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Drivecam of Head on Limo Crash

A subsequent article said that the limo was equiped with Drivecam but they are not sure if the camera (or data) made it through the crash. Not sure if I would want to see this one but would like to know the data about if the driver even had time to break and how fast he was going.

Hi David, please don't read something into my posting that is not there, my coment was intended to relate to the rarity of this type of event which in the last 40 plus years of my driving experience, has ( thankfully) never happened to me, I merely wanted to stress that there is no training that can protect you from a driver who when drunk can not only drive at excessive speed on the wrong side of the road but also be capeable of driving AT an oncoming vehicle by intention especially when drunk. You only have to look at some of the Police chases on TV to see that speed and a total lack of any concern for others on the road are standard procedure in cases like this, hence the stark reality that any form of avoidence may be countered by the deliberate intent of the drunk driver to hit another vehicle. In my view a person who gets in a vehicle after a drink and drives the wrong side of a highway, and as in this case causes the death of other innocent parties, is guilty of murder for which the appropriate long sentence should be given if only to protect the rest of us from that person being able to repeat the offence in future.

quote:

Originally posted by Alimo:
No matter how much training you have there is nothing that can protect you from lunatics who drive up the wrong side of a freeway at speed, even if both vehicles were going at only 30mph the closing speed would be 60mph and I suspect that a drunk would be going far faster leaving less than a couple of seconds for avoidance.
Cause of the accident is the drunk driver 100% period, all we can do is hope he cannot be allowed to drive for a very long time. Our sympathy should be with the driver and passengers who were in the Limo as they did nothing wrong.

Please note that I did say I blamed the drunk 100% and I said unequivocally that I was just giving an impression, not a judgement of events. I've never been where the accident happened, but the photos seemed to show a straight road with clear conditions. My sympathy is with the families involved.

However, I still feel that something was wrong with the seatbelt situation. I assumed the grandparents would be at the rear doors, and slid forward, breaking their legs, possibly impacting others, maybe the girl who died. This lead me to believe seatbelts weren't fastened or had failed. This type of accident is almost exactly what seatbelts are designed to protect from. If one takes anything away from my statements, let it be to be sure to have your clients buckle up at LEAST on the highways, parkways and freeways.

Death by hanging is the only suitable justice for drunk drivers who cause deaths.

No matter how much training you have there is nothing that can protect you from lunatics who drive up the wrong side of a freeway at speed, even if both vehicles were going at only 30mph the closing speed would be 60mph and I suspect that a drunk would be going far faster leaving less than a couple of seconds for avoidance.
Cause of the accident is the drunk driver 100% period, all we can do is hope he cannot be allowed to drive for a very long time. Our sympathy should be with the driver and passengers who were in the Limo as they did nothing wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by LA Limousines (David):
I note the passenger compartment of the limo is relatively intact. It's obvious from the grandparent's injuries seatbelts were not being worn or failed in some way. I'm afraid without knowing what the traffic/weather situation was, it looks like the driver of the limo may not have been too aware of his surroundings. I blame the drunk 100% but unless he was trying to ram the limo, this is something that could have been partially avoided on what looks to be a straight road.

The Parkways are very curvy in spots & may be hard to discern headlights from opposite direction lanes. Also, this drunk most likely entered on an exit ramp & came flying into the uncoming vehicle. Who knows?

Other than police & DMV checks, I have never heard of any regulatory agency requiring a skills test for chauffeurs licenses or completion of any formal defensive training. Anyone have any insight into such?

After reviewing the photos (#4) the wreck did happen at a entry & exit ramp.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gunny,

I note the passenger compartment of the limo is relatively intact. It's obvious from the grandparent's injuries seatbelts were not being worn or failed in some way. I'm afraid without knowing what the traffic/weather situation was, it looks like the driver of the limo may not have been too aware of his surroundings. I blame the drunk 100% but unless he was trying to ram the limo, this is something that could have been partially avoided on what looks to be a straight road.

In May we saw photos posted of another head on that involved a HUMMER. Compared to this wreck the HUMMER received a scratch.

'Caring' father of two
BY THERESA VARGAS AND RUTH TISDALE
July 3, 2005

Stanley Rabinowitz was always one of the first to volunteer for the safe-ride program his company offered. Anyone who'd been drinking and didn't want to drive could call and get a free ride home, no questions asked.

"He'd be the first to say, 'I'll stay tonight, I'll man the phones,'" said Joe Carletto, owner of U.S. Limousines in New Hyde Park, where Rabinowitz worked. "It's so ironic that he had to get killed by a drunk driver. It's tragic."

Rabinowitz, 59, was driving the limousine that was carrying a family home from a wedding when it was struck head-on by an alleged drunken driver early yesterday. Rabinowitz and a 7-year-old girl were killed.

Carletto said the company knew something was wrong when "Stan" didn't answer his radio for 45 minutes because that wasn't like him. They checked the limo's GPS tracker and saw he had been stopped on the Meadowbrook Parkway for an hour, Carletto said.

"We sent a night guy out to go help him and he pulled up on this horrific scene," he said.

Brooklyn-born, Rabinowitz was a father of two who lived in Farmingdale.

Nolan Rabinowitz, 31, described his dad using two words: "honest" and "caring."

With his paycheck Friday, Stanley Rabinowitz and other drivers at the company received a written reminder to be extra-cautious of drunken drivers this holiday weekend, Carletto said.

"If this doesn't stop someone from drinking tonight," he said, "I don't know what will."

Just tragic, and of course the ultimate irony in these situations the drunk drivers walk away with scratches.

The article said that the other 5 were thrown from the vehicle, Does anyone beside me think that that is near impossible? Think they got that right in the article? Unless they all went through the side coach window?

Actually another article says something diffrent:
"Police said six members of the family had been traveling south in a 2003 Lincoln Royale limousine near exit M7 in Freeport on the parkway at 2 a.m. when they collided with a Chevy pickup truck going the wrong way.

Wreckage spilled across the parkway. Emergency workers had to cut a hole in the passenger side of the limousine to pull out the victims, said Allen Grosser, first deputy chief of the Freeport Fire Department.

When they realized there were two young girls in the wreckage, he said, "a hush came over the crowd."

Katie Flynn and the 59-year-old limo driver, Stanley Rabinowitz, were pronounced dead at the scene. He worked for U.S. Limousines in New Hyde Park, where co-workers described him as a "great guy" who always helped other drivers.
"

But it looks to me the coach part of the limo held up very well.

How very sad, ironic after I just posted this a few days ago. Many families will be destroyed and forever changed due to this.

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