BANGOR, Maine — A pair of multiple-vehicle crashes Thursday evening that involved seven vehicles on Interstate 95 resulted in minor injuries, thousands of dollars in damage and major traffic tie-ups.
“Traffic was backed up from Hogan [Road] to Hammond [Street],” Maine State Police Trooper Dave Yankowsky said Thursday night. The bottleneck in Bangor lasted at least half an hour, he said.
The first crash happened about 5:20 p.m. in the northbound traveling lanes, just before the Broadway exit, when a blue Pontiac driven by a yet-to-be identified driver abruptly slammed on his brakes, Trooper Chris Hashey of the Maine State Police said Thursday night.
That caused the driver of the 2003 Saturn behind him — 20-year-old Courtney Hafford of Bangor — to follow suit.
Angela Schmidt, 37, of Bangor, who was next in line in her 2003 Dodge pickup, was unable to stop and struck Hafford’s car from behind, pushing it into the blue Pontiac, Hashey said.
Schmidt’s pickup then was struck from behind by a 2012 Hyundai driven by Amanda Klausing, 20, of Newport, Hashey said.
Schmidt was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center for treatment of neck pain. Further information about her medical condition was not immediately available, however, Hashey said her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
The driver of the Pontiac drove away from the crash scene before police arrived, Hashey said.
“He just jumped out, gave his name and said he had to leave,” Hashey said. He said it appeared the name provided was false and that no witnesses had taken down his license plate number.
The second crash, which happened about 20 minutes later, was the result of the first crash and attributed to driver inattention, Yankowsky said.
Terry Voisine, 44, of St. Francis was heading north on I-95 when he reached the stretch of highway where traffic was backed up because of the accident, the trooper said.
Voisine, however, did not see the traffic jam ahead of him until it was too late because he was reaching for something in his GMC pickup, Yankowsky said.
Voisine struck the back end of a green Pontiac driven by Amber Shorey, 30, of Bangor, whose car was pushed into the back of a Ford sedan driven by Gilbert Rossignol, 44, of Medway, who had two passengers on board, 40-year-old John Rossignol and Charles Theriault, 48.
Shorey, the two Rossignols and Theriault all complained of pain at the crash scene. They were checked over by emergency medical personnel but declined ambulance rides to the hospital, Yankowsky said.
While state police still were sorting out the details surrounding the two crashes, they received a report of a vehicle going the wrong way in the northbound lanes at Hogan Road, Yankowsky said, but troopers in the area were unable to find it.
“He said the vehicle didn’t get far because troopers who were in the immediate area were unable to find it.” BDN please explain to me how this makes sense?
i was just thinking the same thing read it three times thinking i was reading it wrong.
While the Bangor Daily has hired reporters to cover the Greater Portland area, the paper appears to have gutted the copy desk to do so. As a result, the quality of the paper is suffering.
So maybe you all are thinking you are over charged for this online paper ???
I was also wondering the same thing. What does this mess mean? This article is awful.
Um, they probably turned the car around before the police arrived. :)
as in the car must have turned around or gotten off the interstate because the police who were less than 5 minutes away were unable to find a car going in the wrong direction…aka they didn’t find it.
“when a blue Pontiac driven by a yet-to-be identified driver abruptly slammed on his brakes”
^^ It must have been the mayhem guy from the Allstate commercials.
“… when a blue Pontiac driven by a yet-to-be identified driver abruptly slammed on his brakes…”
I wasn’t aware cars were male or female, or that they can slam on their brakes…
The story is obviously a mess, but what is with the witnesses that just let the guy that caused the accident and pile up to take off without even thinking to get the license plate number….You can bet that he didnt have insurance and was probably on something…First thing i do if in an accident or witness to an accident is jot down license plate numbers from all involved…only common sense
Or possibly the driver behind him was tailgating and he slammed on his brakes to get her to back off with obviously distrastrous results. I know I’ve tapped the brake pedal just enough to make the brake lights go on when I’m being followed to closely to be safe.
The rule of thumb is one car length for every 10 mph of speed but more often than not I see drivers doing 70 with just a few car lengths between them and the car in front of them. Very dangerous.
Obviously everyone was following too close or this bumper car mess wouldn’t have happened.
All you have to do is be rear-ended one or two times while at a stop sign or waiting to turn with your blinker on before you start to really leave that car-length area ahead of you. I think my is at least 1 to 2 car lentghs when stopped, maybe three – depending on whether traffic behind me has a clear view of my rear end, so to speak. But you and I have seen it – you are stopped in traffic like, and no one is going to give an inch to ensure no one pulls in front of them in line – this is what happens. You are probably right.
The article and the 8 comments befoore yours do not accuse anyone of driving safely. I was going to point out that some drivers follow to closely and at unsafe speeds until I read your comment. Thank you for renewing my faith in intelligent people ! I wonder how many of those involved hung up their phones immediately after this happened. I wonder if the cops are looking into that angle.
Best is to allow three full seconds between vehicles–Vehicle One passes a landmark (shadow, road crack, pole, bridge) you count slowly, one thousand and one, one thousand…before you pass the same landmark. Add more seconds for fog, rain, snow, ice, night, etc.
You need time to:
1. recognize a problem,
2. decide what to do about it (brake, etc.), and
3. time for that to take effect.
Constant vigilance–do not be reaching for things–and space between vehicles, equals safer driving.
1 car length per 10 miles per hour. You obviously need more car lengths between vehicles at higher speeds. And. You. Need. To. Pay. Attention.
Sorry, but latest research shows that the three-second rule is a lot simpler for most people to use, keeps eyes on the the road (no need to look at speedometer, nor do any math, just count!) and is adaptable for conditions that are less-than ideal, such as ice, snow, rain, fog, etc.
But do not pay attention to ‘letsbehonestforonce’ and ‘Smarten_Up’ arguing about which method, just LEAVE THE SPACE you need to stay safe–figure it at about TWICE what you normally leave, and you will be close….
Get home alive.
3 seconds between cars? at 65 mph? Do the math, that can’t be right.
depending on the model of car and brake setup a 3000lb car will take about 100 feet to come to a complete stop 65 mph. If the care in front of you is newer, lighter, and/or has higher performance braking/suspension systems it will be stopped at a point behind the point your car will want to be stopped if you are traveling within 100 feet assuming approx a 1 second delay in reaction time. Now albeit you might be able to slow to 20 mph for the impact but that can still be sufficient to cause injury and serious damage.
As part of an intership I did in college I got to learn about and work some accident reconstruction. Although I speak from experince this is pretty common knowledge. 5 second minimum following distance highway speeds.
The trucking company I work for has really stepped up enforcement of tailgating we tell our drivers 9-10 seconds following distance with tractor trailer they take 2-3x more time to stop.
3 car lengths or 3-4 second following distance at 65 is woefully insufficient to account for stopping distance and human reaction time. 3 seconds is good for around town 6-7 seconds is needed at highway speeds or roughly 5 car length
TOM– it is NOT three car lengths but a measure of TIME–three seconds (minimum, and yes longer is better, as you noted below) but a measure of time is more important than feet along the ground. Do you have enough time to NOTICE a problem, to REACT to that problem, and enough time for the reaction to take EFFECT (brake, swerve, etc.)
The three second rule (or longer, and it is not from basketball or food fallen on the floor) works at any speed, because in stop and crawl traffic you will be closer, because you can be, at 10 mph. But at 65 mph you will be spaced out a lot further back, as you need to be.
See:
http://www.driversedguru.com/driving-articles/drivers-ed-extras/the-3-second-following-distance-rule/
http://www.smartmotorist.com/traffic-and-safety-guideline/maintain-a-safe-following-distance-the-3-second-rule.html
http://www.beaconmutual.com/Documents/SA.07.04.01.pdf
Be safe, everyone!
Do ya feel the same way when you are traveling behind Granny going for the usual Sunday drive down the highway at a crisp MPH of 43 in a 55?? Sometimes people who are afraid to drive on the road should leave the car parked in the driveway..I dont disagree with leaving space in between cars, you should use common sense, but i have been known to close the gap when someone doesnt at least go the speed limit
you like tailgating little old ladies?
Maybe JeffCol is part of the problem?
Granny is driving at a comfortable and safe speed if she is at the limit. Notice that I-95 goes down to 55 mph within Bangor city limits for a reason–that reason is DENSITY of traffic.
And BTW, the only minimum speed limit in Maine is on the Turnpike, 40 mph, otherwise you go at what is prudent and safe, and not over the “limit” like so many do.
Maybe “Granny” is in no rush to get to the cemetery.
Are you JeffCol?
the police once stopped my mother in-law on the I95 one day doing 35 and gave her a ticket she tried to fight it judge said she was impeding traffic ( this was the third time they caught her) she no longer drives on I95
Oh come on, be honest, it was you wasnt it? Even if this was the case, why would the guy take off and avoid the police. He obviously has something serious to hide…if it IS you, you will feel much better if you turn yourself in and they will likely go much easier on ya:)
LOL, nope, not me. I don’t live anywhere near Bangor. When flashing my break lights doesn’t work I slow down (gradually) enough to make them pass me or, on the highway, I take off and get well away from them. I don’t slam on the car brakes because it’s dangerous, as this crew clearly discovered.
As for the discussion regarding using time & a fixed point to determine a safe following distance I use the car length rule as it’s reasonably easy to judge the distance (err on the side of more length) without taking my eyes off the road.
If the copy desk/editorial staff is still around at Christmas, I am going to send them some grammar books and maybe in 2013 articles will start to make sense
If SUVs can run over things, then Pontiacs can slam on brakes. If vehicles can take independent action, then they should have the option of being called male or female.
Sounds to me like road rage from both the pontiac driver and the Saturn driver. I bet she was following to closely and the pontiac driver got angry and slammed on his brakes. Which the pontiac driver should be charged with vehicular assault. If he they didn’t do anything wrong why would they run?
Another reason why you should arm your car with a dash mounted camera! I bought mine for about $200 the best security system I have! This is a hard lesson learned for the girl who choose to tailgate! Minimum five car lengths at highway speeds.
dash mounted camera will show what is going on ahead of you, but what good would it do if someone runs into the back of you?
They also have rear mounted cameras.
umm it was the THIRD car in line that hit the saturn that hit the pontiac… so road rage i don’t think is the answer. lack of attention, Inexp. speed sound more like the a cause than anything…
The first guy slammed on his brakes perfect example of road rage
I don’t think all cars involved were involved in road rage but I am pretty sure the first guy who caused this whole mess was.
Would you mind sharing what type of system you have? I been considering one for a while but for some reason I don’t think they are worth the price and end up letting my cell phone record for me, which kills the battery quite quickly.
Cars are re-routed from a usual Bullseye Bridge to Broadway traveling area, to the interstate now, and the traffic is backed up at the Broadway exit.
huh?
I wondered what the results would be when they raised the speed limit to 75 and I noticed the last time I headed south people were whizzing by me and my cruise was set at 70. At that time I was watching for Moose early in the Spring. When I took Driver’s Ed. I was taught you drive according to all driving conditions and anticipate what could happen and drive accordingly and allow the allotted time to get to your destination. Add to that no texting or distracted driving. I’m afraid we are going to be dealing with this more and more so you got to add observe drivers erratic driving swerving with phone stuck to ear.
the speed limit in this area is 55 not 75 it is only 75 after old town
this accident happened a few miles south of where the speed limit goes up to 75 in the northbound lanes of traffic. the new speed limit had NOTHING to do with this accident. speed more than likely did, but the speed limit didn’t. . .
I was one of the 911 callers who reported the car traveling the wrong way on the highway– the car was a dark sedan with an elderly-looking (white hair) man behind the wheel. I didn’t see a passenger.
He was driving southbound in the northbound passing lane as if it were a two way road.
I slowed and pulled further to the right a bit and honked and flashed lights at him, after I realized what I was seeing come towards me. I saw no reaction or recognition of the situation from him.
Then I called 911 (using my car’s hands-free system).
The operator was very efficient, and the moment I mentioned I95 she cut me off to confirm that I was reporting the car going the wrong way, then asked for details about the location.
The driver must have pulled a u-turn or exited very quickly, since I had earlier seen police cars just south of where I saw the car, so he would have driven by them quite soon after I called 911 if he had continued on his oblivious way.
“Then I called 911 (using my car’s hands-free system)” – bravo – you knew that someone was going to blast you for talking while driving – good recovery on that – lol. Although, I have caught myself driving my my house one time while using my hands free system in the vehicle…
A friend of mine stopped fast one time for that elusive house cat crossing the road in his 2500 desiel HD pickup truck with a ball/hook on the back and the tailgater in the little honda who was close had no time to stop, run into the back of his truck.. upon inspection I noticed a small stratch on his trailer ball.. Which I recomended steel wool would clean off. while the tailgating honda had to be towed from the scene looking like a can openner had split the front of the car down the middle..
Talegating is dangerous folks, so lets learn from others lessons..
P.S. Plus I always catch up by ther next light.
Got to LOVE the trailer hitch – I especially like the blue or silver scrotum hanging below on some larger pickups – outstanding.
I snip those off if I see them.
do you do that – I believe the material is quite “hard”.
Nowhere in this article does it state anything about tailgating. It’s illegal to just stop on the highway without a real good reason (because it could cause an accident). Then the guy took off, after apprently giving a false name, something fishy there.
Unbelievable. People can’t drive anymore? The 20-somethings……put down the GD smart phone. I detest driving between Hogan and Hammond. The Broadway on-ramp going south if you’re in the right hand lane is a suicide….old people travel on in with a blinker on because their neck won’t let them check their blind spot, young ones cut in at a high rate of speed, semi on the left………..now what am I gonna do? This will only get worse. And Memorial Day weekend is here. Should be a few more.
How about taking the exit for 395 ramp towards Brewer with the oncoming traffic from outer Hammond trying to merge, with their (clears throat) YIELD SIGN? They never are willing to make eye contact (some have the gall to toot), just pull on out there and force us all to hit the brakes or speed up and cut them off to make the exit. I showed my family this example, while they all screamed and turned pale as a vehicle came about 1 foot from me on the passenger side (like a free Disney ride).
That is especially my favorite of them all – how about you? Anyone else have some favs?
OMG…..you said it…..that is by far the worst….just went you think you’re getting out of Dodge…..when I lived there it was different numbers 4____something A and B……….a nightmare. I can’t believe there aren’t daily accidents there. Though it is a holiday weekend. Subject: [bdn] Re: Accidents involving 7 vehicles tie up Bangor traffic on Interstate 95
The biggest waste of money ever, Yield signs.—I have never , in all my years of driving, ever, seen anyone ever, yield—They pull out like all the bats of hell, never look at the traffic coming, as I suppose they don’t want to see the people they are planning to “take out”.There are times when the only way you could get out of their way, is to deliberately take out yourself , and others, by simply running in to the cars and trucks beside you.—And on they go, smiling, because they made it again!!!
i yield really seems to irritate people
While we’re on the subject,there is a yield sign to get on the interstate,I wish people knew that means you yield to the traffic on the interstate,they can’t even merge,maine drivers are the worst.
Yep, super stubborn.
It’s kind of like an airplane. Take off and landing are the most risky part. Once you’re up in the air, you’re good.
20 year following to close? nahh that never happens.
I was moving slowly to get on the Broadway ramp heading south when a lady thought she would be nice and stopped dead in the road to let me in. I tooted and waved to have her move on. there is a corner there. and if traffic had been coming she would have been hit. Please don’t stop on any road to let people out.. and please use your blinkers when turning
Hence, in driver’s Ed they teach to allow enough stopping distance between yourself and the person in front including reaction time to press on the break.
Someone could slam on the break for a number of reasons. Say a moose is standing on the highway? Or a deer? Or big carcass hasn’t been moved out of the way yet? Another accident is on the road and hasn’t been cleaned up yet?
People all to often do not even leave a car length between them and the car in front especially near Portland. If there is a car length, even on a highway, someone will fit in there, especially a plate from Massachusetts.
Maybe some of these people should lose points, or be encouraged to take a defensive driving course?
Although I like the general idea of counting or calculating to determine whether you operating your vehicle a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you, I wonder if it would work in reality. My guess, many of the drivers involved in this series of accidents were not aware enough of the world around them to count to three at the moment before the collision. It appears that many of them were having a hard time focusing on the fact that other vehicles were rude enough to intrude on the roadway, let alone that traffic wasn’t proceeding in a usual and customary pattern. I am afraid that expecting them to perform an additional cognitive function at the same time is too much to ask. And, in all fairness, this is sadly not limited to these drivers but many drivers that I have the joy to share the roads with. No need to write back to me and tell me they are accidents, and how dare I say anything because no one is perfect…..I don’t read any comments left in response for me. You can not define the majority of car crashes as an accident. When driving, you are responsible for every move that your vehicle makes, the safety of your vehicle, and your ability to respond to road conditions, road hazards and other drivers. Stop “looking for something” in your vehicle and drive!