Tule Fog
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Posted on 11/03/2007 11:23:03 AM PDT by yorkie
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Collisions on a foggy freeway Saturday resulted in a pileup of as many as 100 vehicles and the deaths of at least two people, the California Highway Patrol said.
The collisions included nine big rigs on northbound Highway 99 just south of Fresno, CHP Officer Scott Jobinger said.
"It looks like we had a chain reaction crash in that fog," Jobinger said.
Rescuers extracted several people whose vehicles were pinned under tractor trailers, he said. The number of people injured was not yet known.
Authorities said no hazardous materials appeared to have been spilled in the morning crash.
That section of the freeway will remain shut down as investigators work to determine the cause of the crash, Jobinger said.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
That’s horrible; and so soon after that incident in Southern California where the people were trapped in a burning tunnel.
The really dangerous part about the valley fog is that it is variable and can change suddenly from 1/4 mile visibility to 0....that is when these pile-ups occur.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Hope all Fresno FReepers are okay and accounted for!
It would be interesting to find out if any of these accidents involved trucks travelling into our country from Mexico......
Just a thought.....
This is the second large accident in the past month that involved nine big-rigs.
I imagine we will never be told.
Bumper bullies sometimes lose the gamble.
There have been a number of overturned tractor-trailer incidents in the Houston area in the past few weeks that have made me wonder about this.
You are correct in your point that if this is a new trent, the knobs in the media are going to be very tight lipped about it.
These huge pile ups have been happening for many years. Trouble is, one cannot know what to do when they run into a fog bank, slow down, drive off the road and stop, maintain speed? Any choice opens one up to a serious collision. A fix would be to promulgate a rule among all drivers as to what to do when encountering a fog bank. Stopping until it cleared up seems like a good idea.
Stay off the roads Jim!
Oh and Happy Birthday
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
That's unfair. You have no idea what the cause was. Have you ever driven in a Tule fog?
Wow. A pileup on Hwy 99 in the fog near Fresno. That’s never happened before.
Sheesh. Slow down, people, unless you can see through thick fog.
I heard about this. Live in Fresno. Hwy 99 is absolutely treacherous, even without fog. This is horrible. I have driven in the fog on 99 from Fresno to Sacramento many times. I try to get behind one of those big trucks and just stay there. The truckdrivers don’t mind. This is the first pile-up of the year; there are usually a few each year at around this time.
1st serious fog of our season. Fog is tough to drive in. You’re afraid to go too fast and afraid to go too slow. Unfortunately, not everybody has the same plan (fast or slow).
That's sometimes a bad place to be if another truck is behind you. You could become the meat in a big rig sandwich.
When I lived in Germany they had these huge 400+ car pileups on the Autobahn just outside of Munich every year. Going a 100+ and hitting fog, well, it was like bumpercars.
And take your foot off the brake and turn off your lights! In that kind of fog (we have similar in Daly City) people behind you think you are on the road and moving otherwise.
Every year it happens there!
Has anyone ever thought of turning on their headlights/tail lights? I’ve been doing this for 40+ years when I hit fog. It’s not a cure, but it does help.
Well, you all know that Bush caused the fog by not supporting the Kyoto Protocols...or was it Haliburton...or “big oil”...Or maybe it was Cheney...
400+?.....auto body shops must have a lot of business unless they are all write offs...at those speeds, probably they all turned into accordions, maestro please?
-—yep—nothing to do with driving too fast for conditions—
Tule Fog
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Have you ever driven in a Tule fog? You'll be going about 45 in a light fog and then BAM a heavy curtain just drops on you - visibility goes to about 5 feet in 2 seconds. You can't even see the side of the road to pull over. Many people panic and slow way down. That's when it happens
If people would just give people their distance and TURN THEIR LIGHTS ON, most accidents would never happen. Just last week I nearly had four cars run into my bumper because I had to suddenly break for two deer in the road.
LOL - welcome to the road!
Indeed. Back in the 70s a buddy of mine was driving up there and ran into a thick fog. He kept hearing a low "thud" and not knowing what it was, decided to pull over and wait, while others roared on by. People still kept their high speed despite the lack of visibility.
The "thuds" turned out to be collisions muffled by the fog.
Do you know what time this pile-up happened? It that were at night or daybreak, visibility would be worse. The daytime photo seems to show the fog at least offers the opportunity to drivers to drive very, very slowly. As if!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Absolutely, In fact, even if you’re lucky enough to make it to the side of the road, you’re still in danger from cars trying to do the same thing and slamming into your rear end. I taught my kids to drive as far as possible off the road, even at the risk of getting stuck. Better stuck than struck!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Another article said it happened at 7:45 this morning:
http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_307132126.html
Thanks. I’ve never been caught in the Tule Fog, but one night was caught in fog along the PCH from Long Beach to Newport Beach that was so dense I couldn’t see the end of my own car’s hood. So, slowly I plodded my way home, and was passed by other cars doing the normal 60mph. Scared me to death!
Hard to imagine with 100 cars and 9 rigs there’d be only 100 fatalities. Let’s pray it holds at that.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
When I drove ‘99’ in the fog, I’d lay back a hundred yards from a rig and watch his lights. That said, you never know what’s comin’ up behind you.
Was in a sand storm near B’field in about ‘89. As soon as you hit that cloud of dust, visibility was ZERO.
When I drove ‘99’ in the fog, I’d lay back a hundred yards from a rig and watch his lights. That said, you never know what’s comin’ up behind you.
Was in a sand storm near B’field in about ‘89. As soon as you hit that cloud of dust, visibility was ZERO.
(UH, THAT WAS ‘79. Sorry)
Global Warming or
Illegals
“I try to get behind one of those big trucks and just stay there.”
That’s good thinking. I’ll remember that.
No.1 : It's not an unusual event there due to the unstable fog conditions
No. 2: I didn't see where the big rigs were at fault...maybe they were, maybe not. Regular drivers are, for the most part, clueless on how to drive safely around the big rigs - the big rig drivers are put in more dangerous situations than you can shake a stick at by the regular drivers.
No. 3: Everything bad that happens in the US is not due to Mexicans - (and don't bother trying to paint me as an illegal sympathizer - I'm far from it. I just like to take each situation on it's face value until and if more facts present themselves rather than painting with a wide swatch...)
That's just my thought
The three of us are okay. Thanks!
Hate the fog.
Greyhound buses have had radar on them for many years now. I wonder how that’s working out for them. Using stereo speakers it should be possible to train your brain to see all around you through your ears. After airbags radar should be the next thing to add to cars.
I’ve been in the kind of fog you’re talking about, on the Silver Strand between Coronado and Chula Vista. Have to drive by looking out the side window at the center stripe going by.
Aside from weather causes, people drive 70 miles an hour with little space between them and cars in front. Somebody ahead breaks or slows and the rear piles up like dominoes. Part of it is stupidity but even people practicing defensive driving have to pay the price.
Too many cars on the road and too many people in a hurry.
I drove around that area and it was the worst. Literally could barely see beyond the hood of my car.
And we were complaining about the heavy fog from the ocean here in Ventura this morning at 7. In comparison to Fresno it was nothing - at least one could see a quarter of a block!
Oh Jeeze, how are they going to blame this on global warming and Bush/Cheney?
I concur, the picture showing the fog is actually a light fog compared to the tule fogs I have driven in. Most of the time, even in daylight, you can't even see the side of the road, at night it is absolutely zero visibility.
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