Horrific DFW crash

[Blotto 23509]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

Sometimes you want to be the first one to take a morning shit on the office toilet.

On? If thats the case, there would be no "sometimes" about it. 

[pch 1259]

I worked two miles west of this area between Northside Drive and NE 28th.  I retired on January 29th and am thankful I no longer have to drive in these conditions.  Prayers for the families who lost loved ones in this horrible disaster.

[Vic Mackey 47037]

1 hour ago, futureman said:

toyota joe shouldn’t be driving 55 when he knows there’s ice on the road. truckers are idiots. toyota joe is an idiot. I don’t understand how people can haul ass in conditions like this morning. I think a lot of people won’t put themselves in that situation. 

Yep. In ice, you need to be going at a crawl. This is not even close to driving in the rain. From our lack of experience, to our tires not being well for ice and then the speed. It's all a recipe for disaster. Not to mention DOT does a very poor job of getting these roads sanded. Why were these cars on the videos going so fast? Don't tell me they were coming over a hill and they couldn't slow down on the ice. That is the result of their speed. But if you tell people this was avoidable, they roll their nose and say "hurrr durrrrr Texas roads aren't used to this". Bullshit. It's the speed. People in DFW treat the roads like their personal Nascar track no matter the weather. I have seen countless accidents today on Facebook and seemingly all of them involve an 18 wheeler. It's a common thread. They are carrying tens of thousands of pounds and think it's ok to drive fast, especially in this weather. Fuck anyone who thinks this is ok and then expects me to shed tears when you cause accidents. Learn to drive or gtfo the road. Have to go to work? Leave an hour earlier to get there on time. But nah, that's too safe for DFW. They leave at the same time and drive the same speeds they usually do.

[staboner 4969]

damn. 

mind if I do a Thomas J?

[washparkhorn 9939]

3 hours ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Why weren't the roads salted or closed? The cold weather was not a surprise 

In Denver, they would have shut down the major highways given those conditions. Someone blew it. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

We need to also remember turning your truck to 4wd gives people a false sense of security driving on ice. Taking off easier give morons the idea they’ll stop just as easy.

Also driving on ice with cruise control on is a no no but I doubt many do commuting to work in the morning.

[SquishMitten 10406]

One of my uncles is a retired Dallas Fire Department captain, he told me if you are in a massive pile up, under no circumstance should you get out, or undo your seatbelt. You have a better chance in your vehicle with defined crush zones.
CHIEF

Seems like you could take a look out the back window, and if there’s not somebody bearing down on you immediately, you could easily hop out and get well out of harms way within a few seconds. That seems way safer than relying on crush zones.

[B00M 6416]

It's so easy to envision yourself in that situation. Even if you stopped safely, you were just stuck there waiting to get crushed. I couldn't watch much of that. 

SIAP but this is making a compelling case for autonomous trucks. They'd presumably instantly warn each other over radio...

 

[midtown 3345]

17 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

you could easily hop out and get well out of harms way within a few seconds.

Seems like it is the key.   Anyone who has been involved in an accident knows how quickly things happen.  Making decisions when under duress and in a panic does not usually go as planned.  Hands slips, foot slips getting out,your arm gets caught on the seat belt. 

Edited February 11, 2021 by midtown

[cmontexas 3271]

That had to have been the only icy patch of road in the city

[SquishMitten 10406]

We need to also remember turning your truck to 4wd gives people a false sense of security driving on ice. Taking off easier give morons the idea they’ll stop just as easy.

Not if you throw it into reverse and give it some juice. Ever think of that, Mr. Smartypants?

[bluto 4929]

Wfaa/presser saying that a lot of the victims were medical professionals wearing scrubs, even a few cops on their way in/home. Said it made it all the more difficult personally for 1st responders seeing ppl they knew.

Makes sense why they were on the road. Fuck the last 12 months for them all.

[TornACL 7698]

7 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Seems like you could take a look out the back window, and if there’s not somebody bearing down on you immediately, you could easily hop out and get well out of harms way within a few seconds. That seems way safer than relying on crush zones.

Not sure if you're familiar with, well, any interstate highway in a large urban center but there is almost zero chance that you'd not have someone bearing down on you immediately. 

 

[Sandman 3403]

2 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

Yep. When I worked at a job about 9 years ago, my boss called me early in the morning and told me not to come in. It isn't worth it. This was when DFW would get snow and ice every year. This was leading up to the Super Bowl in 2011 that was at Jerry World. Snowed like 4x that week it seemed. They would put people up in a hotel no charge down the street if they could not make it home. It's sad that is behavior is praised and uncommon. This should be the norm. Hell it is even worse if you work retail or restaurant. They will tell you that you better be dead if you don't show up. Sad thing is, it's most of the very low paying jobs with no real job security who are risking it like this. They live check to check and are desperate not to miss work. This is how companies can have you trapped. They know if they dangle termination, the employee feels scared to miss even a single day.

And I also think too many employees think too highly of themselves. They claim the world's grid will stop if they don't show up to work lmao. Riiiight. Or that they can't be replaced at all and can't miss a day. I saw someone on Reddit this morning mention a janitor and how he can't work from home. I think a building will survive for a day or two if the janitor does not show. 

We had a bad ice storm in OKC about 5 years ago. I debated on calling in but I was raised by hard-working parents that always emphasized working every day and not being a goldbrick. I was crawling down I-40 at 20-25 mph and I just spun out, hit the barriers and totaled the car. Luckily I didn't hit anyone else. Called work and told them, I never heard anything from them afterwards. No "Are you OK?", nothing. Ever since then, I say "Fuck you, not driving" anytime we get ice. They don't care if I get in a wreck? I don't care if shit doesn't get done that day.

I'm fortunate that I work for the state and have leave I can use, a lot of people don't have that luxury. It's supposed to snow like a motherfucker on sunday/monday, so who knows when I'll be going back in?

[Longhornstampede 3182]

16 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Seems like you could take a look out the back window, and if there’s not somebody bearing down on you immediately, you could easily hop out and get well out of harms way within a few seconds. That seems way safer than relying on crush zones.

What part of the road being covered in ice do you not understand. Please show us all how well you can dash out across an ice covered surface. And a busy interstate isn't exactly going to have large gaps in traffic. I really hope you weren't being serious.

[Sbbruin 21853]

4 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

Every single auto and truck driver involved has known since at least yesterday that the roads could be icy today and for the next week.  It's all the news and non-news stations have talked about for days. 

Unless it was on OAN or NewsMax, they probably missed it.

[Wanker Bob 379]

The video in the first post has a link that's dead so I didn't get to see it but this is one that's still up. Not sure if it's the same video, but go to the 1:04 mark and watch the SUV and white truck that's about to get obliterated. There's no one walking next to them but immediately after impact you can see someone stand up from behind the barrier. Was that a guy who bailed out of the vehicle at the last second and dove for cover?

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=n

Edited February 11, 2021 by Wanker Bob

[TexasEd 8067]

5 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Any experienced responsible over the road driver this time of year looks at weather, road conditions on state websites etc.to prep ahead. Also yea...it isn’t your age that’s showing. These type of roads should have drivers calling May Day over the radio


Unfortunately they give CDLs to anyone with a pulse these days

Texas Truck Driving School was my backup if I didn't get accepted to Texas.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

Jumping out of your car...so in this particular instance there was nowhere to go.  As Vic mentioned previously these are walled in and often elevated express lanes close to downtown FW.  You ain't running out down an embankment in that situation.  

Now CSB time.  When I was a sophomore at Texas I drove a shitty 11 year old Ford Tempo.  I had trouble with it headed back to DFW for Spring Break and had it worked on for cheap during that week.  Heading back to Austin that Sunday got stuck in a massive traffic jam on 35 just north of Baylor.  This was when that stretch of 35 was undergoing a fair amount of construction and was still two lanes.  My shitty car did not like the sitting and just as I started to clear the obstruction (which was a minor fender bender) it started to complain.  I pulled into the right lane hoping to make an exit, got maybe 300-400 yards past the initial issue and it just died and began to smoke. saw fire coming from under the hood and needless to say that would be the last day of that piece of shit. 

Now you would think my concern in that moment was being in a car that was starting to burn.  Not at all, it was when I looked in my review mirror, saw massively pissed off drivers of cars and trucks who had been sitting in traffic for 30-45 minutes dropping the hammer.  I felt the car shake two times as two cars whizzed by and then a semi made a last minute lane change to avoid my ass and that was it for me.  I couldn't go out the left door (would have opened in the other lane) and to the right was a construction wall, but beyond that the old traditional shoulder and grass etc. I crawled across the seat was able to get the door open and got the fuck out as fast as I could, jumped over that wall and got the hell away.  I came closer to pissing my pants than I ever have in my life.  

As for the car, well the alert fire rescue guys at the event behind me saw the nonsense and quickly came and put it out before the whole thing burned up (so all the shit I had in the car made it) but every non metal item under the hood was gone gone gone.

One of the few moments of sheer terror in my life when I saw that truck.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Surly Bevo

[PRONG HORN 3146]

Dallas always tards up icy road situations.  

[SquishMitten 10406]

What part of the road being covered in ice do you not understand. Please show us all how well you can dash out across an ice covered surface. And a busy interstate isn't exactly going to have large gaps in traffic. I really hope you weren't being serious.

Apologies. I didn’t realize my comment would elicit such strong reactions. In the video there are several gaps between collisions of 10-18 seconds. On the drivers side, anybody in the left lane would only be a couple feet from the barrier. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to thing I could cover 3 feet in that amount of time even if extremely icy. In no way do I think I could do it if there were only a few seconds before impact. I also have no way of knowing how shook up I would be after my collision and perhaps already behind rear-ended (like the white truck). All I was suggesting is that in certain circumstances, I think it would be safer to bail out.

[mdmost 43001]

15 minutes ago, PRONG HORN said:

Dallas always tards up icy road situations.  

Well it was in Fort Worth so....

[TexasHooch 5122]

Ugh.  That's horrible. 

 

Too many people (regardless of where they're from) think the difficulty of driving in Ice and snow is about the driving itself.  Nope.  It's about stopping.  Regardless of experience or the vehicle or your tires, sometimes the conditions are such that you're not going to be able to stop- either due to the grade or the ice/snow accumulation.  What we do have influence over is the speed we're going when the collision occurs.  Those Semis were going way too fucking fast.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

6 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

A field day referring the case to another lawyer maybe. 

Does he not try the catastrophic injury or death cases?  He just refers them?

[mchookem 16336]

48 minutes ago, Wanker Bob said:

The video in the first post has a link that's dead so I didn't get to see it but this is one that's still up. Not sure if it's the same video, but go to the 1:04 mark and watch the SUV and white truck that's about to get obliterated. There's no one walking next to them but immediately after impact you can see someone stand up from behind the barrier. Was that a guy who bailed out of the vehicle at the last second and dove for cover?

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=n

i mean...the way he pops up and looks around, and his location vis a vis the FJ and white pickup that just got obliterated...it almost looks like he was thrown or jumped clear at impact or something...crazy!

[Trey3216 15346]

29 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Apologies. I didn’t realize my comment would elicit such strong reactions. In the video there are several gaps between collisions of 10-18 seconds. On the drivers side, anybody in the left lane would only be a couple feet from the barrier. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to thing I could cover 3 feet in that amount of time even if extremely icy. In no way do I think I could do it if there were only a few seconds before impact. I also have no way of knowing how shook up I would be after my collision and perhaps already behind rear-ended (like the white truck). All I was suggesting is that in certain circumstances, I think it would be safer to bail out.

You jump over that barrier and you’re jumping into Northbound I-35 traffic.  Super bright idea.  

[Helobious 9453]

58 minutes ago, Wanker Bob said:

The video in the first post has a link that's dead so I didn't get to see it but this is one that's still up. Not sure if it's the same video, but go to the 1:04 mark and watch the SUV and white truck that's about to get obliterated. There's no one walking next to them but immediately after impact you can see someone stand up from behind the barrier. Was that a guy who bailed out of the vehicle at the last second and dove for cover?

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=n

I’ve watched that vid a few times. It really looks like he dove over the barrier a split second before impact, not sure what car he bailed out of. Lucky for him he didn’t read the stay in your car advice in this thread beforehand. He’d be very dead otherwise. 

[Errestaurants 2570]

11 minutes ago, mchookem said:

i mean...the way he pops up and looks around, and his location vis a vis the FJ and white pickup that just got obliterated...it almost looks like he was thrown or jumped clear at impact or something...crazy!

Yea, I just noticed that. That’s crazy. He’s not in any part of video until right after that White pickup and FJ are obliterated.

[cmontexas 3271]

Im pretty sure that guy got thrown like 20 yards and then stood up immediately afterwards but died

[Quagmire 2147]

Apologies. I didn’t realize my comment would elicit such strong reactions. In the video there are several gaps between collisions of 10-18 seconds. On the drivers side, anybody in the left lane would only be a couple feet from the barrier. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to thing I could cover 3 feet in that amount of time even if extremely icy. In no way do I think I could do it if there were only a few seconds before impact. I also have no way of knowing how shook up I would be after my collision and perhaps already behind rear-ended (like the white truck). All I was suggesting is that in certain circumstances, I think it would be safer to bail out.

That’s if your car doors will even open

[Longhornstampede 3182]

1 hour ago, Wanker Bob said:

The video in the first post has a link that's dead so I didn't get to see it but this is one that's still up. Not sure if it's the same video, but go to the 1:04 mark and watch the SUV and white truck that's about to get obliterated. There's no one walking next to them but immediately after impact you can see someone stand up from behind the barrier. Was that a guy who bailed out of the vehicle at the last second and dove for cover?

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=n

Wow! I'm pretty sure that the guy you're talking about got thrown from one of the vehicles as it got smashed over the wall. At the 0:20 mark you see someone's head just above the concrete barrier and a large white SUV that looks like it's stopped on the northbound express lane. Looks like some one who might have gotten out to try and help.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Longhornstampede

[gsoda3 3261]

2 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

Seems like you could take a look out the back window, and if there’s not somebody bearing down on you immediately, you could easily hop out and get well out of harms way within a few seconds. That seems way safer than relying on crush zones.

what if they swerve?

[Sbbruin 21853]

39 minutes ago, cmontexas said:

Im pretty sure that guy got thrown like 20 yards and then stood up immediately afterwards but died

whoa

[phdhorn 6224]

1 hour ago, SquishMitten said:

Apologies. I didn’t realize my comment would elicit such strong reactions. In the video there are several gaps between collisions of 10-18 seconds. On the drivers side, anybody in the left lane would only be a couple feet from the barrier. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to thing I could cover 3 feet in that amount of time even if extremely icy. In no way do I think I could do it if there were only a few seconds before impact. I also have no way of knowing how shook up I would be after my collision and perhaps already behind rear-ended (like the white truck). All I was suggesting is that in certain circumstances, I think it would be safer to bail out.

You got criticism for that, but although there would be a lot of cases where that wouldn't be possible (injury, vehicle damage preventing escape, etc.), It's not an unreasonable possibility at all.

It was before 6 a.m. when the accidents started, so I don't think it was very trafficky at that point, if it was there could have easily been 2-300 more cars involved. In fact, in the pileup I was in near Buffalo, I personally witnessed a family climb out of their slightly wrecked van before a truck hit it and knocked it into a ditch, no question that it saved them from injury or death. So it's not completely unreasonable.

I'm just not sure it would be the easiest thing to do in most cases, but I'd sure think about it if the situation allowed it, you'd better believe it.

Edited February 12, 2021 by phdhorn

[Sbbruin 21853]

I really don't mean to make light of the situation, but I somehow stumbled on this in my black ice searching.  I could watch people slipping and falling on ice all day long.

 

[mulletpelini 5211]

As you sit on your un-iced perch laughing.  

 

[Wanker Bob 379]

1 hour ago, cmontexas said:

Im pretty sure that guy got thrown like 20 yards and then stood up immediately afterwards but died

I don't think he died because the camera pans back at the 1:35 mark and the guy's still walking with what looks like his hands in his pockets and doesn't appear injured at all. Either he realize what was coming and bailed just in time, or he's about the luckiest SOB in the world to get tossed like that from impact and get right up and just keep walking. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Wanker Bob

[ChiTownDoc 21154]

Holy shit.  Ice is a different beast altogether.  People up here will laugh about how people 'down there' have no idea how to drive in 'this' weather.  That's partly true...but the fact is ice is a different ball game.  Ice plus a shitload less salt trucks equals this type of disaster.  Add in other factors like very few people with winter tires etc and it's only a matter of time before this will happen...  Need to shut down the highway in those situations. 

I have not heard any count on casualties.  Hoping it's limited to a handful or less.  

[Surly Bevo 24908]

17 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

I have not heard any count on casualties.  Hoping it's limited to a handful or less.  

133 vehicles involved.  6 deaths....at the moment. At least 65 people treated at scene or in area hospitals.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Surly Bevo

[ChiTownDoc 21154]

Just now, Surly Bevo said:

133 vehicles involved.  6 deaths....at the moment.

Thanks, I'll rep something else.  Doesn't feel right repping that response. 

RIP

[Wanker Bob 379]

Another thing that's weird is that happened on I35 W which is about 35 to 40 or so miles west of me in Allen. Greenville is a small town about 35 miles east of me. Both had roads all iced over but here there wasn't a drop of precipitation on the ground. It's why you didn't hear about anything in Dallas itself. Weather be crazy

Edited February 12, 2021 by Wanker Bob

[Wanker Bob 379]

1 minute ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Thanks, I'll rep something else.  Doesn't feel right repping that response. 

RIP

You can angry +1 rep

[Surly Bevo 24908]

5 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Thanks, I'll rep something else.  Doesn't feel right repping that response. 

RIP

Not at all it sucks.  I live in Tarrant County and probably 10-12 miles by crow flight from where this all went down.  My 17 year old daughter has a classmate who we found out her dad was involved and injured.  Only shoulder injury.  He he was lucky to be in a "triangle" created by  two trucks crashing in front of him and thus in that open  space and with some vehicles behind him was shielded a bit from next truck that came through.  

Edited February 12, 2021 by Surly Bevo

[dcbc 14484]

4 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

insurance "counter"-adjuster

 

[Trey3216 15346]

15 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

Not at all it sucks.  I live in Tarrant County and probably 10-12 miles by crow flight from where this all went down.  My 17 year old daughter has a classmate who we found out her dad was involved and injured.  Only shoulder injury.  He he was lucky to be in a "triangle" created by  two trucks crashing in front of him and thus in that open  space and with some vehicles behind him was shielded a bit from next truck that came through.  

Good buddy of mine’s cousin died in the accident.   Terrible.  Married with two little ones under 6.    

[dcbc 14484]

4 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

Good buddy of mine’s cousin died in the accident.   Terrible.  Married with two little ones under 6.    

That's terrible.  Sorry your your friend and his friend and his family.

[mchookem 16336]

2 hours ago, cmontexas said:

Im pretty sure that guy got thrown like 20 yards and then stood up immediately afterwards but died

for real? yikes 😟

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Holy shit.  Ice is a different beast altogether.  People up here will laugh about how people 'down there' have no idea how to drive in 'this' weather.  That's partly true...but the fact is ice is a different ball game.  Ice plus a shitload less salt trucks equals this type of disaster.  Add in other factors like very few people with winter tires etc and it's only a matter of time before this will happen...  Need to shut down the highway in those situations. 
I have not heard any count on casualties.  Hoping it's limited to a handful or less.  

You can’t laugh at freezing rain. If it’s 2-5 inches of snow and compact snow/ice/shit... sure, we’ll laugh. I’ll take a week of 40 below followed by an 8 inch blizzard vs driving one day in an ice storm.

those semi drivers were fucking terrible considering it’s what they do for a living and the 5+ tests they need to even pass to get their job.


Just be thankful a tanker wasn’t one of the trucks.

[texas08 1599]

Fuck all this. A few fucking heads at TXDOT need to roll. WHAT THE FUCK!!!!


And by roll, I mean jailed.

[cactusflinthead 27598]

1 hour ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Thanks, I'll rep something else.  Doesn't feel right repping that response. 

RIP

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