Florida highway pileup kills at least 10 people

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120130/D9SIU6VO0.html

By MIKE SCHNEIDER

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A long line of cars and trucks collided one after another early Sunday on a dark Florida highway so shrouded in haze and smoke that drivers were instantly blinded. At least 10 people were killed.

When rescuers first arrived, they could only listen for screams and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in wreckage that was strewn for nearly a mile, police said.

Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup south of Gainesville on Interstate 75, which had been closed for a time before the accidents because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire that may have been intentionally set. At least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flames.

Steven R. Camps of Gainesville said he and some friends were driving home several hours before dawn when they were drawn into the pileup.


Wrecked vehicles sit along the road at the scene of a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

FULL story at link.

[tawadi]

1. Why do people stop on a highway?

This seems to happen in thick fog/smoke all the time.
Why don't they pull over to the side of the road to stop?

[Posteritatis]

3. Two people decide to stop near the same place...

Even if they both pull over there's a chance of them trying to occupy the same stretch of shoulder, at which points bets are off for everyone behind them.

(Also, most of the time, people do pull over.)

[NYC_SKP]

4. Selfish, ignorant, unaware of anyone beyond themselves.

People walk around in stores or public places in much the same way, oblivious to whether or not they might be blocking someone else from getting from a to b.

Ignorant, selfish, oblivious.

On the highways, it's deadly.

[Lochloosa]

10. Ever driven into Fog/Smoke NYC? You are way off base here.

[tawadi]

17. I have, yes. I lived in an area that had quite a bit of fog.

And the most annoying part of these pile-ups was always the idiot who stopped on the highway.

[NYC_SKP]

24. Actually, I grew up in heart of the Delta, known for deadly tule fog.

It's frightening when you can't see beyond one stripe in the center lane, you depend on going slow and following tail lights, staying within eyeshot of any ahead of you without tailgating, and if you lose sight of any taillights ahead then you feel lost.

You have to crawl, but then you fear someone coming up behind you too fast, so you go as fast as you can safely.

Stopping at all is dangerous, even on the shoulder.

Stopping in the lane is madness.

But if it's smoke then it's unexpected. Still, I would never just plain stop unless vehicles ahead did.

And it's still true that people are oblivious, even if it doesn't apply in this particular case.

So yes, I might be off base here cuz I wasn't there and it might have been different from my experience.

[JCMach1]

18. I-75 is notorious for speeding..., but burning peat combined with fog= 0 visibility.

and I do mean zero.

I have seen this many times as a North Florida native.

[Art_from_Ark]

6. According to the *full* article:

"A short time later, Camps said, traffic stopped along the northbound lanes.
'You couldn't see anything. People were pulling off the road,' he said."

[jberryhill]

8. They hit a wall of reduced visibility

When you have a sudden change in visibility, cars are going to stop when they can't see, but that stoppage piles up behind them.

I wish people wouldn't follow so closely on highways, though. It is my biggest driving peeve.

[russspeakeasy]

12. and 85 mph trucks.

[uncle ray]

20. because they can't see the side of the road.

one can find themselves in zero visibility conditions quicker than one can react. the first reaction is, of course, to slow down, and then pull over and find a safe place to stop. by then chances are some other motorists is occupying the shoulder of the road. you'll have a number of vehicles stopped on the shoulder, and those trying to navigate at a reduced speed attempting to go around them as more traffic comes barreling into the mess. a lot of cars can start to pile up in a hurry.

really, it doesn't matter why someone stops. the burden is on the driver to avoid obstacles in the road, be it a stopped vehicle, an animal or a person.

[mdmc]

2. what a mess

[BlueJazz]

5. OK...I'm going to be callous here. I'm sorry that people died when they didn't have to die.

...and here's that word > BUT...why do idiot drivers insist on driving 40-50 mph in heavy fog. (where visibility is 20 ft)
For Christ sakes, get OFF of the road (even onto the shoulder and drive 5-8 mph until you are in clear space again.
You're not going to run into anything or anybody driving that slow PLUS no incompetent idiot driver is going to
come barreling down the road and hit you in the ass, (hopefully). Even better, exit at the first chance and wait.

I hate when I hear reports like "Fog was the blame for X deaths."

[russspeakeasy]

13. There is an abrupt area of fog that people, not familiar with the area,

wouldn't be expecting. and yes, that was pretty callous

[BlueJazz]

16. Perhaps but I find that most people do not look down the road any more than...

...100-200 ft.

Ever notice some people that come roaring up behind you, change lanes and accelerate & fly past you while
you've already noticed that the light 3/4 of a block away has just turned red.

Those are the kind that see the hood of their automobile and no further.

I've driven through fog (here in Florida) all my life and have never NOT seen it coming.
You just have to pay attention to the world around you.

[lib2DaBone]

7. Put down the Cell Phone.....

Quit tweeting and texting.. pay attention to your driving.

What is so important the you would kill another person just to get the latest text?

[Lochloosa]

11. I can assure you this had nothing to do with tweeting or texting

[russspeakeasy]

14. Where in hell do you get your info ?

[A Simple Game]

19. Tweeting and or texting may have contributed to this accident,

but these types of accidents were happening well before cell phones were in use.

There are times you just don't see the fog until you are into it.

[Art_from_Ark]

28. For example, there was a really bad fog-related accident in Tennessee back in the '90s

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/us/15-killed-and-over-50-hurt-in-fog-as-75-vehicles-crash-in-tennessee.html

[Lochloosa]

9. I live in this part of the world. Fog/Smoke is hard to understand when you have never driven in it

We have heavy fog quite often this time of year. It's just something we deal with. When you drive into Fog/Smoke it goes from ok visibility to nothing. You cannot see any the front of your car.

It's hard to explain to someone that has never experienced it. You go from seeing a few miles down the road to nothing. When they say they were listening for screams and groans to find people they meant it. It's that bad.

[russspeakeasy]

15. I am very familiar with that particular section of road.

It can go from o.k. to oh, shit, in about 10 seconds.

[dipsydoodle]

21. Helpicopter footage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16784052

Reminds me of our one in the UK on the M5 last year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15606278

[Kurmudgeon]

22. I used to drive in that area, I'd keep my foot on the brake, tapping it repeatedly, easing along.

Trying to go fast enough so I don't get hit from behind, but not fast enough to barrel into someone stopped in the road.
We have similar fog in WV, but without the long straight stretches for people to get up to that kind of speed, generally.
Scary situation.

[DFW]

23. We have crashes like that here in Germany all the time

Germans generally do not slow down for minor hindrances such as zero visibility or other cars on the road.
Most cars here do have a device installed to prevent major accidents, but few seem to be aware of it, even
though it's a standard feature. It's called a brake.

There are few minor accidents when going 120 mph/200kph. It's either no accident at all or bye bye birdie.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. With headlight flashers and a horn, who needs brakes?

When I was stationed in Germany, I had a piece-of-junk VW bus that could go about 60mph, tops. Great fun on the autobahn, especially when someone with another piece-of-junk would pull out to pass because their top speed was 62mph. Immediately, a gaggle of Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs would form to the rear, headlights flashing like mad!

There were three pedals, I think one of them was called "brake".

[Tommy_Carcetti]

26. Just a little FYI on that particular area, as I'm familar with it.

It's called Paynes Prairie, and it essentially is a minature version of the Florida Everglades just south of Gainesville. No trees around whatsoever, just flat grassland. If fog or smoke crawls across the prairie, I could imagine it would be very easy to become disoriented.

According to my dad who lives there, the Gainesville area is very dry right now. They've had very little rain this winter.

[WheelWalker]

27. IMO,rear end collisions generally occur when someone travels too fast for how far ahead

the driver can see and safely stop. The higher the speed, the more likely such a collision will involve a serious or fatal injury. Personally, I drive like I'm on a motorcycle where ANY collision is likely to be fatal to me.