# Big accidents this winter
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 7, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071 "2020-01-07T15:24:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/1 "2020-01-07T15:24:28Z")
[69-car accident in Virginia](https://wtvr.com/2019/12/22/fog-and-ice-cause-35-car-pile-up-york-county-virginia/) in December.
[60-car pile-up in Maine](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/60-cars-involved-pile-crash-maine-interstate-n1111701) just now.
Maybe I’ve just been out of touch, but it’s been years since I remember hearing about such large accidents, and yet here are a couple of them within about a month. Furthermore, at New Years, there was
[bizarre accident with tumbleweeds in Washington state](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/us/tumbleweeds-block-washington-highway-trnd/index.html) don’t know how many cars, but it included a semi :eek:
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/2 "2020-01-07T15:34:13Z")
Sunday, 1/05, Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mount Pleasant: 5 killed, 60 injured, involving a tour bus, 2 semis and God knows what else. What a mess. Apparently, the tour bus’s fault.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/3 "2020-01-07T15:36:52Z")
I’m pretty sure these things happen from time to time. I remember ones caused by fog.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/4 "2020-01-07T15:49:02Z")
Basically unless people get killed these kinds of pileups only get mentioned in a fairly limited area. For example there was a 50 car pile-up in the Des Moines, Iowa area a month ago.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/5 "2020-01-07T16:19:34Z")
People are idiots. Drive head-long into poor visibility at speed. Only works on race tracks.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/6 "2020-01-07T16:26:40Z")
Add in distractions like texting and touch-screen controls in vehicles and it just gets worse - people who might have seen a problem up ahead and slowed down/avoided it wind up slamming into the pile up because they don’t give themselves enough time to react.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/7 "2020-01-07T16:31:45Z")
I was involved in a 60+ car accident on I-93 in NH several years back. No one was killed so it only made the local news cycle.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/8 "2020-01-07T22:03:40Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> Sunday, 1/05, Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mount Pleasant: 5 killed, 60 injured, involving a tour bus, 2 semis and God knows what else. What a mess. Apparently, the tour bus’s fault.
Yes, I remember that one, but didn’t know how many cars were involved. The news reports mostly just mentioned the bus and trucks, but nothing on the total number of vehicles. So I figured it wasn’t an impressive number.
Well, I live in the Northwest, so it’s probably that we haven’t had any big ones around here in quite a while. The last big one I remember was in the Willamette valley and caused by smoke from farmers burning grass stubble, but that was in the 90s, I think. Apparently they happen in other parts of the country and I just haven’t heard about them.
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### Author:  [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/9 "2020-01-07T23:43:52Z")
Arizona gets dust storms. Central Valley gets Tule Fog. There are ice-related pile ups every winter. People all over need to learn how to deal with low visibility conditions and be able to handle their local hazards appropriately.
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### Author:  [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/10 "2020-01-08T00:22:55Z")
Why don’t the police do anything prevent things like this? ISTM they just sit and wait for a tragedy to happen, and only respond after cars have already crashed, or a bank has already robbed, or a murder victim is already dead.
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### Author:  [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/11 "2020-01-08T01:36:21Z")
In the Central Valley, there are signs up on the freeway warning people about the fog. In Arizona, there are videos on what to do in a dust storm. In all areas with winter weather, people are told to stay home. People get out and drive anyway. For that matter, people stand on their porches and video tornadoes, and people stay home during hurricanes and wildfires instead of evacuating.
Put another way, people in authority do try and communicate the risks. No method is perfect and there are always people who aren’t reached or who choose to undertake risky behavior for a variety of reasons.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/12 "2020-01-08T04:20:28Z")
> [@boffking](#):
>
> Why don’t the police do anything prevent things like this?
What do you suggest they do?
Fog, black ice, blowing snow, and dust storms don’t arrive on a schedule. The police have to be aware, have resources close by, and need to be able to take specific actions. This isn’t a simple problem that people are just ignoring.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/13 "2020-01-08T04:48:20Z")
> [@dtilque](#):
>
> > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
> >
> > Sunday, 1/05, Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mount Pleasant: 5 killed, 60 injured, involving a tour bus, 2 semis and God knows what else. What a mess. Apparently, the tour bus’s fault.
>
> Yes, I remember that one, but didn’t know how many cars were involved. The news reports mostly just mentioned the bus and trucks, but nothing on the total number of vehicles.
Overnight, the bus [wiped out](https://nypost.com/2020/01/06/three-victims-launched-into-roadway-during-fatal-pennsylvania-crash/) on the turnpike & was then hit by trailing TTs. Other than nighttime & a curve don’t think this was primarily related to low visibility.
> [@boffking](#):
>
> Why don’t the police do anything prevent things like this? ISTM they just sit and wait for a tragedy to happen, and only respond after cars have already crashed, or a bank has already robbed, or a murder victim is already dead.
I really hope this is sarcasm & I’m not being wooshed, but just in case, the police are working on something to [arrest murders before they commit their crimes](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/).
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/14 "2020-01-08T05:18:05Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> What do you suggest they do?
>
> Fog, black ice, blowing snow, and dust storms don’t arrive on a schedule. The police have to be aware, have resources close by, and need to be able to take specific actions. This isn’t a simple problem that people are just ignoring.
I’ll add that the police, and other authorities, do try to be as proactive as they can. If a weather event, such as a snowstorm, looks to be in the forecast, authorities will often describe what to expect if travelling, and in some cases, will warn against travelling on local highways. In spite of that, some people won’t heed the warnings.
Interestingly, a local road that was notorious for chain collision accidents in snowy weather now has changeable speed limits. LED speed limit signs can lower the speed limit in poor winter conditions. The system seems to be working; there are accidents still, but not huge multi-car chain collisions like there used to be before the changeable speed limit signs were installed.
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/15 "2020-01-08T08:02:47Z")
> [@boffking](#):
>
> Why don’t the police do anything prevent things like this? ISTM they just sit and wait for a tragedy to happen, and only respond after cars have already crashed, or a bank has already robbed, or a murder victim is already dead.
_flails hands in air_
Why don’t the police just DO SOMETHING to prevent this?!?!
Like what?
If there was some concrete step that **law enforcement agents** could take to prevent those accidents, doncha think they would already?
But that’s already stepping way beyond what an agent tasked with enforcing law (e.g. legislative requirements) should be doing on the job.
They’re police officers. Their job is to enforce the law, not to magically prevent physics and weather conditions.
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### Author:  [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/16 "2020-01-08T08:43:20Z")
I spent some childhood years on a hill above a narrow expressway. My wake-up alarm each winter morning was the crunch of chain collisions in dense tule fog. Nearby suburban media might reporte such but the metropolitans rarely did. What, another string of rear-enders? Yawn.
We drove a twisty commute road yesterday afternoon in ten-foot-visibility valley fog. Drivers around us seemed bent on returning home ASAP - whether dead or alive didn’t seem to matter. Conclusion: tired people are idiots.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-accidents-this-winter/846071/17 "2020-01-08T11:55:16Z")
> [@boffking](#):
>
> Why don’t the police do anything prevent things like this?
The one in Maine yesterday is being attributed to the [glare of the sun](https://abcnews.go.com/US/50-cars-involved-massive-crash-maine-interstate/story?id=68116107). Should the police stop everyone who isn’t wearing sunglasses?