Speaking of safety

… I have to wonder if tractor-trailers are legally allowed on roads like this in China.

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I was in Norway coming up from a postal tour of the fiords, it was snowing and I ws sitting in the back of the bus. Switchback road, bus doing ok, but had to stop due to a car in the curve, started sliding downhill backwards, watched the 6" curb go by and there I was looking down at a giant drop, The bus stopped when the wheels hit that little curb, but I did not enjoy that experience one bit!

One of my co-workers took that coastal trip on a Norwegian mail steamer, and she said that it was the best vacation trip that she ever had. In addition to the beautiful scenery and the interesting little towns where they made brief stops, she said that the food on the ship was very good.

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Ever been to Italy on a bus? Bus meets bus. Only way to pass each other is to fold the mirrors in and inch slowly forward. Don’t look down.

Oh yeah… I remember a few of those slow-motion incidents.

As someone not used to driving in mountains very much, the 1991 drive up the mountain north of Flagstaff to Lockett Meadow was a white knuckle experience. Gravel road, no guardrails, steep dropoffs, winding road with short sight distance, and locals careening downhill taking their half out of the middle.

The previous year I drove down the loooong 7% grade Tioga Pass in Yosemite in sleet. No guardrails, sheer dropoffs of hundreds of feet, and a rockslide that thundered down completely across the road less than a hundred yards behind me. I had to have been the last vehicle across the pass that autumn. :flushed:

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Of course they are! Safety is NOT a concern in China. With a population of 1.4 Billion people, phfft… The truck is more valuable than the driver!

OSHA? WHAT’S an “OSHA”??

Heh heh story day. We had our new 1957 Ford, 80 year old grandma in the back seat and we drove up to the top of Mt. Evens. I don’t know how high it is anymore, but high. After visiting the gift shop on top, my sister, mom, and I decided to hike down the hill about a mile and meet my dad and grandma down below. First hairpin turn coming off the top, the trunk popped open. Dad stopped, put it in park and closed the trunk, and proceeded down the steep road. Grandma was unfazed trusting the Ford I guess to not careen over the side with no driver.

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Saw a video of semi sliding off mountain road while attached to a nice $150k tow truck. Both tumble down 300’ embankment.

Guess that’s why smart drivers drive with the door open and seat belt off. Ignore the buzzer. Just like driving on a frozen lake. Lots of guys keep the door open just in case ya gotta jump. Better to walk back to shore than swim.

… and yet, there are some folks in The US who don’t see a need for OSHA to exist.
:thinking:

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Many years ago drove over the 2 lane, no shoulder Grand St. Bernard Pass in a tiny Opel during early Spring “just to see the sights”, at a time when their idea of “guardrails” was 2’ concrete posts.spaced about 30 ’ apart.

Mrs. Beancounter was periodically calling out, “Look at this fantastic view” but all I saw was the asphalt 10’ ahead while clutching the steering wheel in a terrified death grip. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Heh heh, just the opposite here. Driving through the mountains my dad would be the one looking around at the scenery and mom would be pressing her foot to the floor of her imaginary brake saying watch where you are going.

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I thought only our car had one of those imaginary brake pedals for Mom.
I’m glad to see that we were not the only ones.
:smirk:

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I doubt that there are laws regulating vehicles on roads like that in China too. Same for India and South America.