Posted by By Paul Branton, Director of Investor Services for Home Rental Services
It was your typical hot, Kansas City afternoon that Thursday in August 2021. I was making the rounds to some properties in order to tie up some loose ends before I took the next week off to vacation in Colorado with my entire family.
That’s when this happened:
I was traveling on I-70 headed east just on the west side of downtown. In the lane ahead of me was a semi truck that I could tell was slowing down, so I backed off quite a distance and was slowing to a crawl myself. As I was coasting to a crawl, I saw the semi was now stopped and put his hazard lights on. As I was just about to stop myself, I went to reach for my hazards and… SCREEEECH. BANG! THUD.
At that moment there were three vehicles completely destroyed, but thankfully, all five people were able to walk away without any physical injuries!
This accident, like many, could have been avoided. I was told by a nice older gentlemen on the scene that the driver didn’t even hit the brakes and was “clearly not paying attention.” I don’t doubt it. I drive around 15-20k miles a year between work and personal miles and I see it every single day, often multiple times a day.
My two biggest requests for anyone behind the wheel:
Put the phone down. You can catch up with those calls/texts when you get to a stopping point. Your life and the lives around you are more important than you responding immediately.
Slow down. 10+ MPH over the posted speed limit is not necessary or safe.
As you might have heard, or maybe even experienced firsthand, the last few years have been incredibly difficult for sourcing vehicles. So, while the Prius was put to rest in August 2021, it took us until November 2022 to get the replacement RAV 4. While the Prius was great with fuel economy, this RAV 4 has much better visibility and a user-friendly navigation interface. I also appreciate that it sits higher up and is a bit bigger than the Prius.
Here is our new RAV 4. We call her Pearl!
We would like to thank the Wrap Factory in Edwardsville for always doing such a great job wrapping our vehicles. We love how the RAV 4 wrap turned out!
Be sure to wear your seatbelts and drive safely out there!
Home Rental Services Blog 