Freeway pile-ups
 

How does this collective-mind debacle happen?

https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2023-10-23-smoke-fire-fog-new-orleans-visibility
T​he death toll in Louisiana's 'superfog' pileup has risen to eight after one person died in the hospital, according to Louisiana State Police.

C​rews worked Tuesday to clear mangled, burned wreckage of vehicles from a series of crashes related to low visibility caused by a combination of wildfire smoke and dense fog on Interstate 55 west of New Orleans.

In addition to the deaths, at least 63 people were injured in a mile-long pileup Monday morning that left a long bridge littered with remains of cars, SUVs and semitrucks.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1698258478.jpg

One thing that happens is the gap for slowing down disappears and you're suddenly looking at a fully stopped car immediately in front of you.

The news says it is the fog that cause it. Wrong, a bunch of idiot drivers going full speed into blind conditions caused it. Just a few bad drivers screw it up for everyone else.

When I was in the army in Germany, it wasn’t uncommon to see 4 or 5 more accidents on the autobahn in the line of cars waiting to get around the original accident. They even stationed cops ahead of the back up, waving at people trying to get them to slow down.

People were driving fast enough that their stopping distance exceeded the visibility.

I suspect there was a very dense patch of fog that caught people off guard. Weather like that is disconcerting, the majority of people slow down automatically as a common sense reaction.

In CA there is the Tule Fog. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog) It is an impossible fog, or should I say impassible. Very dense and it comes up on you before you realize that you can't see 500 feet, or less, much less sometimes. You may slow down but you worry now that the truck behind you just disappeared and can't see you.

What to do and/or where to go? Well, in the time it takes to think that much you could be being wapped by your air bag. It's a Catch 22.

The only real defense is to listen to the radio or your phone and get off the road. It's patchy and catches those that keep going totally off guard. There is no safe speed. Just don't.

People follow way to close. 2 carlengths at 80 mph seems the norm. I detest Interstates in urban areas for this reason, and rural areas are catching up.

That's it, there is no alternative.

Ok, one more Sea Story, my last, I promise.

When the Tule fog would come in, we would fly instrument approaches into Castle and other airports in the valley.

Surreal: Bright sunshine on the approach profile, CAVU, until you hit about 1000/1500 feet...then into the soup followed by darkness on the edge of town.

Hit the missed approach point, execute the missed approach procedures and climb right back into the sunshine.

I did eight in one flight, four each for the two of us. It is hard to get actual instrument approaches in San Diego!

Done.

Forgot the pic:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1698270320.jpg

I took that shot from my helicopter;)

GD low Earth orbit helicopters

Close to my parents home in Sacramento, I have been in fog dense enough you could not see the entire hood of the car from the driver's seat

I remember a few years ago driving through West Virginia in January and we hit fog. It was so thick I could hardly see past the hood of my vehicle. It only lasted 10 minutes but it seemed like an hour.

Similar thing happened here 33 years ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Interstate_75_fog_disaster

I drive through this area all the time and have never seen fog at this location.

No doubt, the scariest drive I ever had was in the Florida panhandle. A thick low layer of fog rolled in at night as I was trying to get to Daytona Beach from Alabama. I was going 25 MPH in the right lane with other cars and it was impossible to see past the bumper of my 73 VW Bug. The Semis would scream past at 55 MPH in the left lane and it was honestly terrifying. I got off at the first exit I could find with civilization and stopped for 30 minutes as I tried to get my nerves to calm down. I took back roads for a few miles until the fog just vanished, and kept driving and got to Daytona Beach about 2:00 AM. I had a football game to film at 11:00 AM and I was a bit tired, but young and tough back then. I never want to try that again.

Rode my Kawi Mach into a freezing fog in the ADK back in the 70s. My visor froze up, I flip it up then my eyeglasses froze up. :eek: I did a very nice power slide onto the shoulder as I knew enough to stay off of the front brake. I pushed the Kawi as far onto the median as I could, shoveled out my pants and waited for the fog to clear.

I've never been in fog that bad but I have passed on a 2 lane highway in a white out blizzard where I could see maybe 20'. Guy in front was doing about 15mph and that was too slow for me. Thank god nobody was coming the other way as I was flashing my lights on and off passing him.

Two fog stories.

When I was first learning to fly we were told that if you flew into clouds, make a 180 and fly out. The idea was that there was a cloud bank ahead. I turned around and things got worse! Turns out it wasn't a cloud ahead it was fog that was descending like a big wet curtain.

I was following the taillights of my friend's blue Buick through dense fog on the PA turnpike. I knew that if I kept his taillights juuuust in sight I could stop if I saw his brake lights come on. We drove in the fog for more than an hour. When it finally cleared I discovered I was following a brown Ford and I had no idea where my friend was.

I was coming home on a two-lane road several years ago and it wasn’t fog, but smoke from a fire. At first, I thought it was fog, but then I could smell it. It was really creepy and I wasn’t sure if I was driving into a forest fire. I pulled over and got out to take a look around and it was strange, looking up at an orange overhead street light. Finally, git back on the road and it eased up after a mile or two. I should’ve taken pictures.

Fog pffft.

Haboobs....

Driving back up from Florida one spring in a Prius.

Tired. Blizzard conditions and stuck behind a slow and steady semi on the freeway kicking up an additional huge cloud on the windshield.
And me too impatient to make good time. I jumped the 6-8" snow curb between the lanes and hopped left.
Over the big bump. Correct. Over again.

And there. Upon emerging. Was a 8-12' extension ladder laying across the lane perpendicular.
The little tank rolled over it somehow with no damage.

Moral of the story is what they taught way back in driving class. Leave X seconds room ahead

I think snow trumps fog because you become mesmerized.