Another fatal crash in thick fog. Who or what was to blame?

FrogChemist

"they all blamed poor visibility"
Poor visibility can not be the cause, the fog did not reach out and grab the cars and throw them together. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. They should have said "I am to blame. I am an idiot for driving like I could see where I was going, when in fact I was impaired because of poor visibility. It was my fault." Too bad that no one will actually say this.

george d

To any non European posters we probably have different vehicle lighting regulations to you.
One of the biggest 'driving hazards' I have encountered in my 20 + years as a trucker, is the advent of the 'high intensity' rear fog lights,(and their misuse). On the majority of vehicles these lamps are contained in the rear light cluster,(instead of under the bumper) and, from even 20 yards away are indistinguishable from brake lights in poor visibility. You see a bright red light and in a split second you either react & slow down, or dont react & smash into the vehicle in front - You take that chance. How many times have the matrix signs indicated fog or some other hazard, only for there to be none. Drivers are lulled into a false sense of security by their modern cars -- 'I've got abs, traction control etc, - all are only as good as the operator. The majority of drivers will never be in a situation where they have the opportunity to try out these gizmos until it is too late. so, if in an emergency stop the brake pedal starts vibrating, (ABS/EBS kicking back) many people will be tempted to lift off -- lethal. The biggest factors in any accident are driver error,losing concentration, excessive speed, or losing control of the vehicle.- All avoidable.
A number of years ago there was a horrendous crash in thick fog on a downhill section the M42 in Worcestershire, involving more than 100 vehicles, with a number of fatalities. The one contributing factor was excessive speed for the conditions, as the cars went from bright daylight into zero visibility in the space of a few yards, this was happening AFTER the emergency services were on the scene dealing with the original incidents involving, I believe a fuel tanker.

focus

Unfortunately too many drivers have the 'It won't happen to me' syndrome. So they tend to drive faster than it is safe. On motorways drivers generally drive too fast and too close even in good conditions so the moment the weather gets bad a major crash is just waiting to happen. I have even heard drivers comment that there were no signs warning of the fog. If they need warning signs then they shouldn't be on the road. Come on you drivers, use common sense and slow right down so you know you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

AndyB

Driver error. You take into consideration the weather.

I Luv NY

It was all about careless driving. Airplanes can fly in the clouds because they have air traffic control providing separation services from other aircraft. Cars don't have that. They shouldn't drive in the clouds.

monty

I agree not driving to the conditions caused the crash ,It`s always human intervention cars don`t drive themselves.

i agree, people need to slow down and take into consideration the condition

kevin p

not taking care

Nat

i was taught at deffensive driving that a deffensive driver is a driver who has done everything he/she could of reasonably could of done.....Then again, most accidents are preventable. The driver knew the weather conditions, and if he felt that it would be challenging then he should of been more cautious. But hey, you have to pass the blaming stage and rather cellebrate those that survived!

The Tank

Ref. the answer by DS Aviation Services:

He mentions "flares". For God's sake don't ever ignite flares by a stopped vehicle!
If there is any sort of collision (very possible in fog) then naked flames and spilt petrol would certainly clear away the fog.

Emissary

Most people don't drive in compliance with weather conditions. This being the case along with inattention causes the majority of mass accidents.

a-and-a

It is the "press-on-regardless" attitude of bad, inconsiderate drivers that is to blame.

Peepaw

Probably driving to fast or driving carelessly.

PAUL F

All those travelling too fast for the conditions. Poor visibility means slow down until speed matches visibility then visibility is good again

mummyvictoria

People need to slow down and heed the weather conditions. On the back of this question I have to ask why after any type of incident nowadays the Motorways are shut. I understand the accident investigation stuff but surely it is just as important to get the road cleared and traffic moving as quickly as possible?

rowdy

I don't know - I wasn't there. For all we know, it mightn't have been anything to do with the fog.

When people have just been in a crash, they'll use any old excuse.

prince_henry

the sad thing is today we are cocooned in our cars and feel warm and safe when really death is sitting on our roof waiting for us to get over confidant or make that one little error.
cars are made so comfy that we don't feel in danger even when we are racing down a motorway at 70-80 miles an hour.
there's nothing you can do coz its just down to use being humans

muse 32

its the fog.theres always a crash in extreme weather.

David S

when there's heavy fog, or when visibility is below 50 feet, pull over to the side, get your lights on and/or flares if you have them and wait!

Lab

Often when these big pile-ups occur in fog, the fog bank rolled in suddenly and caught everybody by surprise. If everybody had slowed down at the same time, there would have been far less carnage but that is impossible. In thick fog, if you hit the brakes and the person behind you can't see you, your going to get hit. There is no easy answer on how to get out of a situation like this. Blame the weather.

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