Battery fire

[LuFins Dad]

[Mik]

I’m not sure if you’ve done much travel in that part of the country, but you really don’t have anything to work with for solutions. Getting awareness of the situation out is the best thing she can do.

[89th]

[George K]

@89th said in Battery fire:

Lady you're sitting in a car.

She says people have been stranded for hours.

Ever been stranded on a highway because of an accident up-road? I have. You start getting worried about gas, your car overheating, etc.

Pull it to the side and walk to shade or a store.

Did you see the video? What shade should she walk up to? What store?

Or make a U-turn and go down the other way of the highway until things clear up.

See those silvery things on the side of the road - guard rails. They're there to prevent that. And, even if you could, the terrain looks like it might be rough for a non-SUV to negotiate.

Does she sound like a whiny bitch? Yeah, a bit.

But, she's not wrong.

@LuFins-Dad said:

start looking for solutions

Like what?

[Doctor Phibes]

It struck me when we drove out of Phoenix and up towards Sedona how you really, really wouldn't want to break down. If everybody is essentially broken down, it would get pretty scary.

[George K]

I should add that when we left our home that day, the guesstimator for fuel said we had about 75 miles.

"No problem," I thought. "We can fill up on the way."

Yeah, that didn't work out. A truck fire closed the interstate - I94 in both directions.

We sat, in the heat, for an hour and a half, if not longer. Turning the engine off to save gas, and opening all windows and the moon roof to stay cool. By the time it opened up, we had about ½ gallons in the fuel tank.

Not fun.

[LuFins Dad]

@George-K said in Battery fire:

@89th said in Battery fire:

Lady you're sitting in a car.

She says people have been stranded for hours.

Ever been stranded on a highway because of an accident up-road? I have. You start getting worried about gas, your car overheating, etc.

Yes, or would have been if everyone had just stayed there waiting. It’s happened like 5 times. That’s why I generally carry an emergency kit in the car. Not always, but if I’m going more than a 2 hour drive, always. Twice was due to severe weather/snow.

Did you see the video? What shade should she walk up to? What store?

Well, there’s the gas station she pointed out all the cars being lined up for…

See those silvery things on the side of the road - guard rails. They're there to prevent that. And, even if you could, the terrain looks like it might be rough for a non-SUV to negotiate.

There are guard rails moving forward, but they don’t appear to be behind. But I wouldn’t want to drive a sedan or a van between the two highways. I imagine the area in between is not exactly hard packed. Fortunately, the shoulders look pretty wide.

Does she sound like a whiny bitch? Yeah, a bit.

But, she's not wrong.

@LuFins-Dad said:

start looking for solutions

Like what?

Well, to start with, she obviously has a working signal since she is streaming the traffic jam. I would have to assume that means they are fully aware of the cause of the traffic jam and the knowledge that they aren’t going anywhere if they sit where they are at. If they don’t know, then go talk to those truckers in front of you. They will know.

If you have communications, then you know what the police and emergency services are advising you to do. If it’s staying in place at this point, then you start shutting down half the vehicles and doubling up. This cuts down on gas usage and cuts down on the ambient temperature, too.

You start checking out your neighbors. See if there are any that might be at risk. Elderly, poor health, etc… If there are, reach out to emergency services. You will keep the shoulders clear to allow rescue vehicles room to navigate. To help with that, you get a couple guys in 4x4s to block the shoulders, but in a way that they can move to allow rescue vehicles through.

If you don’t have communications or aren’t getting directions, you walk back to where the exit ramp is that leads to the gas station. I want to know if it’s a rest stop or an actual exit with roads traveling in different directions. If there are roads traveling in different directions, then you get a couple guys to help direct traffic. You want to allow some of the cars that have already passed the exit to get turned around using the shoulders, and take the exit. Alternate between ones in front and ones in back.

If it’s just a rest stop, then you get some guys to come and help you work with the employees at the gas station to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand. You don’t want one guy running in and buying 6 cases of water… You also don’t want cars that have plenty of gas panicking and blocking off the exit, while cars that are getting dangerously low start stalling out. You might even want to get a gas can brigade going to help those cars that are getting low. Why not? Nothing better to do.

That’s a start.

[LuFins Dad]

Then, I do start looking for areas that vehicles might be able to cross to the other direction. If I find a likely spot, I ask a couple of guys with 4x4s to stick around and help if anybody gets stuck… Then start directing cars through. Elderly and cars with young children first. No RVs or tractor trailers… sorry.

[LuFins Dad]

Oh, and I would make all the EV drivers leave their cars and get into a gas powered vehicle… Dumbasses trying to cross the fvcking desert in a car with such a limited range? Idiots…

[Aqua Letifer]

Toilet bowl emergency management. Nicely done.

[blondie]

I’ve never been stuck in hot weather, just minus fvck 30 cold. Jackknifed truck trailers and squashed cars on a major highway. The RCMP brought in buses to keep us warm. There was coffee too. I wanted some, but when exiting my truck, I slipped on what could be described as a hockey rink & cracked my head bad. I came to quick & utterly denied hitting my head … I got back in my truck & hoped for the best. Lesson learned .. keep those boots with the cleats in my vehicle or better yet, wear them when travelling!

[LuFins Dad]

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

Toilet bowl emergency management. Nicely done.

?

[Mik]

That gas station will be utterly depleted within an hour. It reminds me of all us hitchhikers walking through Poseyville, IN (the watermelon capital of Indiana!) after the Bull Island rock festival in 72. There was nothing left to eat or drink. It was apocalyptic.

[Aqua Letifer]

@LuFins-Dad said in Battery fire:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

Toilet bowl emergency management. Nicely done.

?

"Toilet bowl" anything involves sitting down on the throne, taking a shit, and for the length of time that shit takes, you become a foremost authority on that topic and tell everyone how wrong everyone else is because of what you were able to Google.

[LuFins Dad]

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

@LuFins-Dad said in Battery fire:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

Toilet bowl emergency management. Nicely done.

?

"Toilet bowl" anything involves sitting down on the throne, taking a shit, and for the length of time that shit takes, you become a foremost authority on that topic and tell everyone how wrong everyone else is because of what you were able to Google.

Nice. Whatever… I’ve been stuck on I70 in an ice storm behind a pileup. There was no going back or forward for 4 hours. We doubled up in cars to conserve gas and warmth. I was also on the Cumberland bridge on 68 about 10 years ago when a semi full of cantaloupes caught fire and blocked off 68E. Lucas and I helped guys direct traffic and block the shoulders so cars could turn around on the shoulders and drive up the entrance ramp. Burning cantaloupe is a very weird smell…

So yeah, this isn’t exactly sitting on a toilet talking out my ass.

[89th]

@George-K said in Battery fire:

@89th said in Battery fire:

Lady you're sitting in a car.

She says people have been stranded for hours.

Ever been stranded on a highway because of an accident up-road? I have. You start getting worried about gas, your car overheating, etc.

Yes, we turned off the car. Actually took a football out and started throwing it around. Granted I'm not sure how hot it was in her video, maybe she pull the car off to the side, turn it off, and walk to shade.

Pull it to the side and walk to shade or a store.

Did you see the video? What shade should she walk up to? What store?

Yes, the gas station she films.

Screenshot:

Or make a U-turn and go down the other way of the highway until things clear up.

See those silvery things on the side of the road - guard rails. They're there to prevent that. And, even if you could, the terrain looks like it might be rough for a non-SUV to negotiate.

Agree about watching for terrain, but there's nothing else stopping her from a U-turn. I've done this once when in a stand-still back-up.

Screenshot:

Does she sound like a whiny bitch? Yeah, a bit.

But, she's not wrong.

She's correct that there is a traffic jam. Everything else is dramatics. "This is absolute chaos"

[89th]

@George-K said in Battery fire:

We sat, in the heat, for an hour and a half, if not longer. Turning the engine off to save gas, and opening all windows and the moon roof to stay cool. By the time it opened up, we had about ½ gallons in the fuel tank.

Not fun.

Not fun at all. I'm not trying to downplay the situation, just downplay the lady's interpretation of the situation as chaotic and people are "stranded". Figured she was about to tell me the cannibalism had started or that her phone's battery was going to die (most people didn't have car phones 20 years ago).

There were a few major traffic jams in DC where people waited 12+ hours. It is not fun.

Good to have an emergency kit... as @LuFins-Dad said. After having kids I make sure all our vehicles have emergency kits in them all of the time.

[89th]

@LuFins-Dad said in Battery fire:

when a semi full of cantaloupes caught fire

I'll take Phrases I Didn't Expect To Hear Today for $500, Alex Ken.

[89th]

On a side note, there was a self-induced "gas shortage" a few years ago in Virginia. I remember filling up my tank during it, and there was a very, very, very weird animalistic frenzy between people trying to get their car in for the next spot. Some tanks were running try so people were asking others to fill up their gas containers. It was a weird panic feeling.

[Aqua Letifer]

@LuFins-Dad said in Battery fire:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

@LuFins-Dad said in Battery fire:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Battery fire:

Toilet bowl emergency management. Nicely done.

?

"Toilet bowl" anything involves sitting down on the throne, taking a shit, and for the length of time that shit takes, you become a foremost authority on that topic and tell everyone how wrong everyone else is because of what you were able to Google.

Nice. Whatever… I’ve been stuck on I70 in an ice storm behind a pileup. There was no going back or forward for 4 hours. We doubled up in cars to conserve gas and warmth. I was also on the Cumberland bridge on 68 about 10 years ago when a semi full of cantaloupes caught fire and blocked off 68E. Lucas and I helped guys direct traffic and block the shoulders so cars could turn around on the shoulders and drive up the entrance ramp. Burning cantaloupe is a very weird smell…

So yeah, this isn’t exactly sitting on a toilet talking out my ass.

Do you think those experiences make you a subject matter expert in either traffic emergencies generally or this situation in the desert in particular?

Here's my thing about this. I'll walk through the thought process and identify where I have a problem.

1. Look at that video!
2. That woman's annoying.
3. Her video is annoying.
4. I wouldn't make such an annoying video.
5. And I wouldn't be as annoying, either.
6. Here's what I would do...
7. And what I would do would be flawless and perfect and I'd be just fine.
8. I'm smart and this person isn't because she made an annoying video and I didn't.

I don't see what the fuck the point is in fixating on #3. We're just going to arbitrarily cherry-pick the internet for an endless supply of shitty videos? What in the hell for?

And somewhere between #5 and #8 we get to blowhard activity and wishful thinking.