The deadly U.S. roads take more toll: 5 dead in fiery crash involving tanker and two-semi-trucks on I-65 near Lafayette, Indiana

Five people were killed, including a child, in a fiery crash on I-65 near Lafayette, Indiana, involving two semis and at least three other vehicles.

Updated 11 mins ago

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLS) -- 

Five people, including a child, were killed in a crash that shut down a 20-mile stretch of I-65 near Lafayette, Indiana, for several hours.

Indiana State Police said two semis and at least three other vehicles were involved in the accident. A tanker rear-ended another semi and caught fire on southbound I-65 near Route 43 shortly after midnight.

All lanes of southbound I-65 are closed between Route 43 and U.S. 231 while emergency crews clear the scene and police investigate the crash.

The northbound lanes reopened around 6:20 a.m. Friday. The southbound lanes are expected to open between noon and 1 p.m.



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SINCE 9/11/2001, WE HAVE LOST VERY FEW PEOPLE TO TERRORIST ACTS.  BUT WE LOST 500,000 PEOPLE ON THE DEADLY ROADS.  AN ADDITIONAL 5 MILLION HAVE BEEN INJURED.  OUR PRIORITIES ARE CLEARLY MISPLACED

UNITED STATES STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT DEATH AND INJURY RATES IN THE WORLD: 34,000 DIE AND 2.5 MILLION INJURED EACH YEAR.

Despite the improvements in road safety, the United States has one of the highest death rates at about 1 person dead per 10,000 people. Unfortunately, only undeveloped countries have higher death rate.

Since 9/11/2001, we have lost very few people to terrorist acts.  But we lost 500,000 people on the deadly roads.  An additional 5 million have been injured.  Our spending priorities are clearly misplaced.  Investment in our road infrastructure is what is needed, as the economic toll from all these deaths and injuries and property damage has suffocated our economy.

Thus far this year alone, we have lost 12,000 people and an additional 130,000 people have been injured.

Some states, such as Texas and West Virginia (sorry, WV, despite your tremendous progress in traffic safety, you are still at the top of the worst-death-rate list) have death rates of nearly 1.5 percent, i.e., fifty percent more people die compared to the national death rate.

Approximately 34,000 people are getting killed each year.  In the 1950s and 1960s, about 55,000 people used to die on the roads – so, there has been improvement in the number of dead. 

However, the number of injured is rising.  Roughly 2.5 million are injured (yes, you read it correctly – 2.5 million injured) per year.  That is, 1 percent (1%) of the population that is eligible to drive is injured every year.

Speeding, aggressive driving, tail gating, lane changes for no reason, pass on the left to make a quick right turn, no signals or late signaling, weaving through traffic, driving while impaired, driving while tired or sleepy, are just few of the traits of bad drivers.  The end result is always death or injury or a very close call.

There has been an increase of the number of deaths and injuries to pedestrians, cyclists, mopeds, and motorcyclists.  Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash, their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be injured or killed. The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in 2012, the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 26 times the number in cars.

Elderly drivers cause many accidents.  We need to force drivers to take driving refresher courses every 5 years or more often.  Drivers must also be tested for eye-sight, hearing, drugs, etc.  Many thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries would be prevented if we do so.  Please remember that a vehicle is a lethal weapon and only a regularly-trained, capable and fit person should operate it.

 

Unfortunately, there is a small number of drivers who are refusing to wait for a train to pass and they are trying to beat it, with often tragic consequences.

It's not worth the game of chicken.  The two, three or four minutes you will spend waiting for the train to pass is not greater than the time spent injuring yourself or your vehicle, or even loss of life.

So, in a nutshell, it is worse than a war zone out there.

So, please be safe and be on the lookout for aggressive drivers, weaving-through-the-traffic drivers, crazy drivers, reckless drivers, sick drivers, medical-condition drivers, sleepy drivers, negligent drivers, stupid drivers, careless drivers, drunk drivers, speeding drivers, drugged drivers, texting drivers, talking-on-the-phone drivers, looking-at-the-GPS drivers, hurry-hurry drivers, tailgating drivers, upset drivers, eating-while-driving drivers, putting-the-lipstick-on-while-driving drivers, elderly drivers, and so on.

As we always say: it is better to arrive late at your current destination, than to arrive early at your final destination.  Slow down at intersections, let the aggressive drivers go first, it does not worth it getting you or your family injured or killed.  

Drive safely.  Learn from these deadly accidents and slow down.  IF YOU MUST GO, THEN TAKE IT SLOW.