- Joined
- Jul 27, 2019
- Messages
- 11,572
- Location
- Midlothian, VA
- RV Year
- 2017
- RV Make
- Newmar
- RV Model
- Ventana 4037
- RV Length
- 40' 10"
- Chassis
- Freightliner XCR
- Engine
- Cummins 400 HP
- TOW/TOAD
- 2017 Chevy Colorado
- Fulltimer
- No
In reaction and response to this thread I'd like to offer my thoughts on driving safely in a motorhome and I invite others to offer your stories and tips for others to learn from. I've made mistakes, I've been lucky, I'm not ashamed to share. The speculation from what I can gather from the various posts and related news articles from the Newmar Owners Group Facebook group is the driver may have veered off the pavement and tried to recover.
First off distracted driving. Yes, I have picked up and viewed my cell phone at times while driving. It is amazing how fast in a motorhome vs. a car you can get into trouble. I remember one time I checked my phone and heard a whack, it was a branch hitting the right side of my coach, not sure if I could have seen it sticking out into the road (2 lane country road), fortunately only the awning support beam (vertical) otherwise I could have and should have had a nice groove down the side of my coach. This was from being distracted. I checked my phone at times enroute to Myrtle Beach SC and believe it or not I missed signs that said road closed ahead, THREE TIMES and arrived at a barricade having to unhook and turn-around on a narrow road. I'm sharing my mistakes for others to learn from. There have been other times where I've picked up that phone to the phone now I will not touch it while driving! I've never had an issue in my car, not that it's right, and as an A-10 Pilot I know to hold the device up so I can see out the window while looking at the device, admittedly laws make us look at our phones down vs. this position which is a bad side effect of the law. People will look at their phones, it's safer in my opinion to let them hold them up vs. hiding it. We all see this while driving, stop lights, etc. etc. and etc. it's a terrible problem today for all of us.
The other thing I notice and really scares me as I'm not sure others that may be less capable or have slower reaction times or really shouldn't be driving these Class A motorhomes is that if you don't keep on top of the steering you can lose control in an instant. I've found myself in pucker factor times numerous times where I know to "keep steering" to keep control, this is not an overspeed situation, it's just a matter of driving these rigs that you have to fight and work to maintain control at all times. This is why we are exhausted after limited travel distances and most of us limit to 4-6 hour legs. High concentration is required at all times both from monitoring other traffic, highway merges are super high risk when the oncoming vehicles think they have the right of way, and staying on the pavement. It is NOT easy driving these rigs and you can get into trouble in an instant.
When I drive my car I turn my phone over so I cannot see notifications, due to wireless charging in my Ventana this is not usually the case but I have been stung and shocked enough times I know not to touch the phone. Be proactive in avoiding distractions.
Another recent situation of mine is a new puppy. Too small to harness, too big for the airline carrier, what do I do and she can be a big time distraction as she's in piranha mode right now at 3 months of age. This last leg I finally realize the crate I bought fits under the dinette so I put the dinette chairs on the bed and her crate under the dinette and that's how we travel now giving me huge peace of mind and probably her as well in her den as she is crate trained. Animals running loose, not harnessed or contained can also be a huge safety hazard. We see pictures of animals on the dash, etc. It's all cute until one causes a problem with driver safety.
When we had safety incidents in the Air Force we typically stood down and studied them and refreshed pilots on safety learning from past events. We just had a motorhome incident, let's all take a moment to stand down mentally and think safety. Share your tips, stories, lessons learned, etc. It's not always "the phone" as driving these rigs is simply complex and takes skill and attention.
Be careful and be alert!
First off distracted driving. Yes, I have picked up and viewed my cell phone at times while driving. It is amazing how fast in a motorhome vs. a car you can get into trouble. I remember one time I checked my phone and heard a whack, it was a branch hitting the right side of my coach, not sure if I could have seen it sticking out into the road (2 lane country road), fortunately only the awning support beam (vertical) otherwise I could have and should have had a nice groove down the side of my coach. This was from being distracted. I checked my phone at times enroute to Myrtle Beach SC and believe it or not I missed signs that said road closed ahead, THREE TIMES and arrived at a barricade having to unhook and turn-around on a narrow road. I'm sharing my mistakes for others to learn from. There have been other times where I've picked up that phone to the phone now I will not touch it while driving! I've never had an issue in my car, not that it's right, and as an A-10 Pilot I know to hold the device up so I can see out the window while looking at the device, admittedly laws make us look at our phones down vs. this position which is a bad side effect of the law. People will look at their phones, it's safer in my opinion to let them hold them up vs. hiding it. We all see this while driving, stop lights, etc. etc. and etc. it's a terrible problem today for all of us.
The other thing I notice and really scares me as I'm not sure others that may be less capable or have slower reaction times or really shouldn't be driving these Class A motorhomes is that if you don't keep on top of the steering you can lose control in an instant. I've found myself in pucker factor times numerous times where I know to "keep steering" to keep control, this is not an overspeed situation, it's just a matter of driving these rigs that you have to fight and work to maintain control at all times. This is why we are exhausted after limited travel distances and most of us limit to 4-6 hour legs. High concentration is required at all times both from monitoring other traffic, highway merges are super high risk when the oncoming vehicles think they have the right of way, and staying on the pavement. It is NOT easy driving these rigs and you can get into trouble in an instant.
When I drive my car I turn my phone over so I cannot see notifications, due to wireless charging in my Ventana this is not usually the case but I have been stung and shocked enough times I know not to touch the phone. Be proactive in avoiding distractions.
Another recent situation of mine is a new puppy. Too small to harness, too big for the airline carrier, what do I do and she can be a big time distraction as she's in piranha mode right now at 3 months of age. This last leg I finally realize the crate I bought fits under the dinette so I put the dinette chairs on the bed and her crate under the dinette and that's how we travel now giving me huge peace of mind and probably her as well in her den as she is crate trained. Animals running loose, not harnessed or contained can also be a huge safety hazard. We see pictures of animals on the dash, etc. It's all cute until one causes a problem with driver safety.
When we had safety incidents in the Air Force we typically stood down and studied them and refreshed pilots on safety learning from past events. We just had a motorhome incident, let's all take a moment to stand down mentally and think safety. Share your tips, stories, lessons learned, etc. It's not always "the phone" as driving these rigs is simply complex and takes skill and attention.
Be careful and be alert!
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