I'm sure that some sort of 'engineering failure' contributed to this, or at least made it worse... 5

[JohnRBaker]

...if nothing else, it made for a horrific photo opp:

Accident involving at least 69 vehicles shuts down I-64 westbound near Queens Creek Bridge, 51 injured

https://www.wavy.com/traffic/multi-vehicle-accident-shuts-down-i-64-near-queens-creek-overpass/

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JohnRBaker]

I'm just surprised that there appears to have been no large interstate trucks involved.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JAE]

Someone texting while driving no doubt.

 

[Sparweb]

The dash-cam photo shows thick fog. When following too closely there's no time left to react.
Does anything indicate an icy surface contributed to the pile-up?

http://www.sparweb.ca

 

[3DDave]

Crashes like this are usually associated with ice on the bridge or complete loss of visibility due to fog.

It doesn't even require texting. In the case of fog there are two separate concepts. One is to slow down to a speed that matches the visibility; the other is to not change speed at all. When those in the second group encounter those in the first or second group (not everyone goes the same high speed) then that's the seed for everyone else to slam in. Those in the first group often stop successfully for the wreckage, only to be battered by those in the second group.

And if there is ice that is in the process of melting as the sun comes up? Looks just like water and hitting a pill bug can start a spin.

 

[JohnRBaker]

There was a study done in England several years ago where, everything else being equal, it showed that people tended to speed UP when driving in heavy fog. It was shown that people underestimated the speed they were driving when visibility was limited. This was NOT related to it being dark or not. Rather it was when the ability to see a clear distance ahead of you was interfered with, such as when driving in fog, irrespective of the time of day.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[Latexman]

I count about 48ish vehicles in the pic. They must have towed some away already.

Good Luck,
Latexman

 

[3DDave]

JR - if only there was some way to tell the speed, something a driver could look at and tell at a glance just how fast they were going. Alas this, and the mystery of what that small stick on the side of the steering wheel does and why it makes a light on the dash blink and has never stopped doing so, will likely go unsolved.

 

[hokie66]

Add rubbernecking to the mix. Maybe some engineer, curious about the bridge construction between the existing roadways.

 

[BrianPetersen]

Do folks in Virginia commonly install winter tires? Temperature would have probably been in the vicinity of freezing.

I have a funny feeling that winter tires aren't a thing there.

 

[itsmoked]

My plan has always been: If I encounter thick fog while on the freeway immediately pull as far off the side as possible then exit the vehicle heading farther to the right over any fences. Wait for clearing or the sound of mashing metal to diminish to a distance before returning.

I have to rethink that strategy looking at this bridge mess..

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[phamENG]

Nope - winter tires are decidedly not a thing here. Last year we didn't even get snow (the bridge is a little north of me, so they may have gotten flurries once last year). Ice on the bridges isn't even a common occurrence, even with freezing temperatures. So, when you have freezing temps and thick fog like yesterday morning....nobody has the slightest clue what to do. Combine it with a narrowed bridge under construction and you have a recipe for disaster. If traffic on that stretch isn't a parking lot, it's bumper to bumper at 80mph.

 

[LittleInch]

Not sure you can engineer out stupidity.

This from 7 years ago.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-23970047

Until all cars are equipped and run with radar and auto braking....

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[EngineeringEric]

I live here. not sure if that a brag or problem. Winter tires are fairly rare and we really only get 12-20 inches of snow a year (spread over 3-4 snow falls). the construction has caused for narrower lanes and rubber-necking and it was cold temperatures over a bridge... some news reports were stating the ice caused an accident, fog limited visibility, people distracted, and then add in a two lane - no shoulder road.

From that photo, the rear dozen cars included a VDOT road side assistance vehicle (truck with a big blinky light saying move over), so it seems there may have been a crash/issue with a few cars that then grew with time and even included dispatching one of those prior to any police/state troopers. Note the cars still crashed in a 'blinky' sign, so visibility must have been bad.

 

[davidbeach]

If you pull off the roadway in heavy fog, turn off your lights as soon as you're out of traffic. Otherwise somebody will follow the lights. I grew up in Tule Fog country (central San Joaquin Valley) and don't miss that mess one bit.

 

[JohnRBaker]

While I've never lived in the San Joaquin Valley, I've had to drive through Tule Fog on more than one occasion and it can be very scary indeed. With the level of truck traffic on I-5 and CA-99, it's a wonder that the accidents that have occurred have not worse than they were. Speaking of the 99, my wife and I are driving up to Fresno on Christmas Day. Considering the time of year and the fact that most of the foggy areas are up closer to Stockton, we should be OK.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[fel3]

John…

I live in Fresno. As I'm sure you know, tule fog is usually worst in low lying areas, particularly along rivers, creeks, and canals. The Sac-Joaquin Delta around Stockton can be particularly bad as you noted. Fortunately, fog is generally not as bad inside Fresno as when I was a kid, probably due to a combination of generally warmer winters and the urban heat island effect. Fresno was about 135,000 people when we moved here in 1963 and now it's about 500,000. Clovis has grown from about 25,000 to 110,000 in the same time. However, away from the cities, it's probably about as bad as always.

Along your route, the worst places along Hwy 99 between Grapevine and Fresno are typically the Kern River in Bakersfield, the Tule River south of Tulare, the St. John's River between Goshen and Traver, the Kings River south of Kingsburg, a low spot just north of Selma, and the San Joaquin River on the north end of Fresno. Fortunately for you, Christmas Day is supposed to be partly to mostly cloudy, so probably not foggy. You may still encounter some reduced visibility, but probably not enough to matter.



============
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[VEBill]

"...exit the vehicle..."

Generally not a good idea, but it depends on the cadence of the crashes.

In desolate rural areas, perhaps yes.

In areas with heavy traffic, absolutely not. Tighten your seatbelt and brace for impact. It'll happen shortly.

 

[itsmoked]

davidbeach; Excellent point about the lights.

I went pheasant hunting with my dad and a guy named Davey Crockett (not BS'n you either) in Los Banos by the fore bay of San Lewis Reservoir. We got smacked with heavy fog. It was so bad we had to open the driver's door and look down to see the lines on the road. We drove about 3 miles in that to a duck club turn-off. It was so bad at least no one could drive over 3MPH. Fortunately it was on a very rural road about midnight so there was no traffic at all. At least none we saw. LOL

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[LittleInch]

The safest place to be is actually inside the vehicle. If you have the presense of mind wind the windows down fully so that you can get out if the doors won't or can't open.

Actually quite surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.