Posted on Wed, Jul 31, 2013 : 6:25 p.m.
6-car accident slows traffic on M-14 near Barton Drive
By John Counts
A six-car accident was snarling traffic on eastbound M-14 near Barton Drive in Ann Arbor around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday.
A Washtenaw County dispatcher said all six vehicles were pulled off onto the shoulder of the road.
A Google traffic map showed a significant backup on the freeway.
No additional information was immediately available.
View M-14 accident in a larger map
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Greg
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 3:58 p.m.
What with the accidents that have been happening in this stretch, 94 rerouting here perhaps it is time for the cops/troopers to focus a little more on this area to slow things down a bit?
NSider
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 11:30 a.m.
And I'm certain tail-gating absolutely had nothing to do with it.
Martha Cojelona Gratis
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 11:27 a.m.
I'm sure the fact that it was raining had nothing to do with it
GoNavy
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:43 a.m.
I don't know what it is with the drivers in this county, but honestly - you're terrible. Having spent time out East, where there's probably five times as much traffic, I never saw this level of road carnage despite having made a daily commute from Connecticut to Midtown Manhattan.
NSider
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 11:34 a.m.
I made a daily commute from Santa Barbara to Long Beach for 2 years (that means through the heart of LA traffic) and never saw such poor driving as we have in Michigan. I have also lived and driven in Italy, Brazil and Greece, where the rule is pretty much one hand on the wheel and the other on the horn... likewise, the drivers here are worse. Of course I haven't lived in those places since the introduction of computer driving/racing games and maybe their drivers also think they are at home driving an image on a screen, but I am certain that is where the "skills" exhibited locally are learned.
psaume23
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:39 a.m.
It seems like there have been a lot of accidents in that area lately. Maybe there would be fewer accidents if the speed limit was returned to 55 or 65 mph.
GoNavy
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 10:11 a.m.
@A2Cents- I'm not talking about texting or cell phone use (which you inserted into my argument). I'm talking about speeds - posted vs. actual driven speeds. Here's the article, straight out of AA.com, which discusses Jim Walker (Traffic Engineer's) comments on posted speed limits: http://www.annarbor.com/news/speed-limits-along-some-of-ann-arbors-most-loathed-speed-traps-could-go-up/
a2cents
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 2:09 a.m.
gonavy: Judgement on what's safe about speeding, cellphone use, texting, etc. is a nonstarter. Regrets about the traffic fines, but folks do understand the message when delivered in that manner... and then there's the insurance hike. Always seems like offenders are the whiners. Used to be a motto that speed kills, but that's old-fashioned since the laws of physics were rewritten.
nasu
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:53 a.m.
Agreed - reduce speed to 55 and make it a parkway with no semi-trucks allowed.
GoNavy
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:44 a.m.
It's been shown that, regardless of the speed limits set, drivers will decide their own appropriate speed (that came out of a series of lawsuits against the City several years back by a traffic engineer). You can call the speed whatever you want; people will simply make a judgement call based on their best estimate of what is "safe." However, changing speed limits is a great way to raise revenue through traffic citations and to increase profits for insurance companies.
cibachrome
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 12:35 a.m.
Time to close this entrance. Not enough room/distance to merge safely.
CLX
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:24 a.m.
It's a tricky one for sure. I wonder if there are statistics kept for various freeway entrances/exists. This one seems one of the worst in the AA/Ypsi area.
Ross
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 12:34 a.m.
was just a repeated fender bender, right on the bridge. I'd like to thank all 6 drivers involved for the 15 minute delay on my way to dinner. Good job paying attention to the speed of the car in front of you.
GoNavy
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 1:48 a.m.
You mean it's not possible for me to bring my 6,700 lb vehicle from a speed of 70mph to 0 in under 15 feet with the 10" brakes installed on my land barge? The illusion of safety and control is alive and well with drivers in Michigan.
a2cents
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 12:07 a.m.
Time to raise the speed limit again and make this sort of thing go away.
talker
Wed, Jul 31, 2013 : 11:25 p.m.
I don't know exactly where the accident occurred, but I'll take this opportunity to comment that the "hairpin" turn at the eastbound/northbound Barton exit has a low speed limit for a reason. The opposite direction on that road isn't much better.
bluetonguedlizard
Wed, Jul 31, 2013 : 11:17 p.m.
That stretch of M-14 is rough. Hope everyone is ok.
Hmm
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 5:56 p.m.
It's not really that hard if you merge over to the left lane and let the people entering the freeway get on. If you're entering the freeway from Main you need to be accelerating as soon as you hit the on-ramp, not going 35 and trying to get up to speed further up
Jaime Magiera
Wed, Jul 31, 2013 : 11:06 p.m.
I hope everyone is OK. It's been a ruff few weeks in terms of car accidents.
TiggerRocks66
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 3 p.m.
I'm soooooo sick of ppl texting and driving and a majority of threes we accidents are fender benders from ppl texting and driving! There HAS to be a stiffer fine for these ppl who are risking lives because they just can't wait to stop or pull over!!!