Welcome to Michigan 1/9/2015. If you see a white cloud in front of you, assume this is about to happen, because very often, it does. Lake effect snow can be especially dangerous, because the alternating sun & snow glaze the road with glare ice. Every single one of these poor souls that could not stop were going "too fast for conditions". The flatbed semi hauling the lift truck never even seems to even touch the brakes. Sad, stupid and unnecessary. And, this is about 80 miles inland from Lake Michigan where the snow is coming from.
Never over drive what you can actually see. During an event like this, the accident is actually coming towards you adding to your mph.

 

loss of life Ill bet...

 

I belive one person lost their life in this pile up. I saw a lot of driver error. Specially for the conditions. Its amazing only one person lost their life for the speeds of the vehicles impacting each other. Not to mention the truck with 44,000 lbs of fireworks that went off.

 

Sadly people who are driving properly for the conditions get swept up in this carnage.
It happens all over the world. My sister and her husband were taking their grandchildren home when they came to a halt on a major road in thick fog because of an accident further ahead. They got the kids out and off the road, a few minutes later their car was flattened by a truck that was going much too fast..........

Roger.

 

Yep, I agree Roger. It's always the trucks. Worldwide I see.
I think they get a feeling of invincibility, being the biggest things on the road. And there are so many of them. I'm quite sure that many of them feel that even if they wreck, they won't get hurt. Plus, for many of them, it's not their truck, which adds to the carelessness. Then throw in the ones that are busy watching **** on their I-phones.
In the 1950's my grandfather was a Greyhound bus driver training supervisor in Detroit, MI. After a while in the position, he simply stopped hiring ex-truck drivers, because he could not get them to stop tailgating during training.

 

Wow

 

Now do you guys know the accident statistics of how many semi trucks in the u.s. make up the overall number of accidents ? Its wayyyyyyyyy less than commuter cars so saying its the truckers faults is actually de bunked by statistical facts.

 

I94 frequently has a pileup or two every winter, but this was the grandaddy. It has been on the tube every day here in Mi. One loss of life, a Canadian truck driver, who was one of the last truckers to run into the mess. It took 40 hours to get the vehicles removed and the highway opened again.

 

But when trucks are involved, the results are terrible. I lived on that stretch of road for 10 years. It's the main trunk between Detroit and Chicago. When the call comes in of an accident with fatalities in that area, it almost always included a semi truck. Fatal accidents between trucks and cars renders that statistic completely meaningless.

 

I've run that stretch more times than I can count. It gets busy sometimes. LOTS of trucks.

 

I'm sorry but the last time I heard how much trucks accounted for accidents on the road in the u.s. it was like .3% sure some truckers made some bad calls but I think everyone envolved in this accident made the wrong call. I remember driving up to milwaukee one year and it was on I-94 but going north . It was near white out conditions pretty much white out. There where 2 semis's doing about 35 mph or so . Essentially those 2 trucks lead a very long 2 lane convoy on a 4 lane highway. I stay away from trucks as much as possible and give them space when I'm near them. Pretty much from what I saw a lot of people driving like idiots. Both truckers and commuter cars in this pile up.

 

Copper,
I understand you saying that Semi trucks account for a very small amount of crashes & I don't doubt that. But I think that the number of trucks is VASTLY outnumbered by the number of cars/non Semi trucks so I don't know if the stats are skewed because of that? I would think that generally truckers are, or at least should be, more professional & careful & should be involved in less accidents as a result of not texting, eating, make upping, beating the kids, etc....

When I was 15 a Semi ran into the back of our '79 Thunderbird that my grandfather was driving & if I would have had my seat belt on I would have been smashed flat. The semi came all the way into/onto the car & I was thrown in to the floorboard behind the front seats. If it was a regular car the damage would not have been near that bad.

 

I understand trucks are out numbered by a landslide to commuter cars. My point being is we all know truckers are "unprofessional" than why not stay back instead of cutting them off or tailing them or jacking the brakes. This video shows just how fast both commuter cars and semi's where going so its a double edged sword really.

 

Last year there was a big pile up north of Alma on US 127, not as big as this one on I94, but a big one. It also was due to lake effect snow. I wasn't involved but it was really weird driving that day. Mostly sunny and completely clear. Road surface dry. Most people driving normal speeds of 70MPH or better. Then go around a curve and BOOM!! Snow and glare ice. If there is a pile up you are screwed. No way to stop.

 

I was on that road, in that storm, the night it started, and the day it ended. We all see different sides of the same issue. The actions of a few, illuminate the actions of many. And end the lives of some. There were people I was following that when a gust would push a wave of white in front of them they would crush the brake and start sliding, I backed off when I could, passed when I had no other choice. I kept my attention on the road. Sadly others didn't. One of my co-workers home is in the cordoned area ordered for evacuation, his daughter seeing the news panicked and called him, his phone had no service, she knows he runs that road too...I cannot begin to imagine the feelings in her mind that day. A friend of a friend, when her car caromed off a truck, was unhurt {thankfully}. The fireman who ordered her to RUN away from the scene, followed orders...later when she got to the emergency center and watched the ongoing news footage, saw her car as it was loaded on a flatbed burst into flames with her purse..etc...within....but she was safe. The actions of the emergency crews saved many people. Please as this winter season progresses....be safe my brothers.

Brett

 

Amazing. I've worked in upstate NY when the lake effect snows kicked up. Unbelievable to drive in. I came up on a lake effect blizzard without warning, going about 40 and the road turned to a sheet of ice. There were cars and trucks just bouncing off of each other. Luckily, I was able to slow down the car by downshifting and manuevered around it. I think my heart was in my throat the rest of the day.

 

Later that day the same type of incident occurred (only 50 cars involved) on US 23 on the east side of the state. No Lake Effect snow involved.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...shes/21488641/

On the I-94 one the idiot Michigan legislators can breath a sigh of relief that more people weren't injured by the exploding fireworks.