Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 16, 1993                   TAG: 9308160003
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TWIN TRAILERS NOT IN MANY ACCIDENTS

A: Twin trailers have been legal since 1983, when the federal government forced states to OK them.

The good news is that accident figures are quite low for twin trailers.

Companies use their best drivers and best equipment for those vehicles, said Dale Bennett of the Virginia Trucking Association, a lobby group.

Also, twin-trailer loads might weigh less than a single trailer combination that's fully loaded with heavy material like paper or steel.

Here are the figures on wrecks involving twin trailers in Virginia the past three years. (Figures for 1992 are preliminary and could change): 31 crashes in 1990; 16 in '91 and 12 in '92, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. There was one fatality, in 1991.

By comparison, all tractor-trailer accidents in 1991 added up to 3,102.

Bennett likes to point out that truck accidents have been decreasing each year since 1986, when added federal funding led to more training for law enforcement officers.

Funeral procession respect

Q: What do the law and etiquette say about how traffic should respond to a funeral procession? Should cars pull to the side of the road? Should they continue on? R.M., Roanoke

A: The law says a funeral procession has the right of way at intersections when it has a police escort - and most of them do in Western Virginia.

And under any circumstances it would be impolite to break into a funeral procession.

There's no requirement that oncoming traffic pull to the side of the road, but people still do that in rural areas.

Sometimes they stop in Roanoke, too. "It's a nice sign of respect, but we don't expect them to do that," said Sam Oakey of Oakey Funeral Service. In most cities, traffic on the same highway routinely passes funeral processions, even from behind.

Oakey said directors try to make sure processions are allowed to stay together when going through intersections.

He said problems occur when drivers try to cut between cars while a procession is passing an exit ramp, such as at Hershberger Road on Interstate 581. That's a breach of etiquette, if not safety.

Rousing the dog days

Q: When do dog days come in, and when do they end? J.B., Salem

A: July Fourth to Labor Day pretty much covers the dog days.

There are calendars and almanacs that attempt to pin the dates down more closely, so everyone feel free to call and tell me about them.

The serious answer is that July and August are the months when the Dog Star, Sirius, rises and sets with the sun.

Dog days are not ruled by the moon, there is no proof that if they arrive rainy (or dry) that they'll stay that way, and snakes don't go blind during them. Those are old folk tales.

Common sense holds the best explanation: dog days are days when it's just too hot for a dog to stir.

Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.