parked trailers from eight manufacturers and 2010 Chevy Malibus ramming them at 35 mph. All passed the full-on tests, and seven of eight successfully handled crashes where the car hit just one half of the trailer.

Overturned truck-trailer causes backups on Howard Frankland

Traffic heading into Pinellas County on the Howard Frankland Bridge is backed up due to an overturned truck-trailer partially hanging over the railing.

The westbound right lane (Interstate 275 South) is blocked nearly halfway across the bridge, causing significant backups into Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Eastbound traffic toward Tampa (I-275 North) is also slow. The incident occurred shortly before 8 a.m.

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

Put the phone down!

Although it was already against the law for truck drivers to use their cell phones while driving, many states don’t have the same law for regular commuters. I have to say I don’t quite understand why the FMSCA thought it was a good idea to ban cell phone use for truck drivers but some states have yet to implement the law on everyone else, but I digress.

It came out a few days ago that Alabama is now the 38^th state to prohibit texting behind the wheel. The new law signed by Gov. Robert Bentley takes effect on Aug. 1, and violators will be fined $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third or subsequent offense. Pretty cheap tickets for such a dangerous act, but it’s a start. Just like speeding tickets, I’m sure it will rise over time.

The thing that worries me is how do you catch someone? Of course if you’re driving and someone rear-ends you and openly admits they were on their phone they can get a ticket, but what about everything else? Are police just supposed to look at drivers on the road and see if their phones are out? And I have a bad feeling that this could make it worse.. People who text and drive generally hold their phone right in front of their face so they can glance back and forth from the phone to the road quickly. Stupid yes, but painfully obvious their texting to passersby. Simply making it a new law may prevent some drivers from texting, but what will the others do? They will now hide their phones in their lap so you can’t see what they’re doing – it will just look like their looking down. But if they’re looking down, then they have even more ground to cover from their lap back to the road in front of them.

Personally, I think they should ban ALL cell phone use while on the road and you can only talk if you have a hands-free set. That way there is no discretion and it becomes more difficult to hide what you’re doing. Have your phone out when you’re driving = ticket. The changing of technology has to mean the changing of roadway laws. We should want our roads as safe as possible, and cell phones have no place in a driver’s hands.

Driver being sought in a hit-and-run in Plant City, Florida

Car accidents are always a tragedy. No matter the circumstance or the people involved, they are always a tragedy. This past Wednesday, May 2^nd a married couple driving on Interstate 4 near Plant City was cut-off by an aggressive driver. I have previously shared my feelings about road rage and this is the main reason I feel so strongly about it. What was so important to the driver of this unidentified car that they needed to cut-off a SUV while driving on the interstate? The answer is nothing. NOTHING is so important that you need to drive aggressively.

The couple swerved into the emergency lane trying to avoid a collision with the car that cut them off, then overcorrected and collided with a semitrailer. Neither of them were wearing their seat belts and they were both ejected from the vehicle and died later at the hospital. The driver of the semitrailer was not injured.

And what did the person do that caused this ghastly crash? Kept right on driving. They had to be aware of the accident they just caused and they didn’t even have the decency to stop. Two people are now dead and this aggressive driver is the cause. My heart goes out to their loved ones and I am sending this out as a friendly reminder that being on the roads can be a dangerous place and running a few minutes late is not the end of the world. If you’re late, then you’re late. Drive carefully and think about the other drivers on the road as well as yourself.

Authorities in Tampa are searching for a dark colored compact car in connection with the crash. Witnesses should call troopers at 813-631-4020.

Read the full story here.