50 car pile up in PA

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

There was a 50 car pile up not far from my childrens homes. Snow squalls and drifting snow are to blame. Muliple injuries and deaths. SO SAD. Its freezing here in PA, below zero with wind chills well below zero, and so these snow squalls can happen at any time.

Sending prayers to the victims and families of this horrible accident.

Here is the story with pictures from ABC news or just google ABC news and find the story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/50-cars-involved-pile-snow-covered-interstate-pennsylvania/story?id=3691590...

(PS. Be safe out there. If you hit a snow squall or drifts drive slow or better yet, pull over if you cant see. DH and I and our family hit one in January after a birthday dinner, that we couldnt see the roads home. Thankfully our family and us made it home that night)

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

StylishLady · ‎03-11-2010

Once we were driving south on I-81 to Shippensburg in December to attend a nephew's graduation. We had to stop in a valley as ice on the road stalled traffic going up a grade. All of a sudden DH is driving off onto the left shoulder. I ask him what he's doing. He says for me to look behind us. There was a tractor trailer sliding down the icy hill towards us. DH said he saw it in his rear view mirror and took evasive action to save us. Please be careful out there. And if you do not need to be on the road---don't.

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

Awful. A couple times I've come across squalls on I-80 when I cut through PA. It's really scary. I am fearful to pull over because I can't see the shoulder and I'm afraid someone will drive into me if I'm stopped. I usually keep an eye on the tail lights ahead of me and slow down.

IamMrsG · ‎08-29-2010

We had to go out last evening. The timing was unfortunate, as a snow squall came through just as we were leaving. It's only ~300 feet to the street, but we could not see it through the blowing snow. Very scary.

Strive for respect instead of attention. It lasts longer.

gonnab · ‎03-10-2010

Just saw this on our local CT news! OMG - so scary! Praying for those involved.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

Wow, that's horrific! I was thinking about it and I can't even imagine 50 cars in a pile-up! That's beyond comprehension.

At any rate, I sure hope there weren't injuries - or worse.

If conditions are THAT bad, I'd sure love to see more people just stay off the road if possible. I remember when we used to have really huge winters and, for the most part, people were pretty good about that.

There was a time when my office was only 2 miles away and if I figured it was going to be dangerous conditions, I'd just bundle up, put on the boots, and walk to work. One time it was 25 below zero but, hey, cold is cold so you can only get so cold. I was just worried that my wet hair would break off. hehe - every time I inhaled the inside of my nose froze.

Or there's always the bus and larger cities have many more transportational choices. When they moved our office way out south of town, and conditions were really bad, I would take the bus. Sure, it's a bit of a pain and you had to plan further ahead, but it was extremely doable.

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

@GCR18 wrote:
Awful. A couple times I've come across squalls on I-80 when I cut through PA. It's really scary. I am fearful to pull over because I can't see the shoulder and I'm afraid someone will drive into me if I'm stopped. I usually keep an eye on the tail lights ahead of me and slow down.

You have a valid point there. Its scary and you never know whats right to do to be safe.

Thanks for the replies and continued prayers to these people and their families.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

gardenman · ‎03-09-2010

When the visibility goes away in the blink of an eye you're in big time trouble. It can be a snow squall, dust storm, or smoke, but when you find yourself in that mess, you've just got to pray and trust your instincts.

I was driving North on 295 one day when there was truck on fire on the shoulder of the road. Suddenly the wind changed or something and the smoke went from blowing away from the road to covering the road. At most I could see maybe ten feet in front of the car. I immediately hit the four way flashers and slowed down hoping no one in front of me had stopped completely and tip-toed through. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I came through on the other side unscathed.

All you need though is one car/truck going faster than the cars/trucks ahead of them and starting a chain reaction that stops traffic and you get a massive pileup. I'm not sure there is a "right" answer for what to do in those situations. If you slow down you run the risk of being run over. If you maintain your speed you run the risk of running into a car ahead of you that slowed down. I hit the four way flashers and tap the brake constantly to flash the brake lights, and slow down, but if the driver behind me doesn't slow down, or if the car in front of me slows down more than I do or stops, I could be the cause of the next big pile up.

Unless every vehicle has radar, you're in big trouble in those situations and there's no easy answer. Whatever you do can be wrong. You've just got to pray you get through it somehow.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!

MomCat · ‎09-12-2010

Horrible accident. Made me sad. Probably the worse thing that happens here is heavy fog. When I hear about these situations I always wonder why it never strikes every single person driving on the road at that time to just stop their vehicle. Or, at least slow to a crawl. Most of us are glued to our rear view mirror just waiting for the crash. Scary.