Friday, April 17, 2015

A blizzard leaves havoc in its wake


You may have read about the blizzard that caused a major pile-up on Interstate 80 in Wyoming yesterday.  Here's video footage shot by someone at the scene.  The language isn't polite at times, but it shows how trucks colliding at speed can wreck each other - and anything and anyone that gets in their way.





It certainly looks like a very long, very cold job lies ahead for the crews untangling that lot.

Peter

6 comments:

Dirk said...

Good thing there were very few passenger vehicles involved, or the death toll would have been far higher.

Anonymous said...

While trapped at a conference hotel, I ended up watching a program on the Anything-But-Weather-Channel about a Canadian company that untangles wrecked big-rigs in the Rockies and other less than optimal places. The "drama" didn't interest me, but the physics of how you get a big-rig up a cliff, intact, without tipping the wench truck(s) was fascinating.

LittleRed1

B said...

Speed is almost always a big factor in these

They happen on a smaller scale about 5 times a year near me.

Inconsiderate Bastard said...

I got to spend Memorial Day eve in Rawlins some years back, because there was 14" of snow and I-80 was closed. Rawlins is at 6800 feet, and heavy spring snows are common

Wraith said...

There's a reason we truckers call that stretch of road the "Snow Chi Minh Trail." I won't go near it in the winter.

From what I hear, the DOT was specifically told not to build that road where it is, because of the weather consequences, but since when does the government ever listen to reason? So this kind of thing happens every winter. If you must cross Wyoming in the winter, I'd recommend US 30, which was built when common sense was a factor in decision making.

Anonymous said...

B is absolutely correct speed plays a huge factor in these wrecks that happen frequently on that stretch of interstate. The highway department installed electronic variable speed limit signs between Rawlins and Cheyenne on the worst stretches because people don't know enough to slow down on slick roads. An acquaintance that works for the highway department says that the trucks ignore the reduced speed limits much of the time.
Wraith, local lore says Lady Bird Johnson flew over the area and demanded that the route be changed from following US 30 to where it is now because it was a going to be a prettier drive.

N in WYO