Multi-Car Pile-ups, How Do They Happen?
By Lance Winslow
Well multi-car pile-ups happen usually due to weather, after all
no one would intentionally run into another car. Well usually
not, although road rage still exists. Now if you drive a smaller
car and are hit by anything other than a bicycle you are sure to
be injured in a multi-car pile-up.
The most common cause of pile-ups is fog banks at night or during
the day. One notorious place for pile-ups is the San Joaquin
Valley, Central Valley CA, where the Tule (TWO-LEE) Fog is.
http://www.kovr13.com/01jan01/010201b.htm
Fog would settle and buses could not get to school there would be
school delays and multi-car pile-ups on I-5. Happens every year
and the fog it hovers about 6-8 feet off the ground if you are in
a truck sometimes you can see over it. Usually not. Here is a
description by Virtualtourist.com ; Description: A Central Valley
particular, this condition is fairly common from December through
February, when the ground is it's coldest. It is a time of the
year when the rain is at it's heaviest, and after the rain is
gone, and there is all this excess humidity and moisture,
combined with the cold, forms this ground fog that is so thick,
it's hard to make out what's in front of you. It is responsible
for freeway pile-ups on highway 5, highway 99, and parts of
highway 50 and 80. It is often heaviest from evening to morning,
and is especially thick just south of Sacramento, in between Sac
and Stockton.
Avoid tail-gating on the freeway, and do not drive with your high
beams on. If you can, avoid the roads during these conditions,
but if you must drive, drive slowly, with caution, you may want
to roll down the window a bit, and turn off your radio, so you
have better hearing conditions. Fortunately it has a tendency to
burn off by noon, and is not a nightly feature in the winter.
Also, if flying into Sacramento, you may want to avoid early and
late flights in the winter season, because of this weather
condition.
One pile up which may have been the worst in US History was 300
cars, yep 300. Here is some good advice we have seen on driving
in the fog;
http://faculty.deanza.fhda.edu/donahuemary...Reader$270
Certain areas and geographical regions tend to be fog areas,
recently in Western Maryland there was a huge pile up, in the
Central Valley CA there are certain land features and
temperatures, which cause this. VA, DC, CA are all bad fog areas.
There are so many areas and we know where they are. There is work
being done to prevent these accidents and fog technology is being
tested by BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, GM and Ford. Here are some ideas
which came from the Tule Fog in CA;
http://www.itsa.org/ITSNEWS.NSF/0/2a68e777...ee?OpenDocument
Realize that cars do not drive by themselves but in the future
smart technology and smart Freeways may provide the answer as in
the latest science fiction movies. How practical and costly are
these systems to the price of a car? Quite a bit, but a radar
based system may provide more safety for auto drivers. We are
bullish on this technology and we realize as we see more and more
innovations come into the modern automobile.
Today the Fog of Road is serious, tomorrow we will have won the
battle. Technology, smart sensors and the net-centric car of the
future will keep you and your family safe from harm.
By Lance Winslow
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