http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20090914/ARTICLES/909149996/1005?Title=One-person-dies-in-I-85-accident

Today  I saw the same situation ALMOST occur when a woman driving a Tahoe stopped in the right lane of I-40 west of Winston-Salem, and backed up to exit at Harper Rd.  She had kids in the back of the Tahoe and a cellphone up to her left ear talking continuously.  I guess she didn't see the dump truck that dodged her and the 1-ton with a utility trailer that was behind the dump truck that damn near hi t us trying to avoid her.   I thought "Oh Shit this is another one........."  

I drove thru the wreck site on I-85 in the above story after it had happened and stopped to talk to some guys I work with that were out there.  The driver hopefully never knew what hit her - she had to have burned in the car.  

Then to see that today - for God's sake, be careful out there on the roads and please tell your wives/kids/girlfriends to pay attention to their driving and not to their cellphones, CD players, IPODS, etc.

i rack on the miles with my job, you would never imagine the amount of stupidity out on the roads .... i see it daily.

I was about 30 cars behind this wreck......When I first saw the car burning I thought it was a puddle of gas or something.....but no it was a car.

Terrible.

As the poster said....take it as a lesson.

Sounds like just about every day on the outer beltline here. I see people talking on one cell phone and texting on another all the time.

Just my .02... Every morning on the Charlotte Radio Station ( 99.3 ) ..There is an ( ACCIDENT ) on
I-85,  I-77, Etc.... There are NO ACCIDENTS....!!!  To help correct this ,( and get peoples attention ) they need to change their lingo to..." THERE IS AN "ACT OF STUIPIDY ON I-77 @ I-85" some a-s wipe, talking on a cell phone... Yes, act of stupidity..

Seems like people are making a sport of driving like a holes here in the RTP area.  

Back when they were widening I-26 and building the 526 interchange in the Charleston area, I was coming home from downtown.  I was in the left lane of two lanes of traffic.  The new third lane, to my left, was blocked off with orange barrels.

I'm a fairly prudent driver, and try to maintain a safe following distance.

The brake lights came on on the car ahead of me.  I took my foot off the gas.  I didn't see any parts falling off, smoke, flames, etc., so I figured they were slowing to merge into the right lane.

I saw they were slowing more, so I bagan to apply my brakes.'

Suddenly, I realized they had STOPPED!!!!!  In the left lane of the highway!!!

I got on my brakes hard and slowed to where I barely tapped their back bumper.  Whew!  Then WHAM! - I was rear-ended.

I ran up to the car ahead of me and it had 3 elderly people in it.  The woman who was driving looked like she was born shortly after dirt was invented.  They were OK, so I ran back to the guy who hit me.  He was OK, but ticked off.  Fine.  

I went behind him and started directing traffic around us.  I looked over my shoulder in time to see him drive off.  Hmm...  Could be no license, no insurance, no registration, or D all of the above.  Great.

When the trooper showed up I learned that the woman driving the car was 86 years old.  Her reason for stopping?

SHE WAS LOOKING FOR THE AIRPORT AND WASN'T SURE WHERE SHE WAS, SO SHE DECIDED TO STOP AND GET HER BEARINGS.

In the left &%$@#!!! lane of the highway!!!  Just stop because she wasn't sure where she was!!!!

Since my front bumper touched the back of her car, I got a ticket.

When I went to court I explained everything to the judge.  He said, "I can understand how you came to be in that situation, but the law says if you rear-end somebody, you're at fault." and down came the gavel.  Sheesh.

Driving around in that ATT van, you would think it was a bullseye on the side.  Glad I don't work major populated areas.

I-85 has been dangerous for years, when home on leave I was about taken out by a guy towing a car with a u haul heading down towards Salisbury from Lexington...his car trailer was swinging wildly through both lanes of traffic and  we reached the choke point where there is a bride over the yadkin river. seems people just don't have their minds in the right places anymore while driving.

My mom was almost taken out by a semi a few years back on I 85 heading towards the Asheboro exit in Lexington, a semi truck was having trouble but was refusing to pull over to the shoulder, so he was doing 15 in a 70...my mom narrowly avoided hitting him by the time she realized how fast she was gaining on him...a guy a couple minutes behind her wasn't so lucky and rear ended the truck decapitating him.


cell phones have compounded problems over the next few years just making a bad situation worse.

I agree I-85 is rather dangerous.
I picked my GF up at RDU airport and drove back to Charlotte. Right around Salisbury where its 4 or 5 lanes across, a damn armored truck decided to quickly move over 3 lanes coming right at my driver's-side door w/ total disregard for the fact that I was there. At about 75mph I had to quickly swerve in front of the car next to me cutting him off and so that I didn't lose control onto the shoulder. Armored truck vs a subaru, I'd be a speed bump. He didn't want to miss his exit Unfortunately I couldn't get his plate or that "how am I driving #".