Bad accident

Wait . . . You guys were big rig drivers?

CanuckBob wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:Maybe trucks should only be allowed to access the Ribera by entering at Chapala?

It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a tractor and 53' trailer to make the right hand turn out of Chapala onto the caraterra.

With the CocaCola & Corona Plants just around the corner... I would suggest to you, the Libremento was built for commercial truck traffic, and not as an alternate route for old gringos' convenience...
I doubt they will be rerouting trucks anytime soon....

just say'n

You're right.

I also heard today that there was a fatality in the pipa truck crash and it was a doctor from Chapala. Anybody know more about that?

Trailrunner wrote:I also heard today that there was a fatality in the pipa truck crash and it was a doctor from Chapala. Anybody know more about that?

The doctor that was injured very seriously is Dr. Victor Manuel, he has been in a hospital in Guadalajara since the accident. Ricardo got an email this morning asking for prayers for him and his condition was very serious. He hasn't heard anything further...I hope he didn't die.

Thanks, B. I hope so too. How sad. Prayers and love to the family. What a tragedy.

Also saying a prayer and I'll add him to our prayer circle.

I never really paid any attention to the signage on the Libremento however yesterday I noticed they actually have a sign prohibiting the use of the engine brake (jake brake) at the top of the hill. This is so absolutely ridiculous it is beyond insanity. That's like telling a 747 they can't use their "reverse thrusters" when they land and hoping they don't go off the end of the runway.

Trailrunner wrote:Wait . . . You guys were big rig drivers?

No I was a straight rig driver with two axles like the wrecked trucks and some ten wheeler work with dump trucks with three axles.   Semi has a different license in US.  Instead of a big rig I drove mostly things like the coke or pepsi trucks around here. I also spent a lot of time like many of us driving old non synchromesh farm trucks. I can double clutch up and down with the best of them. Well maybe not now lOL.

CanuckBob wrote:I never really paid any attention to the signage on the Libremento however yesterday I noticed they actually have a sign prohibiting the use of the engine brake (jake brake) at the top of the hill. This is so absolutely ridiculous it is beyond insanity. That's like telling a 747 they can't use their "reverse thrusters" when they land and hoping they don't go off the end of the runway.

Crazy, huh? That sign is probably a knee-jerk reaction to complaints about jake brake noise from Chapala Haciendas and the other fracs that have to listen to it.

Bob, I got an incredible video last night on FB from a Mexican friend and I'd love to share it here if I can figure out how to extract it. If I can, I'll get it to you to see if you can post it. It's horrific to watch, apparently filmed from the HSB bank area.

Send me a link via e-mail and I'll see if I can find a way.

CanuckBob wrote:I never really paid any attention to the signage on the Libremento however yesterday I noticed they actually have a sign prohibiting the use of the engine brake (jake brake) at the top of the hill. This is so absolutely ridiculous it is beyond insanity. That's like telling a 747 they can't use their "reverse thrusters" when they land and hoping they don't go off the end of the runway.

Our RV was heavy, had air brakes and a Jake brake. We would occasionally see such signs on downgrades approaching quiet little mountain villages, etc. If you were to obey those signs, there is a very good chance that you might not be able to control your speed with just the air brakes, which could result in roaring through their village at high and dangerous speeds, or not making it at all; as was the case with the pipa truck, it seems.
Those signs and local ordinances are criminal and dangerous. We always ignored them and drove safely.

Trailrunner, your geography is a bit off - the Libramiento isn't close to Chapala Haciendas. I would guess that the residents of Chula Vista Norte, Las Terrazas, Bird of Paradise, El Dorado, Cielo Vista, etc were not happy with the jake brake noise. That sign regarding no jake brakes has been there for more than 2 years and no one pays attention to the 40kph sign either.

Oh, you're no doubt right. I don't pay attention to the fraccs.

Here is some security camera video showing the water truck plunging through the intersection.

Omigod! Horrifying to watch!

Chilling. There but for the . . .

The signs as most others like the ones on the east exit to Chapala and Ajijic are only suggestions but!!!!!!

Wow, that is some clip. Glad the bus was a little further along.

Terrifying! I'm so glad more people were not killed or seriously maimed. I hope that the powers that be find the driver and punish him to the fullest extent of the law.

Any rumours or updates?

Ugh. I wish I hadn't watched it. I drove past the scene traveling from Chapala to Ajijic  probably just 15 or so minutes after it happened. Saw the wreckage on the carretera plus maybe 50 people looking over into the Walmart parking lot from above. I felt sick then. Now worse.

The 4th car along facing west is ours, and my wife saw the whole thing.
I do not think that it is fair to place the whole blame on the driver.
Maybe if the law did not require incarceration after a personal injury accident more drivers might remain at the scene.
Anyone have any further updates on the victims?

Figure 8 lbs per gallon and 2 to 3 thousand gallons plus 20K lbs for the truck and tank you can get close to 40K lbs quickly and only on two axles. Another axle like the larger dump trucks gives you another set of brakes. Water also moves back and forth in the tank unless you have really good baffles inside. When I drove a tanker truck for a fire department more than once moving water would push the truck all over the place. Not sure the truck was loaded but wanted to make the point about how much weight these small two axle tanker trucks CAN weight and they are all around us. Don't think for a second that these soda trucks are not heavy either especially those huge Mercedes two axle Coke trucks stacked with Soda.

Z

Whew, Zen, I'm so glad your wife wasn't a few cars earlier. Horrifying thing to have to watch happen, I hope she is ok. I think we'll get more information on the victims from Dale today when the GR comes out.

I agree about blaming the driver, that is only part of the equation, unless he is the owner of the truck. People who drive trucks for a living are at the mercy of the owners to make sure the vehicles are in safe condition before they take them out for the day. The Santorini trucks are crap, the one that delivers to me has an engine knock that I can hear coming a block away. I have concern about those Coke trucks too, Zed. I once saw two of them coming down the Libramiento so close together I thought , wt?, then when they passed the Pemex I saw they were chained together, so one had been towing the other, fortunately both stopped.

On the back of the truck it says something about 'water for the tiendas', perhaps it was a truck from Guad delivering water to one of our local water companies. The pipa truck in Joco is red and so was the local one that delivered to me one day here in SA.

Peace and good wishes to the victims, and that includes the witnesses.

I hate to disagree however the driver is 100% responsible for ensuring the equipment is in proper working order before getting behind the wheel. The owner of the truck is also accountable for the whole affair including the training of the driver. I'll bet that trucks brakes were in horrible condition. The driver also had choices as to where he directed the vehicle. We seen a good example a few days earlier when a runaway truck drove into the garden center instead of plowing through the intersection.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the driver didn't have the proper licensing (hence training) to be operating that vehicle.

Guadalajara Reporter

http://www.theguadalajarareporter.com/index.php/news/news/lake-chapala/48922-runaway-tanker-rams-cars-in-walmart-parking-lot

TIME TO TAKE ACTION? Just three weeks after a near miss in the same location, a runaway truck has caused havoc on the downhill slope of the Libramiento bypass in Ajijic. Four cars were demolished by the fully-loaded water tanker that crossed the Chapala-Jocotepec highway at breakneck speed, landing in the Walmart parking lot. One person was seriously injured and is in intensive care at a Guadalajara hospital.