^^And then cars come up fast in that lane-next-to-the-exit-lane because they think they are just driving on a highway and end up slamming on their brakes because of people in the lane with them trying to merge into the exit lane.

Anonymous wrote:The poor young couple in the RAV 4. I hope the wife survives. The husband was just 28 with their whole life ahead of them.

+1. Traffic is super heavy on that stretch on weekend days and it was a big travel weekend as well so I am sure it was bad. The exit off of 66 on to 28 backs up really far and sometimes backs up all the way to where people are getting on to 66 from the Fairfax county parkway. People who aren't familiar with that and are just following Waze or whatever to exit at 28 don't get over to the right early enough and then there are cars driving in the lane one lane over from the exit very slowly trying to merge into the backed-up exit lane. It's a shit show.

Trucks should not be allowed on roads during the day or heavy traffic.

The poor young couple in the RAV 4. I hope the wife survives. The husband was just 28 with their whole life ahead of them.

Anonymous wrote:

A 2007 BMW, driven by 40-year-old Jonathyn Bland, was traveling west on I-66 when it struck the vehicle in front of it.

The BMW then collided with the tractor-trailer, driven by 34-year-old Shahbaz Singh of Fairfax.

The tractor-trailer then collided with several vehicles — including a Toyota Rav4 — before overturning. The Toyota Rav4 went off the right side of I-66 and over the jersey wall and then caught on fire.

Bland and Singh were transported to Reston Hospital for treatment of their injuries. They were both charged with reckless driving

I don't get why Singh was charged. Someone ran into him, his truck overturned. How was he reckless?

+1
I didn't get this either. The only thing I can think of is perhaps truckers need to leave more space between themselves and the cars around them, but even so being rear-ended by a BMW would be enough to push you into another car regardless of how much space you left between you and the guy in front of you??

just because they were charged doesn't mean they have been convicted won't really know unless they do full accident reconstruction it could have been just a knee jerck reaction by the FCPD or VSP to write a ticket.

maybe the truck driver was trying to merge and doing it unsafely, and the bmw was driving too fast and when the truck changed lanes the BMW panicked wrecked and then cause the truck to flip.

who knows what the witnesses told the cops..

Anonymous wrote:I don't like that stretch of 66 between Fairfax County Pkwy and Rt. 28. Really, I don't like the stretch between Rt. 50 and Fairfax County Pkwy. Shoulders are scarce, people drive fast, and traffic backs up from cloverleafs feeding onto rt. 66 west. I think the design was not meant to support the heavy traffic that area gets. Traffic comes to a sudden slowdown during rush hour from feeder lanes off the parkway. It's always a bit of a roller derby through that area.

Don't believe the County when they tell you they're widening the roads to alleviate traffic. They're really doing it to help their developer buddies. That's what the county told the public the last few times they've pushed road work through that area, and it's encouraged development which leads to continued heavy traffic.

x1000000

The best guess I have for Singh is that maybe he was following too closely or was inattentive and didn’t brake in time or maneuver in a way that could have better controlled the tractor trailer and possibly minimized the gravity of the accident.

This is so sad. I was involved in a 7 car accident on 495 and while serious it wasn't this serious, no one was severely injured or killed.

Prayers for the families of those involved and another reminder to always drive safely.

A 2007 BMW, driven by 40-year-old Jonathyn Bland, was traveling west on I-66 when it struck the vehicle in front of it.

The BMW then collided with the tractor-trailer, driven by 34-year-old Shahbaz Singh of Fairfax.

The tractor-trailer then collided with several vehicles — including a Toyota Rav4 — before overturning. The Toyota Rav4 went off the right side of I-66 and over the jersey wall and then caught on fire.

Bland and Singh were transported to Reston Hospital for treatment of their injuries. They were both charged with reckless driving

I don't get why Singh was charged. Someone ran into him, his truck overturned. How was he reckless?

Anonymous wrote: I’m not familiar with this section of 66. Why are there so many accidents as reported in the article? And how did they charge the 2 men with reckless driving? There is no indication speed was a factor.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2019/08/traffic-stopped-on-westbound-i-66-after-multi-vehicle-crash/

I used to drive there pretty frequently but it’s been a couple years since I have now. IIRC the merge there is kind of a nightmare. You have to hit the gas pretty hard and prior to that exit the speed limit has gone up from 55 to 65 or 70. Most of 66 east of there it’s a limit of 55.

To be honest, I really doubt it should have been that bad on a Saturday morning. The guy was probably a jerk.

I don't like that stretch of 66 between Fairfax County Pkwy and Rt. 28. Really, I don't like the stretch between Rt. 50 and Fairfax County Pkwy. Shoulders are scarce, people drive fast, and traffic backs up from cloverleafs feeding onto rt. 66 west. I think the design was not meant to support the heavy traffic that area gets. Traffic comes to a sudden slowdown during rush hour from feeder lanes off the parkway. It's always a bit of a roller derby through that area.

Don't believe the County when they tell you they're widening the roads to alleviate traffic. They're really doing it to help their developer buddies. That's what the county told the public the last few times they've pushed road work through that area, and it's encouraged development which leads to continued heavy traffic.

I get why the BMW driver was charged (and way to continue the stereotype, murderer ahole). But why was the truck driver charged, if the BMW hit him, after hitting another car?

You don't have to be speeding to get a reckless driving charge. Driving in a way that endangers others is reckless driving.

Th article explained the traffic issue in that area:

"We often expect to see at least a couple wrecks per day in the westbound lanes as drivers merging from Fairfax County Parkway weave with drivers shifting right to exit at Route 28,” Dildine said." He went on to mention construction there as well.

I saw this backup on the news; I'm sorry for the injured / deceased as well as the people who sat and waited for hours.

Well the BMW hit the car in front of him. So, I’m guessing he was driving like a dickhead, and now someone is dead.

I’m not familiar with this section of 66. Why are there so many accidents as reported in the article? And how did they charge the 2 men with reckless driving? There is no indication speed was a factor.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2019/08/traffic-stopped-on-westbound-i-66-after-multi-vehicle-crash/