Horrible accident (Houston: cities, rain, drivers)

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

Per the chronicle:

Jesus. Why people why?!?!?! That thick? Considering how jaw dropping the pileup looks these people were flying. If you've been on I-10 either way once you get out of "Houston" metro these people and 18 wheelers are FLYING like it's NASCAR 10x

Plus the speed limit has been raised to what 80 now? So that means everyone was going 90 because everyone goes 10+ the speed limit everywhere. Jesus. That fog sounds crazy for speeds like that. People could "hear" cars hitting cars but couldn't see it!?!?! Not even the 18 wheelers? Jesus! Slow down in fog like that!

Hell speeds over 40 really.

The limit doesnt mean you drive the limit in all conditions. Ice, Snow, Fog or heavy rain reducing visibility..come on people use your brain......slow down when you cant see clearly

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

The limit doesnt mean you drive the limit in all conditions. Ice, Snow, Fog or heavy rain reducing visibility..come on people use your brain......slow down when you cant see clearly

Again as someone who was actually on that road and miss that mess by 30 mins i can tell you fog was so thick it would have happen at 45 mph...you could barely see more than 40 feet ahead..i thought about just pulling over a dozen times..i had not seen fog this thick in ages..the car in front of yoh just vanishes..

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by Truth713

As someone who was on that road and might have been in that mess if i had left 30 min early .. i can tell you speed and roads had very little to do with it...the fog was thick like a wall ..there were times i might have had maybe 40 feet of vision ..the cars ahead of you seems to vanish into a white smokey wall.

Originally Posted by Truth713

Again as someone who was actually on that road and miss that mess by 30 mins i can tell you fog was so thick it would have happen at 45 mph...you could barely see more than 40 feet ahead..i thought about just pulling over a dozen times..i had not seen fog this thick in ages..the car in front of yoh just vanishes..

WOW! If it was that bad and that sounds epic everyone should have pulled over. Especially all those 18 wheelers. If you can't see a car who the hell can see something that big and those fools don't understand going under 70.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by Truth713

Again as someone who was actually on that road and miss that mess by 30 mins i can tell you fog was so thick it would have happen at 45 mph...you could barely see more than 40 feet ahead..i thought about just pulling over a dozen times..i had not seen fog this thick in ages..the car in front of yoh just vanishes..

Been there as hard as it is to do sometimes, rarely at least, you should pull over and wait. Much much much easier said than done though. I recall driving to Dallas over Christmas once about 20 years ago. Cars were doing donuts on the highways... I kept on going but managed to keep 100 feet plus of spacing between my car and others. Finally got out of the ice but probably should have stopped.... fog is terrible...thank goodness more werent killed in this horrific mess

[HoustonProfessional]

TAILGATING is what caused this massive pileup.

Every single time I get on the road there is some idiot who wants to drive five feet behind me. They never get tickets because cops are too lazy to enforce anything but speeding.

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by HoustonProfessional

TAILGATING is what caused this massive pileup.

Every single time I get on the road there is some idiot who wants to drive five feet behind me. They never get tickets because cops are too lazy to enforce anything but speeding.

you cant tailgate if you can not even see whats a head of you

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by jdw7337

you make a good number of valid points but, I've been on this highway during the holidays many times. The highway is in major need of an overhaul, there is no slow lane, just two lanes traveling between 70-90mph in a strange high speed bumper to bumper situation. There are no reliable feeder roads to exit onto either, they dead end, disappear off into the middle of nowhere, or simply don't even exist in some areas.
Those people who slow down in the fog are actually the cause of this wreck because of the lack of lanes. On a normal day you always find that one person who thinks 70mph is enough for this highway's fast lane and people nearly slam into the back of your car every minute until you can squeeze through the 18-wheelers in the slow lane to get around them.

It's time that I-10 between Winnie & Beaumont gets an overhaul to look like I-10 between Anahuac & Winnie, 3 lanes in each direction (fast lane has passing only signs), 65mph speed limit, & reliable 2 lane feeder roads along the entire highway.

You have got to be kidding with that speed limit suggestion. People's driving habits are the problem, not the speed limit. I'm always amazed at the people who drive so close to the car in front of them. Even in urban areas, you can keep a four car gap + a little extra. Should be even more in rural settings, yet I still see people drive with just one car space or less in front of them driving at whatever speeds.

[HoustonProfessional]

Originally Posted by Trae713

You have got to be kidding with that speed limit suggestion. People's driving habits are the problem, not the speed limit. I'm always amazed at the people who drive so close to the car in front of them. Even in urban areas, you can keep a four car gap + a little extra. Should be even more in rural settings, yet I still see people drive with just one car space or less in front of them driving at whatever speeds.

Glad to see other people voicing an opinion that tailgating and unsafe driving are major problems in Houston. This type of behavior seems to be endorsed by half the population, condoned by a quarter and correctly viewed as a problem by a quarter. It's too bad the cops all belong to the half that condones it. These tragedies are typically avoidable and calling them unavoidable does a real disservice to safety.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

WOW! If it was that bad and that sounds epic everyone should have pulled over. Especially all those 18 wheelers. If you can't see a car who the hell can see something that big and those fools don't understand going under 70.

Yeah Right like idiots would actually do this. The highway/freeways brings out the worst in human beings. Some of these truck drivers are more focused on not getting fired and delivering the product in a timely manner then having safety hazards. And alot get little to no sleep. This combined w/ bad weather. A ticking time bomb. Most accidents can be easily avoided but it's always one little mistake [mod edit - language].

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by HoustonProfessional

Glad to see other people voicing an opinion that tailgating and unsafe driving are major problems in Houston. This type of behavior seems to be endorsed by half the population, condoned by a quarter and correctly viewed as a problem by a quarter. It's too bad the cops all belong to the half that condones it. These tragedies are typically avoidable and calling them unavoidable does a real disservice to safety.

And like I always say, if people would leave space and consistently pass the cars to their right, then there would hardly be as much traffic. Traffic wouldnt get so thick randomly and for no reason other than people not passing and yielding.