DIYbanter - View Single Post - Texas 85 mph

Pete C.

wrote:

On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:44:52 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Been lucky I guess. Only a few times I was caught in heavy fog or
rain/snow on the interstate. Seems very few people passed me when I
put on my blinkers and went as slow as about 20 mph. But I could see
maybe 15-30 feet.
Must be terrible to find yourself in zero visibility. Only thing I
can figure with the big Texas pile-up damage is folks went from good
visibility into a wall of fog that was already pile up with crashed
vehicles.
When I hitch-hiked from Norfolk to Chicago in the '60's I picked up a
ride with dead-heading trucker late at night. Mack pulling an empty
flatbed.
Never forget it. Our talking was what kept him from nodding off.
Penn turnpike near Beaver Falls. Fog for about 20 miles, maybe 50 ft
visibility.
He never went below 80. Took a year off my life.
I said goodbye at his first fuel stop, out of the fog. But I wanted
away from him.

A good driver will pull on the shoulder and park when the fog gets as
bad as it did in Texas. I'd rather lose a few hours, than get killed or
my car wrecked. Then again, when the fog is that bad, I avoid getting
on a freeway, or get off the nearest ramp when it begins. Some drivers
have no brains.

The accident may well have begun with someone who pulled to the shoulder
and parked and thus when the next person suddenly found themselves in
dense fog they followed the tail lights directly into that stopped
vehicle. Fog can appear very suddenly and a road that had great
visibility can have a fog bank blow over it from an adjacent area in
seconds. The area in question is reported to be straight and level, a
75mph zone and have some adjacent marsh areas where the fog likely
rolled in from. Exits are miles apart.