Crash blocks two lanes of M-14 in Ann Arbor
Update: The crash scene had been cleared and all lanes of the freeway reopened by 9:20 a.m., dispatchers said.
A three-car crash on eastbound M-14 was partially blocking the freeway and creating a long backup on the northeast side of Ann Arbor Thursday morning.
The crash was blocking two lanes of the freeway just east of the east triple-decker intersection with U.S. 23, a dispatcher with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said at 8:10 a.m.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said the crash, which occurred about 8 a.m., involved three vehicles. A least one of the vehicles rolled over, and one caught fire. No one had to be transported from the accident scene, Williams said.
A Google map showed traffic backing up past Main Street in Ann Arbor. Further information was not immediately available.
View Crash 031413 in a larger map
Comments
Bcar
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.
It has NOTHING to do with speed. It has to do with the DRIVER ERROR 99.99% of the time exceeding one of the 3 real limits: 1. Their own ability to drive safely at X speed (typically the case in "accidents"). 2. Their vehicle's mechanical ability to be driven safely at X speed. 3. Conditions of the road and amount of traffic to be driven safely at X speed. A professional racecar driver could operate a Porsche 911 Turbo all day long at 150mph on that stretch of road, if it was dry, and with little traffic...
jcj
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
Let me rephrase this. Can we all agree there are too many careless drivers on the road, making it unsafe for all?
tdw
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 7:20 p.m.
One thing everyone seems to be leaving out of these equations is driver reaction time
MIKE
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 7:19 p.m.
Treetown, I'm glad you're learning something here. I always like to educate those who may be uninformed about certain things.
MIKE
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
JCJ, who said anything about 2 car lengths? Obviously the following distance needed changes at higher speeds. But too close is too close no matter what the speed. For example, is 55 mph an unsafe speed on the highway? What if there's a scant 5 feet of following distance? Or how about 100 mph? Inherently unsafe, even if there are no other cars on the straight, dry road? Not at all, as long as the car and driver are up for it.
treetowncartel
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 6:50 p.m.
Are we in the second week oh Pilosophy 101 here?
jcj
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.
J Take speed out of the equation and you will not run into him. 2 car lengths 2nd car not moving (no speed) no collision. I agree there are variables. However given that very few give more than a couple car lengths at any speed, both are important.
J
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 5:19 p.m.
Your example ignores that there's 2 variables, speed and distance. "If I follow someone at 2 car lengths going 20 mph I probably will not run into him if he stops. If I follow someone at 1/2 car length going 20 mph I probably will run into him if he stops. What is different in these two statements? Distance!" See how that works?
jcj
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 5:01 p.m.
Mikje WRONG! If I follow someone at 2 car lengths going 20 mph I probably will not run into him if he stops. If I follow someone at 2 car lengths going 80 mph I probably will run into him if he stops. What is different in these two statements? Speed!
MIKE
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 4:36 p.m.
*wouldn't be an issue*
MIKE
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 4:35 p.m.
JCJ, in that instance, it's not speed, so much as following to closely. If there weren't any other cars on the road, speed would be an issue. And even if you're traveling at 40 mph, too close is too close. That said, many people drive too fast for the conditions and their ability level.
jcj
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 3:54 p.m.
BCAR It has EVERYTHING to do with speed when the idiots can't even see the bumper of the vehicle in front of them because they are too close!
WalkingJoe
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 3:16 p.m.
Bcar, I'm a little confused. Your first sentence says it has nothing to with speed. Then each one of your next points has speed in them.
WalkingJoe
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 2:58 p.m.
Where are the "let's blame the Road Commission" comments. Oh, maybe this accident happened in the future, like tomorrow night when they're predicting 1-3 inches of snow. Then this accident got caught in a time warp and was transported to this morning.
JRW
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 1:59 p.m.
Another day, another series of crashes on area roadways. What else is new?
dotdash
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 1:41 p.m.
GoNavy: You are exactly right. They are risk-seeking in the domain of losses. They choose speeding because it involves the less likely chance at a bad outcome (crash) over the sure loss ("wasted" time). Danny Kahneman's 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics.
Peregrine
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 2:17 p.m.
That may be, but they're imposing losses on innocent others. They injure others. They kill others. And when they have an accident and hundreds (if not thousands) of cars come to a halt or crawl, they waste a considerable amount of others' time. And then there are the economic losses.... So is there room in the economic models for common decency or basic morality?
GoNavy
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 12:53 p.m.
Michigan drivers (midwest drivers even) are truly amazing. M-14 at that point is the straightest of straight roads, with perfect visibility all around. No adverse weather today. Midwest drivers are masters of the "80 MPH caravan," whereby a row of 15 cars, each 10 feet from each other, will blissfully travel at 80+ mph down the left lane, pretending their 4,300 lb Dodge Caravans are actually 1,400 lb F1 racecars with 18" ceramic brakes. Add to this the Michigan banshee - that driver who always insists on going marginally faster than everybody else - and you get a volatile morning/evening mix. Where traffic engineers assumed perfect driving conditions, Michigan drivers continue to prove them wrong. Instead of smoothly flowing traffic across a three-lane road capable of supporting high-speed travel, we get these hooligans crashing in perfectly clear weather - for whatever reason. Congratulations people. You're today's winners.
thatguy85
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 8:15 p.m.
Correct he did not state how the accident happened I apologize for making that statement. Talking about an "80 MPH caravan", when the accident could have been a result of a blown out tire or some other car failure, or a medical condition with the driver. I agree speeders cause accidents, but I get annoyed when it seems like those people are blamed for everything. My drive home on M-14 is full of drivers who cut over at the last minute, or switch lanes with no regard for the traffic they are cutting off. I find when the road conditions are poor due to snowfall people seem to drive even more reckless.
jcj
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 3:51 p.m.
@thatguy85 Please tell us where GoNavy said WHAT happened here. He only stated what happens on EVERY hwy in Michigan every day. And one of these days we will see some statistics on how many accidents on dry area freeways there are in a given year.
thatguy85
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 1:40 p.m.
@GoNavy So how did the accident occur? Since from your comment you clearly saw it happen...
tdw
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 : 12:57 p.m.
Navy....I don't know how many times I have to say this.It is never, never , ever the drivers fault