I was one of the 1st people out that morning I was in a Ford Mustang my car went out of control but I managed to dodge 4 semi trucks and an suv. I got control of the vehicle and continued on but I’ll have to say my driving ability was really tested. Scariest moment of my life.
I've learned it's not about your ability, it's about everyone else's ability that's around you. You can be the most skilled driver in the world but if the guy next to you screws up, it could mean your life. I'm a truck driver, I drive 8-10k miles a month and I park it when the roads get hazardous. Live to see another day and enjoy that stang
I always get asked how do you not crash during bad weather 1- I'm from New York and 2-Just slow down and keep your distance if it says 50 miles an hour and it's bad weather turn on your hazard signs get in the slow lane and goes 35 to 30 mph or better yet stay off the highway it's just common sense if there's bad weather slow down.
You’re a real one. This entire project help saves lives. I live in Fort Worth but was out of town during the freeze. The scale of a pile up like that is hard to wrap your brain around. Thanks for looking out for your fellow man.
I had to leave my house to get groceries on the 15th and I was driving so carefully and avoiding all bridges. It was crazy the people I saw, almost always in pickup trucks, driving like it was any other day, weaving around other cars. I’m not surprised by the number of pickups shown in this video.
Yup. These people learn the hard way pick up trucks handle terribly in wet and slippery conditions because the weight is front bias. This make the rear much easier to lose traction.
I lived in North Fort Worth last year and traveled that toll road frequently on my commute to/from work. That day, I was running behind as it was and knew my hour commute would be longer due to the weather so I made the decision not to take the toll road that morning. I carefully drove along it around 530am and no cars were on it but after 2 hours of driving, I made it to work and the pile-up was all over the news. I thank God I didn't decide to take the toll that morning because I probably would've been car #1 in that tragedy. Excellent video, Dan!
I whole heartedly agree with using the emergency broadcast alerts for freezing rain. Even in states like Alaska the residents know that it's lethal and experience can only get you so far. Especially when you don't have the right tires.
I live in Fort Worth and that stretch of highway is a tollway which is owned by an independent company and does not fall under TX DoT (Department of Transportation). It went untreated unlike the other stretch of I35 because it fell under NTTA's (North TX Tollway Authority) responsibility. We had the same type of weather this past week, but this year they closed the tollway.
The other issue is the tollways are surfaced with tarmac instead of concrete so its will be dissy anytime there is ice or rain especially for those with worn tires
I've lived in the metroplex since 1995 and what I have noticed is that as much as the local news puts out warnings about icy conditions people still do not reduce speed and the biggest mistake is that people tend to tap on their brakes when traveling on a ramp or bridge instead of leaving vehicle just roll. But do agree there definitely need more warnings and alerts send to cell phones digital signs along freeways.
"Try to remember, drive as if you have a pot of hot chili in the back, and you're taking it to Grandma's for Christmas" I think was what one of the news outlets said XD
This is an excellent analysis. I can't say that enough. First time seeing a video from your channel, but I've subscribed. You're doing a great public service here. I also really appreciated the documentary-style aspect of the incident. The video really helped to understand what exactly happened and why. I hope you do more of these types of videos. Keep up the great work
We had PLENTY of warning. They were telling people to stay off the roads for DAYS in advance, and most people did. I was surprised when this happened, I didn't expect that many people would be on the road. It appears that people listened this year though. FAR less people driving and there was far more icing from what I saw.
exactly!! People do not pay attention to weather reports or do not take them seriously. Our notice for almost every event is at least days out.. if not a week
I was in this huge pileup. A majority of workers that were in the wreck were healthcare workers (myself included) on our way to the medical hub in downtown Fort Worth as many of us worked at the hospitals. Unfortunately, we didn't have the option to stay off the roads. Two years later and I'm still dealing with residual chronic pain from the wreck :/
An excellent public service Dan. Here in upstate SC they finally learned to not wait, but to brine roads well ahead of time, and they add sand on the bridges too. Plus they've identified the trouble spots and those get re-treated frequently. All the media and the local NWS office warn well too, focusing on bridge icing and ice in well-shaded areas. This approach works and should be mandatory everywhere- you've got to stay ahead of the game or you'll never be able to keep up with it.
There are ways to recognize when you are in freezing rain. Look at your mirrors and wiper blades. If there is ice on them, then you can bet the roads and bridges will be icy. If the roads look like they are wet and you see no spray from the tires of the cars in front of you, you can bet the roads are icy. Also, pay attention to weather forecasts and REDUCE YOUR SPEED.
@@ShugaAnnSpyceI drive for Grab (uber in Asia) and sometimes my passengers question my choice of unpopular route. I always tell them Waze knows better. There could've been an accident on the main road and that's why we are going this way.
Yield sign, 4 way stops, turn signal, impeding the left lane, courteous driving, how to drive in bad weather. These are all things I am convinced they have just stopped teaching.
I shut down the day before knowing what was coming in. Some of our other "he-man super-truckers" at my company stayed out and were involved in this accident. Its now 2/1/23 and its happening again,same weather. My company has a mandatory shut down going on right now.
Exceptional presentation @Dan Robinson, thank you! As a native to NE Texas since 1994, it has taken several extreme weather events to tune my winter driving skills. For those who are new to the area, brakes are your worst enemy during any low/no traction surface. Treat your brake pedal as if you had an egg between the pedal and floorboard. Rate of speed is a delicate balance between maintaining enough momentum to prevent sliding…, yet reduced velocity to minimize risk if a crash occurs. Lastly, impossible to regulate other driver behavior (e.g., blatant ignorance or lack of experience) on slick roads. If your trip is not urgent, or you lack experience, stay off the roads until conditions improve. Remember, 4WD, AWD, traction control, and anti-lock brakes offer limited benefits. However, that's still four wheels on frozen water!
Great job, Dan. It’s awesome to see you taking a proactive stand to prevent catastrophes and casualties, particularly in areas that have more inexperienced winter weather drivers. Your video is well done and should be shown in driving schools of all kind. Blessings to you, sir.
This came into my recommended just now, as we (DFW) are under another winter storm warning for freezing rain right now. I was not aware that the brine solution could be washed away with freezing rain and continuously needs to be applied. I remember going to work that morning as well, but on highway 75 further east. Luckily traffic was incredibly slow, and it took me 2 hours to go 13 miles. I witnessed flipped over cars, trucks, and semi's. As well as a semi that took out roughly 200 yards of the middle barrier. In the moment I was frustrated, but I'm very grateful for it being slow because it was icy. Most drivers here do not take these precautions seriously and even this morning on my commute I witnessed some vehicles going above the posted speed limit (70 mph) during freezing rain. I hope this video sneaks its way into many other people's recommended because even I learned a thing or two and I'm originally from Minnesota where we get more snow than freezing rain. Thanks for this!
Great video, thank you! You're a brave one to stand on those dangerous stretches and film! It seems like, even if you drive a uniformly weighted vehicle, with AWD and proper tires, *and* drive at a reduced speed across these icy roads, you are still at risk of being either rear-ended by speeding vehicles that have no prayer of slowing or stopping in time to avoid you, or hit by vehicles that lose traction and go spinning.
Thank you for creating this video and "forensic" analysis. It really put a light on how so many ppl ended up on that DFW pileup. This should also be part of a defensive driving course and new driver education.
Great video!! I live here in ft. Worth & I can tell you... people here don't know how to drive in that kind of weather... AT ALL ... and that is amplified by the fact that people here drive (too) aggressive/ fast. Always. It's frustrating & nerve wracking... esp in bad weather. I hope people watch this and learn something and I thank you for making/ sharing it. I avoid I-35 N/S/s at all costs. The traffic is insane... it's two lane in a lot of places and it's easy to get stuck there for hours if something happens. And a lot of things happen. I could never drive that everyday... it's so stressful, I don't know how people do it.
Driving faster than other cars is not driving "aggressive" it's called I have somewhere to be. People who don't know how to drive in general, especially in bad weather is frustrating and nerve wracking. Unnecessarily impeding the flow of traffic and tapping on the brake pedal is dangerous and annoying. Those types of drivers need to stay home and off the road
Thank you for sharing this information, I’ve heard more practical information in this video , than what I ever heard working for the GA DOT as highway emergency response operator
Dan, this is awesome work here. Your visual discription of how a bridge ices due to lowering temperatures above and below the surface is major, I NEVER HAVE SEEN THIS. Your recommendations are awesome but people need to see why and how they ice to slow them down. Thank you for your effort and YOU SIR have already saved lives! hance
Thing to remember. Going over a icey bridge. Do little as possible. Any movement, braking or excelleration will cause a out of control situation. Best bet is to place a vehicle in nuteral and coast across.
I lived in the Dallas area back in the 90's. Watching the AM news in winter, the number of bridge pile-ups always amazed me. Getting ready to travel this month from midwest to east and will be checking all bridges on the way. Thanks for the tips here and on your website!
It’s guys like you that do this stuff ONLY for the betterment of humanity that I respect the most. You my friend, are a good human being. I live in this area. This in incident really bothered me. All of those people were driving to work, that’s it. Their lives changed and 6 lost their lives and devastated those families. This was awful😢
As someone who will be taking driver tests soon to get a license and everything to drive up in the cold north of Canada, I found this extremely helpful and informative. Thank you Dan.
Thank you for sharing and covering things like this … Love from California, We have terrible drivers in the snow here especially up the grapevine near Kern County… Prayers to everyone and I hope people drive more slowly and safe !
Great video. Blows my mind that having people who can investigate these sorts of incidents and figure out the causes and having some infrastructure to prevent it, we still see pileups year after year.
Here in the UK and most of Europe we have had programmable signs on the side of most major roads (not just motorways/highways) that light up with orange text alerts for drivers. Warning about fog, accidents ahead, road closures, roadworks, high winds etc are provided miles before the affected area. I did not see any such signs on the video and wonder if the US simply does not have them, or not very many. I think they would help... but drivers often ignore any warning.
I'm in the Southeast U.S., and we do have the programmable signs on Interstates, and on some of the more traveled highways. You could argue that they do not have enough of them. But what I have noticed is that drivers often ignore the signs or don't take them seriously. And I've also noticed that signs aren't updated often enough to reflect any rapidly changing conditions. Sometimes the warnings on the signs remain the same for days. Imagine driving on a highway covered in 2 inches of ice, and they sign says "Wintry Mix Possible". Conditions can change often and very rapidly depending on the particular dynamics of the storm. In January of 2014, we had such an ice storm in the Atlanta area. At 11 a.m., there was hardly a snowflake in the sky. By 1:30 p.m., roads were slick, iced over, and traffic was gridlocked on city streets as well as major highways. We knew the storm was coming. People ignored the warnings, and honestly had poor planning for the storm. Nobody expected the condition of the roads to deteriorate as quickly as they did. It didn't help that everybody took to the roads at the same time to get home, so you essentially had rush hour traffic in an ice storm. Just poor planning of course.
At 0.41 where you are filming the high winds of a hurricane, I was shocked to realize that this was in my own town. You filmed that in downtown Beaumont, Tx. For anyone who doesnt know, we are an hour east of Houston along I-10 and just minutes to Louisiana. Being on the Gulf Coast, less than an hour from the beach, we have seen our fair share of Hurricanes. I cant remember off the top of my head which hurricane this was, but I do remember your footage as well as many other national photographers who converged on downtown as we were about to take a direct hit. Thanks for coming and for documenting how crazy the winds can get. Being that you were on the streets between some of our few taller buildings, it creates a wind tunnel and makes the winds even higher and more crazy. The white bldg behind you is Edison Plaza Bldg which houses Entergy Electric Co and the IRS offices as well as many other businesses. It's one of the tallest bldgs in Beaumont and would be at the end of one of the main streets through downtown and thus enhancing the strength of the winds. Not sure if yall (yes I said yall) are dedicated, brave or just bat shit crazy but you do get some great footage. So again, thanks and please stay safe out there. Even great footage is not worth the pain losing you would cause your family and friends. Now back to the focus of this video........a horrible pile up and I prayed for all those people and the families of those that were lost that day. Terribly heartbreaking and unnecessary. When it's really a simple fix, slow down when the weather is bad, you just never know when it could save your life as well others around you. Think more about being around for the things you plan to do with your life and less about getting somewhere a little faster today. Be late today so that you can have more tomorrows. Thanks for all the research you do into why these things happen and how it can be avoided. Good humans learn from their mistakes and make changes that improve our lives. I hope all those involved have recovered from their injuries, and the others affected have healed from the loss of their loved ones, and especially I pray that those who came rushing to help those in need have recovered from the emotional trauma of what they saw that day. It took many heroes to do unbelievable miracles for people they never met. That leaves behind a whole lot of horror to carry around and not be forever messed up. Thank you just doesnt seem to be enough of a payment for your sacrifices.
good job dan. keep in mind that people are stupid and all the warnings in the world may only help a little bit. However instead of a sign just telling you that bridges may ice before the road does, how about a solar powered light up sign that has a temp sensor system to flash the words ice on bridge in red when needed
Man, I was out there driving in THAT weather on that SAME area on THAT day! I was also driving this year on the day it was so icy and horrible out there. I saw 2 wrecks but many many people spinning and fishtailing.
You were kind enough not to use the word idiots when describing the situation. I was born and raised in northern Oklahoma and learned at an early age what to do on those conditions. I credit my dad for constantly monitoring the weather. I learned to stay off the roads in those conditions. Only one time did I have to drive to work in snow and ice. It took me 1 1/2 hours to drive 5 miles. But I drove VERY slow. And I made it safely. It’s unbelievable how stupid people are when behind a wheel. Great video and hope people learn from it. You provided a great service. Thank you.
I live in fort Worth and I can tell you exactly what happened. When they built these lanes, most of them like that one is one lane with no exit for miles. So they were sitting ducks. And they still haven't fixed it what they do when it iced over a few days ago they just closed those lanes. That's exactly what happened because I live here. It's all about money they don't care about people's safety they knew it was a danger to build those access Lanes because most of them one lane some of them have two but most of them have one with no exit for miles so if you miss your exit you're going to have to go way out of the way and then turn around so they didn't care they knew it was dangerous when they built them but they didn't care and that's exactly what happened
As a native to the FW area, Mr. Robert's presentation hits it right on the mark. "Freezing rain hazards (especially on bridges) is almost ALWAYS impossible to detect in advance. Your only safe recourse is to significantly reduce speed, or avoid the area." Simply put, whenever temperatures falls below 32 degrees, and there is (or has been) moisture in the area, expect and plan for hazardous conditions. I must agree with @Reypure207 DR, it is the driver's responsibility and duty to consider all hazards and make appropriate adjustments to their personal ensure safety.
Great video. That stretch is owned by North Tarrant Express, and is not a state highway. The adjacent state highways (NB/SB IH35W) were properly brined before and during that winter storm by TxDOT.
Great presentation. The first thing I want to address is the idea of having short-fuse or EAS-style warnings for freezing rain. There's a few big problems with this idea. The first is that freezing rain often manifests itself in the form of freezing drizzle which is much harder to detect than snow squalls or severe thunderstorms. Freezing drizzle also encompasses a much larger area than convective events. You're therefore stuck issuing short-fuse warnings the size of severe convective watches for an event that may or may not even be occurring. This leads to the second problem with this idea, that there would be many of these warnings issued per season and people would just get used to ignoring them, especially if they're not operating a vehicle. Northern Illinois may experience light freezing drizzle on a large scale every night for over a week if the pattern is stagnant enough. Over-warning can be as big of a problem as under-warning. So what about convective showers producing bursts of freezing rain? Their existence is usually predictable and should be covered under general headlines which historically have been sufficient. The problem is what the NWS has done with those general headlines and what they're planning to do in the future. Back in the day, there were "advisory" headlines for freezing rain, freezing drizzle, snow, sleet, and blowing snow. "Winter weather advisory" was only used when multiple of these events were expected together such that you'd need several headlines. Well, in recent years the NWS has undertaken a "Hazard Simplification" campaign with the goal of consolidating many different types of headlines together. Why was there a "winter weather advisory" instead of a "freezing rain advisory" for this event? Because there is no longer a "freezing rain advisory"; all winter precipitation events warranting an advisory were consolidated into "winter weather advisory". The idea behind "Hazard Simplification" is that a smaller number of headline types will be easier to digest for the general public. I think this couldn't be further from the truth. Having separate headlines for freezing rain, snow, and other winter precipitation would immediately communicate the type of threat expected. Indeed people would take freezing rain advisories much more seriously than snow advisories as most people are at least somewhat familiar with the invisible threat of freezing rain. I therefore think that "Hazard Simplification" is largely responsible for events like these. Because of "Hazard Simplification" there is a vague "winter weather advisory" headline for ALL winter precipitation events that gets issued numerous times every year for a particular area such that people learn to ignore it. The worst thing is what the future plans with "Hazard Simplification" are. Social research has shown that people confuse the terms "watch" and "advisory". The proposed solution is the effective elimination of ALL "advisory" headlines starting in 2024... basically merging them with special weather statements. This means that events like these will have NO official advisory AT ALL in a few years unless plans change. Advisories serve a critical role in warning events that impact people doing particular activities (in this case driving) and I think that removing them will have disasterous consequences. This is why I am a staunch critic of the "Hazard Simplification" campaign and I hope to get as many people to reach out to the NWS with these criticisms as possible. I do want to return to the idea of better warning for motorists. The best solution that I can think of is flashing warning lights and signs that are activated by counties or municipalities during icy conditions. Implementation would be relatively straightforward-- just add radio-controlled solar-powered LED flashers to existing signs on roadways. These would serve as an immediate warning that roadway icing is in progress or imminent and that defensive driving is necessary, and wouldn't irritate people at home with phone or NWR warnings. I think some areas have tried this, and I'm willing to bet that icy road crashes are much lower in those areas.
ANY TIME, IN FT. WORTH... THAT THE TEMPS ARE AT FREEZING... AND THERE IS ALWAYS POSSIBLITY OF FREEZING DEW OR LIGHT MIST..WHICH *ALWAYS MAKES SLIPPERY ROADS,* SPEED MUST BE REDUCED WAY DOWN. i grew up there...and I know. Needs a mandated drop of speed to 25 miles per hour with flashing signs all along a bridge and before the bridges... on all roads. Loss of life and stability PURSUANT TO CRASHES is NOT ACCEPTABLE. PLUS THE ADDITION OF TIRE SPIKES..WHETHER IN PLASTIC OR METAL FOR GRIP...ON ALL VEHICLES. IN WINTER WEATHER. MANDATED. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
Excellent, informative reply! But don't you think it's better to give a more severe warning and those people that will pay attention who didn't know any better will then have an opportunity to go ahead and pay attention? It's human nature to grow complacent and pay less attention to those things that are serious, especially when everything seems okay.. it's like when you get on an airplane and they explain about evacuation procedures. Most people tend to tune out those warnings and instructions, but it's better to try to alert those don't know any better but would adjust their actions accordingly and leave it up to the individuals who WILL be cautious to do so. This video informed me of information that I did not know such as the fact of just how many deaths occur because of these weather phenomena. I agree with you that flashing lights and increased signage would be in order. Liquid brine is a joke. It should be salt mixed with sand.
This is a problem in the dfw area. There's lot of people who have a 4x4 truck and think they can drive on ice and snow at like 60mph or 70mph and never lose traction. Yeah, It didn't go very well most of the time.
13:30 I was here for this whole debacle, having moved down here from Ohio a year prior. The entire state essentially shut down for nearly a week. I can only speak for my area of the metroplex, and unfortunately, it's a rather low-income area. I don't know if that factored in, but we did not receive any deicing/salting/plowing until a few days after the incident. Texas may not typically reach these temperatures on a yearly basis, but it's clear they were not prepared, and hopefully now they will be. Thank you for releasing this video, and documenting how bad events like this are, as well as raising awareness for how bad iced bridges, and even iced roads, can really be. It's truly a humbling experience, to say the least.
First off this video us an absolute masterpiece and this man is a hero for this type of reporting and i really hope it saves lives. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is such a normal occurrence that we aren't really aware of how hard it is to drive on. Defensive driving is drilled into us from a young age up here. From september to april its an absolute surety that a bridge us icy. I loved in Mobile Alabama for a year and the folks who are from those areas just aren't generally as aware of the dangers that really cold weather can have on road conditions.
I live in Washington State north of Seattle I don't watch much TV or news so are your or more later I saw a RUclips video about it and I have family down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and was surprised that I'd never heard about it your video is very informative thank you thank you thank you for all your hard work keep it up 🙂🙂🙂
I’ll offer this: If it’s 32f/0c and visible moisture is present, driving conditions likely are icy and require greater care. That’s it. It’s that simple. No “bridge ice detection” required, just assume the conditions require your full attention and take nothing for granted.
They should make a special device mandatory for all comercial vehicles that would transmit and receive signals and be automatically activated on impact, or manually by a driver so that drivers within a certain radius would be notified. A simple device can save lives. Edit: I commented before watching. I have to say WOW, - very good work! Brilliant ideas!
They already do make such devices, but they’re not mandatory because of distracted driving laws. In fact, there’s currently 3 of them: -Lytx DriveCam -CB and GMRS Radios -WAZE App
At 1:30 a blue pickup driver demonstrates what not to do on expected, suspected, reported icy bridges. First, speed must be constant. Do not change lanes avoiding all steering inputs. Do not use cruise control. Once the vehicle’s rear tire lost grip, the rear swung to the right. The only input I could see was braking as per brake lights, and that a wrong action. Previously other vehicles successfully crossed. Something about the pickup was a variable and I suspect the weight distribution was a large factor. Notice also there is an exit lane on the right side. Did the driver make a steering input towards the right?
I work on the south side of Fort Worth and several guys I work had come in that morning via the tollway. After they heard about the wreck, they said it was not icy when they came thru there not 30 minutes before this. It was a quick icing and caught everyone off guard. For those that say southerners don't know how to drive in the winter.....It's ice, this happens everywhere when ice gets laid down. Snow is simple, ice is next level.
I worked outside the night before in Fort Worth. I told all my friends that very night around 10-11pm when we got out of work to “drive home safely” because of temperature and wet conditions. I said it myself this is the perfect conditions for black ice. My friends told me “yeah,okay” and brushed off my advice. The next morning the Fort Worth I-35 disaster happened and when I got to work in the afternoon my friends at work came to me with wide eyes and a thank you. I blame the city and the toll way industry for not doing their job. They knew it was going to be like that I knew it was going to be like that. They didn’t salt the roads. Nothing was canceled or delayed or warned. People go out not to go cruising around but to go work and go home.people died or where injured And now the people are the ones in charge of this toll way price spike. I was mad.
I live off 28th & I am so glad this winter storm ‘22 they closed the tollways, thank God! Good Job 👍🏼 & I agree we should get alerts on our phones etc..
@17:30 I totally agree with you on using an emergency warning system over the cell phones. Our cell phone went off late at night and we’ve only heard our cell phones do this 3x before and it was an AMBER ALERT but this time it was warning us to stay out of a part of town due to a shooting. I think this would be the smartest way to warn the public of the ice rain. It’ll hopefully save lives. Great video explaining everything so expertly!! Well done!!
For years my prius has been flashing to me when it hits 37 degrees and finally I looked it up, apparently at that temperature you can still have icy roads, so it reminds me ❤
Excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to put all of this valuable information together. Your concern for the safety of the motoring public is greatly appreciated. I’ve been driving semis for 28 years now and Lord knows that I have seen my share of tragedies up close. You are correct, ice, and especially black ice, are very hard to detect. I was taught to look for shiny reflections on the pavement. If you see them, chances are that black ice is present. If people would heed the precipitation warnings like tornado warnings, as you stated, many lives could be saved if they drove accordingly. Excessive speed and a short following distance, are recipes for disaster, ESPECIALLY in an 18 wheeler. In fact, for trucks, that is the case even for ideal conditions due to their size, weight, and increased stopping distance required to get them stopped completely. Add ice and snow into the equation, we truck drivers must reduce our speed and increase our following distance accordingly. Drivers of smaller vehicles (cars) that try to cut in between semis trying to slow down in inclement weather, are only putting themselves in more danger by doing this. We need that distance to stop in an emergency. If you are there when that emergency occurs, we are powerless in trying to avoid colliding with you. Laws of physics simply cannot be compromised.
Pickups are particularly prone to losing control on ice because they are so light in the rear. Breaking traction is VERY common in pickups. I noticed that many of the vehicles losing control in your excellent video were pickups.
Wow Dan, obviously we know that this area was iced over,but what I appreciate is the total breakdown and explanation of why and how it became iced over.I want you to know Dan that I was so compelled by this video and I want to let you know that all your hard work wasn't in vain and wasn't wasted at all on me. I live in a one square mile town Conshohocken Pennsylvania and I witness every winter car accidents on the main bridge leading in to my town. There are several signs posted warning that the bridge will ice over before any of the streets do...and even still...there are accidents. If with your help, towns can have a universal warning system, it would save lives. Thx again Dan.
Sounds like they need active signs and large flashy things to show well ahead of time the issues involved at these bridges and weird corners. And either put permanent speed reduction to those locations or temporary when the conditions are met. Possibly with people going out to check. If they already have tempature gathering they could automate if the data collection is accurate enough. If not add people and other static things like reduction of speed past certain condition. Possibly below what is needed to slow them down before with a noted speed reduction well ahead of the potential obstacles.
Can they stick anything in the underpass in side those safety areas for tornadoes to raise the temperature. Or anything around bridges to lower the winds effect and raise tempuratures? They could try to lower the problem all together on top of anything else. There are probably a lot of relateively simple and cheap solution on top of anything else. More small plants for wind blocks would be the obvious. Any good plants that don't grow out of control or hurt foundations that could be planted to block the wind?
What about side guards that get hit by tempuratures/winds but don't transfer heat/cold along the sides to the bridge to slow down the freezing? Any surface paints or anything that help heat it up. What about chemical or other odd paints that react to cold and get warm or something odd.
Might need a plant that actually has leaves or enough branches in a dead winter state depending on where they are located. Or something to maintain blockage.
But people won't- they think "I haven't seen any ice" and then they spin out. Only afterward do they become a believer. With warned winter storms here, the Highway Patrol reminds everyone that if you crash or end up in the ditch they will write you up for "Too fast for conditions" no matter your speed, and in addition to any other tickets you might get.
Lol... Speed isn't always the issue. That same storm, my vehicle wouldn't stop sliding. My speed? I put my foot on the brake, changed the gear to drive, and took my foot off the brake.
I live in this area and my family and I heed the warnings each time. It always baffles us how fast people drive under these conditions. Every winter, if we get days like these I don't ask IF there are accidents and road closures due to people being idiots but how many.
In the Netherlands we have dynamic signage along the freeway. In case of incidents, emergencies or traffic buildups speed limits on the highway can be dynamically adjusted and lanes can be opened or closed. There are also display signs which allow the road maintainers to display any messages to make the dangers extra clear. In a case of icy rain the speed limit could be reduced to say 20 mph to avoid people crashing into each other at highway speeds on the bridges. Bridges could also be closed off entirely if it gets way too dangerous to even drive over them.
Do you consider having snow/winter tires and driving speeds according to environment? I wouldn't expect someone in texas to have winter tires but definitely slow down mainly if you can't see. My rule of driving is... I MUST to be able to see the amount of road I need to come to a full stop. If I can't see... I slow down.
Good ol Swifty at it again. That was a good one, I though every trucker knew you always let off the throttle on any corner, bridge, bump or dip in the road if you think it might be icy. Looks to me like he had his cruise control on.
I certainly agree with all the measures you have suggested - we have similar warnings in place, from our government agency Environment Canada, to media outlets, and a place to tweet to should find a Traffic incident. When we get ice rain, often our school buses will be cancelled (funding for schools is tied to how many days they are open, so they don't close very often). We are taught from the very beginning to be vigilant when driving on an overpass during winter. We often just stay home when the weather is crappy. - Ottawa, Canada.
i no longer do, but i used to live in Denton, and worked in Lewisville at the time. i am very fortunate to have not worked for a couple days at the time
Oh crap 2:04 the day after your video came out every driver at swift got a message with that clip in it. Always wondered where it came from. I was actually in texas just before that storm. Heard of roads potentially closing once the storm hit and got out while i could.
9:04. Says full highway speeds of 65-75 mph, "or higher". That last part is severely understated. I live in Fort Worth and at least 25% of the drivers are traveling at 85-90 mph and hardly ever see anyone pulled over for speeding. Daily commute is a different path each day due to avoiding wrecks.
I was one of the 1st people out that morning I was in a Ford Mustang my car went out of control but I managed to dodge 4 semi trucks and an suv. I got control of the vehicle and continued on but I’ll have to say my driving ability was really tested. Scariest moment of my life.
I've learned it's not about your ability, it's about everyone else's ability that's around you. You can be the most skilled driver in the world but if the guy next to you screws up, it could mean your life. I'm a truck driver, I drive 8-10k miles a month and I park it when the roads get hazardous. Live to see another day and enjoy that stang
Yes dont take any mustang or rear wheel drive vehicle outside on a freezing rain environment
Glad you were ok. Me and my friends had just moved here and then that happened. So crazy 🙏🏾
I always get asked how do you not crash during bad weather 1- I'm from New York and 2-Just slow down and keep your distance if it says 50 miles an hour and it's bad weather turn on your hazard signs get in the slow lane and goes 35 to 30 mph or better yet stay off the highway it's just common sense if there's bad weather slow down.
All the stang haters reallll quiet now
You’re a real one. This entire project help saves lives. I live in Fort Worth but was out of town during the freeze. The scale of a pile up like that is hard to wrap your brain around. Thanks for looking out for your fellow man.
I think every car should be equipped with a flare gun to shoot off and warn others after crashing to prevent pile ups.
I had to leave my house to get groceries on the 15th and I was driving so carefully and avoiding all bridges. It was crazy the people I saw, almost always in pickup trucks, driving like it was any other day, weaving around other cars. I’m not surprised by the number of pickups shown in this video.
I noticed that as well and figured “well it is Texas !”
Idiots think their pickup will perform like a 4WD with chains and snow tires when they're in 2WD and have road tires.
Yup. These people learn the hard way pick up trucks handle terribly in wet and slippery conditions because the weight is front bias. This make the rear much easier to lose traction.
@@dekoldrick yep
I lived in Minnesota and noticed the same thing, that large pickup trucks were not patient drivers when others were slowing down for slick roads.
I lived in North Fort Worth last year and traveled that toll road frequently on my commute to/from work. That day, I was running behind as it was and knew my hour commute would be longer due to the weather so I made the decision not to take the toll road that morning. I carefully drove along it around 530am and no cars were on it but after 2 hours of driving, I made it to work and the pile-up was all over the news. I thank God I didn't decide to take the toll that morning because I probably would've been car #1 in that tragedy. Excellent video, Dan!
I worked for a trucking company that stated in their handbook that blizzard conditions were to a reasonable excuse for calling off work!
I whole heartedly agree with using the emergency broadcast alerts for freezing rain. Even in states like Alaska the residents know that it's lethal and experience can only get you so far. Especially when you don't have the right tires.
Simple live lit bulletin signs could have stopped or diminished this.
I live in Fort Worth and that stretch of highway is a tollway which is owned by an independent company and does not fall under TX DoT (Department of Transportation). It went untreated unlike the other stretch of I35 because it fell under NTTA's (North TX Tollway Authority) responsibility. We had the same type of weather this past week, but this year they closed the tollway.
Thank you for making sure TxDOT wasn't at fault. However it's not NTTA but NTE that owns that stretch of toll.
Yes, they did. I was wondering why :) thank you
It was treated
The other issue is the tollways are surfaced with tarmac instead of concrete so its will be dissy anytime there is ice or rain especially for those with worn tires
I hate tollways.....very annoying they are. I guess we can now add dangerous to that as well. Deadly this tollway is
I've lived in the metroplex since 1995 and what I have noticed is that as much as the local news puts out warnings about icy conditions people still do not reduce speed and the biggest mistake is that people tend to tap on their brakes when traveling on a ramp or bridge instead of leaving vehicle just roll. But do agree there definitely need more warnings and alerts send to cell phones digital signs along freeways.
"Try to remember, drive as if you have a pot of hot chili in the back, and you're taking it to Grandma's for Christmas" I think was what one of the news outlets said XD
This is an excellent analysis. I can't say that enough. First time seeing a video from your channel, but I've subscribed. You're doing a great public service here. I also really appreciated the documentary-style aspect of the incident. The video really helped to understand what exactly happened and why. I hope you do more of these types of videos. Keep up the great work
We had PLENTY of warning. They were telling people to stay off the roads for DAYS in advance, and most people did. I was surprised when this happened, I didn't expect that many people would be on the road. It appears that people listened this year though. FAR less people driving and there was far more icing from what I saw.
exactly!! People do not pay attention to weather reports or do not take them seriously. Our notice for almost every event is at least days out.. if not a week
Some people cannot stay off the road. A nurse was killed in the accident. She COULDN'T stay off the road. First Responders CANT stay off the road. etc
Incorrect, this accident was Thursday morning, it was expected that day. The ice/snow event happened Sunday 2/14
I was in this huge pileup. A majority of workers that were in the wreck were healthcare workers (myself included) on our way to the medical hub in downtown Fort Worth as many of us worked at the hospitals. Unfortunately, we didn't have the option to stay off the roads. Two years later and I'm still dealing with residual chronic pain from the wreck :/
@@dogma39-c4j you can choose to say off the highways.
So nice of the swift driver to park next to his fellow comrade trucker to make sure he wasn't alone. He's a nice fella
Swifty drivers get no respect
And, for the most part, rightly so
Good ole Swift
A guy I worked with used to be a trucker. He liked to say SWIFT stood for Sure Wish I Finished Training lol
An excellent public service Dan. Here in upstate SC they finally learned to not wait, but to brine roads well ahead of time, and they add sand on the bridges too. Plus they've identified the trouble spots and those get re-treated frequently. All the media and the local NWS office warn well too, focusing on bridge icing and ice in well-shaded areas. This approach works and should be mandatory everywhere- you've got to stay ahead of the game or you'll never be able to keep up with it.
Your emergency alert Recommendations are spot on. It’s crazy that they don’t already do this. Thanks for making this video, it was really interesting.
There are ways to recognize when you are in freezing rain. Look at your mirrors and wiper blades. If there is ice on them, then you can bet the roads and bridges will be icy. If the roads look like they are wet and you see no spray from the tires of the cars in front of you, you can bet the roads are icy. Also, pay attention to weather forecasts and REDUCE YOUR SPEED.
this needs to go viral
I missed the accident by 10 mins. My waze app updated me as I was driving and I exited NE 28th street. I thank god I did.
That's why I always drive with Waze on! The best!
@@ShugaAnnSpyceI drive for Grab (uber in Asia) and sometimes my passengers question my choice of unpopular route. I always tell them Waze knows better. There could've been an accident on the main road and that's why we are going this way.
Nicely done. As a long-time subscriber, I welcome your input.
EXCELLENT investigation, analysis & presentation, Dan. THANK YOU so much for your professionalism & sharing your expertise!
Agreed on having the dangerous conditions advertised on push alerts via NWS and or NHTSA.
This should be a basic requirement
Great information and more Texans need to see this. I am a Texan and will share it with my friends and family.
Videos like these should be mandatory viewing for ALL driver training and annually as a reminder! Driver courses in the US are practically worthless!
Yield sign, 4 way stops, turn signal, impeding the left lane, courteous driving, how to drive in bad weather. These are all things I am convinced they have just stopped teaching.
This was put together very well. I agree, warning systems 'throughout most of the U.S.' would greatly improve driving dangers and mishaps.
Well would not you think it could have been put up by now.
Your channel significantly helped me prepare for icy conditions when visiting family from Texas to Missouri yearly. Thank you so very much!
I shut down the day before knowing what was coming in. Some of our other "he-man super-truckers" at my company stayed out and were involved in this accident. Its now 2/1/23 and its happening again,same weather. My company has a mandatory shut down going on right now.
Exceptional presentation @Dan Robinson, thank you! As a native to NE Texas since 1994, it has taken several extreme weather events to tune my winter driving skills. For those who are new to the area, brakes are your worst enemy during any low/no traction surface. Treat your brake pedal as if you had an egg between the pedal and floorboard. Rate of speed is a delicate balance between maintaining enough momentum to prevent sliding…, yet reduced velocity to minimize risk if a crash occurs. Lastly, impossible to regulate other driver behavior (e.g., blatant ignorance or lack of experience) on slick roads. If your trip is not urgent, or you lack experience, stay off the roads until conditions improve. Remember, 4WD, AWD, traction control, and anti-lock brakes offer limited benefits. However, that's still four wheels on frozen water!
Great job, Dan. It’s awesome to see you taking a proactive stand to prevent catastrophes and casualties, particularly in areas that have more inexperienced winter weather drivers. Your video is well done and should be shown in driving schools of all kind. Blessings to you, sir.
This came into my recommended just now, as we (DFW) are under another winter storm warning for freezing rain right now. I was not aware that the brine solution could be washed away with freezing rain and continuously needs to be applied. I remember going to work that morning as well, but on highway 75 further east. Luckily traffic was incredibly slow, and it took me 2 hours to go 13 miles. I witnessed flipped over cars, trucks, and semi's. As well as a semi that took out roughly 200 yards of the middle barrier. In the moment I was frustrated, but I'm very grateful for it being slow because it was icy. Most drivers here do not take these precautions seriously and even this morning on my commute I witnessed some vehicles going above the posted speed limit (70 mph) during freezing rain. I hope this video sneaks its way into many other people's recommended because even I learned a thing or two and I'm originally from Minnesota where we get more snow than freezing rain. Thanks for this!
Great video, thank you! You're a brave one to stand on those dangerous stretches and film! It seems like, even if you drive a uniformly weighted vehicle, with AWD and proper tires, *and* drive at a reduced speed across these icy roads, you are still at risk of being either rear-ended by speeding vehicles that have no prayer of slowing or stopping in time to avoid you, or hit by vehicles that lose traction and go spinning.
Excellent job! This video should be a part of the driving tests and renewals.
Thank you for creating this video and "forensic" analysis. It really put a light on how so many ppl ended up on that DFW pileup. This should also be part of a defensive driving course and new driver education.
Dan, truly excellent work on this video. Really spot on analysis and insight!
Great video!! I live here in ft. Worth & I can tell you... people here don't know how to drive in that kind of weather... AT ALL ... and that is amplified by the fact that people here drive (too) aggressive/ fast. Always. It's frustrating & nerve wracking... esp in bad weather. I hope people watch this and learn something and I thank you for making/ sharing it. I avoid I-35 N/S/s at all costs. The traffic is insane... it's two lane in a lot of places and it's easy to get stuck there for hours if something happens. And a lot of things happen. I could never drive that everyday... it's so stressful, I don't know how people do it.
Driving faster than other cars is not driving "aggressive" it's called I have somewhere to be. People who don't know how to drive in general, especially in bad weather is frustrating and nerve wracking. Unnecessarily impeding the flow of traffic and tapping on the brake pedal is dangerous and annoying. Those types of drivers need to stay home and off the road
Thank you for sharing this information, I’ve heard more practical information in this video , than what I ever heard working for the GA DOT as highway emergency response operator
Thank you Dan I will remember this advice my entire life.
Dan, this is awesome work here. Your visual discription of how a bridge ices due to lowering temperatures above and below the surface is major, I NEVER HAVE SEEN THIS. Your recommendations are awesome but people need to see why and how they ice to slow them down.
Thank you for your effort and YOU SIR have already saved lives!
hance
Thing to remember. Going over a icey bridge. Do little as possible. Any movement, braking or excelleration will cause a out of control situation. Best bet is to place a vehicle in nuteral and coast across.
I commend you, man!
You're doing a good service for the public!
I lived in the Dallas area back in the 90's. Watching the AM news in winter, the number of bridge pile-ups always amazed me.
Getting ready to travel this month from midwest to east and will be checking all bridges on the way. Thanks for the tips here and on your website!
It’s guys like you that do this stuff ONLY for the betterment of humanity that I respect the most. You my friend, are a good human being. I live in this area. This in incident really bothered me. All of those people were driving to work, that’s it. Their lives changed and 6 lost their lives and devastated those families. This was awful😢
As someone who will be taking driver tests soon to get a license and everything to drive up in the cold north of Canada, I found this extremely helpful and informative. Thank you Dan.
Thank you for sharing and covering things like this … Love from California, We have terrible drivers in the snow here especially up the grapevine near Kern County… Prayers to everyone and I hope people drive more slowly and safe !
This was an amazing presentation. I’m going to share with work people during safety call. Thank you!
Great video. Blows my mind that having people who can investigate these sorts of incidents and figure out the causes and having some infrastructure to prevent it, we still see pileups year after year.
Here in the UK and most of Europe we have had programmable signs on the side of most major roads (not just motorways/highways) that light up with orange text alerts for drivers. Warning about fog, accidents ahead, road closures, roadworks, high winds etc are provided miles before the affected area. I did not see any such signs on the video and wonder if the US simply does not have them, or not very many.
I think they would help... but drivers often ignore any warning.
I'm in the Southeast U.S., and we do have the programmable signs on Interstates, and on some of the more traveled highways. You could argue that they do not have enough of them. But what I have noticed is that drivers often ignore the signs or don't take them seriously. And I've also noticed that signs aren't updated often enough to reflect any rapidly changing conditions. Sometimes the warnings on the signs remain the same for days. Imagine driving on a highway covered in 2 inches of ice, and they sign says "Wintry Mix Possible".
Conditions can change often and very rapidly depending on the particular dynamics of the storm. In January of 2014, we had such an ice storm in the Atlanta area. At 11 a.m., there was hardly a snowflake in the sky. By 1:30 p.m., roads were slick, iced over, and traffic was gridlocked on city streets as well as major highways.
We knew the storm was coming. People ignored the warnings, and honestly had poor planning for the storm. Nobody expected the condition of the roads to deteriorate as quickly as they did. It didn't help that everybody took to the roads at the same time to get home, so you essentially had rush hour traffic in an ice storm. Just poor planning of course.
Years ago those bridges would have been sanded. People in charge today are lazy.
It costs money we are not going to pay for that in texas
But your state has more than enough sand to deal with these rare events!
@@u-know-this My area of Texas (near Fort Worth) has programmable signs.
At 0.41 where you are filming the high winds of a hurricane, I was shocked to realize that this was in my own town. You filmed that in downtown Beaumont, Tx. For anyone who doesnt know, we are an hour east of Houston along I-10 and just minutes to Louisiana. Being on the Gulf Coast, less than an hour from the beach, we have seen our fair share of Hurricanes. I cant remember off the top of my head which hurricane this was, but I do remember your footage as well as many other national photographers who converged on downtown as we were about to take a direct hit. Thanks for coming and for documenting how crazy the winds can get. Being that you were on the streets between some of our few taller buildings, it creates a wind tunnel and makes the winds even higher and more crazy. The white bldg behind you is Edison Plaza Bldg which houses Entergy Electric Co and the IRS offices as well as many other businesses. It's one of the tallest bldgs in Beaumont and would be at the end of one of the main streets through downtown and thus enhancing the strength of the winds. Not sure if yall (yes I said yall) are dedicated, brave or just bat shit crazy but you do get some great footage. So again, thanks and please stay safe out there. Even great footage is not worth the pain losing you would cause your family and friends.
Now back to the focus of this video........a horrible pile up and I prayed for all those people and the families of those that were lost that day. Terribly heartbreaking and unnecessary. When it's really a simple fix, slow down when the weather is bad, you just never know when it could save your life as well others around you. Think more about being around for the things you plan to do with your life and less about getting somewhere a little faster today. Be late today so that you can have more tomorrows. Thanks for all the research you do into why these things happen and how it can be avoided. Good humans learn from their mistakes and make changes that improve our lives. I hope all those involved have recovered from their injuries, and the others affected have healed from the loss of their loved ones, and especially I pray that those who came rushing to help those in need have recovered from the emotional trauma of what they saw that day. It took many heroes to do unbelievable miracles for people they never met. That leaves behind a whole lot of horror to carry around and not be forever messed up. Thank you just doesnt seem to be enough of a payment for your sacrifices.
Best prevention would have been employers to close and not allow employees to drive in that and the toll roads to be closed
Thank you for great video. Prayers for all affected by the Fort Worth pile up.
good job dan.
keep in mind that people are stupid and all the warnings in the world may only help a little bit.
However instead of a sign just telling you that bridges may ice before the road does, how about a solar powered light up sign that has a temp sensor system to flash the words ice on bridge in red when needed
...and how about speed limit signs that are digital and flash when they are lower than "normal" due to hazardous conditions ahead.
I was thinking how about a solar-powered heater instead to keep bridge temperature above freezing. Ur idea is cheaper though
Excellent idea!
Propose it to the state, city and other local Departments of Transportation.
I’m so glad I watched this. I would have never known how serious bridge icing is.
Man, I was out there driving in THAT weather on that SAME area on THAT day! I was also driving this year on the day it was so icy and horrible out there. I saw 2 wrecks but many many people spinning and fishtailing.
Why would you drive knowing the risks?
You did an incredible job on this long form discussion. Lots of great info and well researched science.
A++
You were kind enough not to use the word idiots when describing the situation. I was born and raised in northern Oklahoma and learned at an early age what to do on those conditions. I credit my dad for constantly monitoring the weather. I learned to stay off the roads in those conditions. Only one time did I have to drive to work in snow and ice. It took me 1 1/2 hours to drive 5 miles. But I drove VERY slow. And I made it safely. It’s unbelievable how stupid people are when behind a wheel. Great video and hope people learn from it. You provided a great service. Thank you.
I live in fort Worth and I can tell you exactly what happened. When they built these lanes, most of them like that one is one lane with no exit for miles. So they were sitting ducks. And they still haven't fixed it what they do when it iced over a few days ago they just closed those lanes. That's exactly what happened because I live here. It's all about money they don't care about people's safety they knew it was a danger to build those access Lanes because most of them one lane some of them have two but most of them have one with no exit for miles so if you miss your exit you're going to have to go way out of the way and then turn around so they didn't care they knew it was dangerous when they built them but they didn't care and that's exactly what happened
Sorry but your wrong it's just common sense if there's dangerous weather slow down simple as that Texans can't get this simple fact for some reason
As a native to the FW area, Mr. Robert's presentation hits it right on the mark. "Freezing rain hazards (especially on bridges) is almost ALWAYS impossible to detect in advance. Your only safe recourse is to significantly reduce speed, or avoid the area." Simply put, whenever temperatures falls below 32 degrees, and there is (or has been) moisture in the area, expect and plan for hazardous conditions. I must agree with @Reypure207 DR, it is the driver's responsibility and duty to consider all hazards and make appropriate adjustments to their personal ensure safety.
Why were so many semis in the express lanes? In Atlanta, the express lanes are for cars only, so maybe it just depends on the state.
Great video. That stretch is owned by North Tarrant Express, and is not a state highway. The adjacent state highways (NB/SB IH35W) were properly brined before and during that winter storm by TxDOT.
Can I just point out that everyone that crashes is slamming on the brakes? If you start sliding, dont touch your breaks. Its just makes it worse.
Great presentation.
The first thing I want to address is the idea of having short-fuse or EAS-style warnings for freezing rain. There's a few big problems with this idea. The first is that freezing rain often manifests itself in the form of freezing drizzle which is much harder to detect than snow squalls or severe thunderstorms. Freezing drizzle also encompasses a much larger area than convective events. You're therefore stuck issuing short-fuse warnings the size of severe convective watches for an event that may or may not even be occurring. This leads to the second problem with this idea, that there would be many of these warnings issued per season and people would just get used to ignoring them, especially if they're not operating a vehicle. Northern Illinois may experience light freezing drizzle on a large scale every night for over a week if the pattern is stagnant enough. Over-warning can be as big of a problem as under-warning. So what about convective showers producing bursts of freezing rain? Their existence is usually predictable and should be covered under general headlines which historically have been sufficient.
The problem is what the NWS has done with those general headlines and what they're planning to do in the future. Back in the day, there were "advisory" headlines for freezing rain, freezing drizzle, snow, sleet, and blowing snow. "Winter weather advisory" was only used when multiple of these events were expected together such that you'd need several headlines. Well, in recent years the NWS has undertaken a "Hazard Simplification" campaign with the goal of consolidating many different types of headlines together. Why was there a "winter weather advisory" instead of a "freezing rain advisory" for this event? Because there is no longer a "freezing rain advisory"; all winter precipitation events warranting an advisory were consolidated into "winter weather advisory".
The idea behind "Hazard Simplification" is that a smaller number of headline types will be easier to digest for the general public. I think this couldn't be further from the truth. Having separate headlines for freezing rain, snow, and other winter precipitation would immediately communicate the type of threat expected. Indeed people would take freezing rain advisories much more seriously than snow advisories as most people are at least somewhat familiar with the invisible threat of freezing rain. I therefore think that "Hazard Simplification" is largely responsible for events like these. Because of "Hazard Simplification" there is a vague "winter weather advisory" headline for ALL winter precipitation events that gets issued numerous times every year for a particular area such that people learn to ignore it.
The worst thing is what the future plans with "Hazard Simplification" are. Social research has shown that people confuse the terms "watch" and "advisory". The proposed solution is the effective elimination of ALL "advisory" headlines starting in 2024... basically merging them with special weather statements. This means that events like these will have NO official advisory AT ALL in a few years unless plans change. Advisories serve a critical role in warning events that impact people doing particular activities (in this case driving) and I think that removing them will have disasterous consequences. This is why I am a staunch critic of the "Hazard Simplification" campaign and I hope to get as many people to reach out to the NWS with these criticisms as possible.
I do want to return to the idea of better warning for motorists. The best solution that I can think of is flashing warning lights and signs that are activated by counties or municipalities during icy conditions. Implementation would be relatively straightforward-- just add radio-controlled solar-powered LED flashers to existing signs on roadways. These would serve as an immediate warning that roadway icing is in progress or imminent and that defensive driving is necessary, and wouldn't irritate people at home with phone or NWR warnings. I think some areas have tried this, and I'm willing to bet that icy road crashes are much lower in those areas.
ANY TIME, IN FT. WORTH... THAT THE TEMPS ARE AT FREEZING... AND THERE IS ALWAYS POSSIBLITY OF FREEZING DEW OR LIGHT MIST..WHICH *ALWAYS MAKES SLIPPERY ROADS,* SPEED MUST BE REDUCED WAY DOWN. i grew up there...and I know. Needs a mandated drop of speed to 25 miles per hour with flashing signs all along a bridge and before the bridges... on all roads. Loss of life and stability PURSUANT TO CRASHES is NOT ACCEPTABLE. PLUS THE ADDITION OF TIRE SPIKES..WHETHER IN PLASTIC OR METAL FOR GRIP...ON ALL VEHICLES. IN WINTER WEATHER. MANDATED. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
Excellent, informative reply! But don't you think it's better to give a more severe warning and those people that will pay attention who didn't know any better will then have an opportunity to go ahead and pay attention? It's human nature to grow complacent and pay less attention to those things that are serious, especially when everything seems okay.. it's like when you get on an airplane and they explain about evacuation procedures. Most people tend to tune out those warnings and instructions, but it's better to try to alert those don't know any better but would adjust their actions accordingly and leave it up to the individuals who WILL be cautious to do so. This video informed me of information that I did not know such as the fact of just how many deaths occur because of these weather phenomena. I agree with you that flashing lights and increased signage would be in order. Liquid brine is a joke. It should be salt mixed with sand.
You are correct in all of your recommendations! Excellent job on the video!
Excellent analysis
This video was very well made. It should definitely be part of a required driving test educational video.
You're a good man putting in all this work on a video. 👍
This is a problem in the dfw area. There's lot of people who have a 4x4 truck and think they can drive on ice and snow at like 60mph or 70mph and never lose traction. Yeah, It didn't go very well most of the time.
13:30 I was here for this whole debacle, having moved down here from Ohio a year prior. The entire state essentially shut down for nearly a week. I can only speak for my area of the metroplex, and unfortunately, it's a rather low-income area. I don't know if that factored in, but we did not receive any deicing/salting/plowing until a few days after the incident. Texas may not typically reach these temperatures on a yearly basis, but it's clear they were not prepared, and hopefully now they will be.
Thank you for releasing this video, and documenting how bad events like this are, as well as raising awareness for how bad iced bridges, and even iced roads, can really be. It's truly a humbling experience, to say the least.
What a great video. Thanks for sharing your analysis, knowledge, and hard work. Again, great video. Thanks for sharing.
First off this video us an absolute masterpiece and this man is a hero for this type of reporting and i really hope it saves lives. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is such a normal occurrence that we aren't really aware of how hard it is to drive on. Defensive driving is drilled into us from a young age up here. From september to april its an absolute surety that a bridge us icy. I loved in Mobile Alabama for a year and the folks who are from those areas just aren't generally as aware of the dangers that really cold weather can have on road conditions.
I live in Washington State north of Seattle I don't watch much TV or news so are your or more later I saw a RUclips video about it and I have family down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and was surprised that I'd never heard about it your video is very informative thank you thank you thank you for all your hard work keep it up 🙂🙂🙂
After this pile up, ALL toll roads in DFW shut down even if just the threat of icing is present.
I’ll offer this:
If it’s 32f/0c and visible moisture is present, driving conditions likely are icy and require greater care.
That’s it. It’s that simple.
No “bridge ice detection” required, just assume the conditions require your full attention and take nothing for granted.
Dan you did a great job on weather conditions as far as road and bridge conditions
They should make a special device mandatory for all comercial vehicles that would transmit and receive signals and be automatically activated on impact, or manually by a driver so that drivers within a certain radius would be notified. A simple device can save lives.
Edit: I commented before watching. I have to say WOW, - very good work! Brilliant ideas!
They already do make such devices, but they’re not mandatory because of distracted driving laws. In fact, there’s currently 3 of them:
-Lytx DriveCam
-CB and GMRS Radios
-WAZE App
At 1:30 a blue pickup driver demonstrates what not to do on expected, suspected, reported icy bridges. First, speed must be constant. Do not change lanes avoiding all steering inputs. Do not use cruise control. Once the vehicle’s rear tire lost grip, the rear swung to the right. The only input I could see was braking as per brake lights, and that a wrong action. Previously other vehicles successfully crossed. Something about the pickup was a variable and I suspect the weight distribution was a large factor. Notice also there is an exit lane on the right side. Did the driver make a steering input towards the right?
I work on the south side of Fort Worth and several guys I work had come in that morning via the tollway. After they heard about the wreck, they said it was not icy when they came thru there not 30 minutes before this. It was a quick icing and caught everyone off guard.
For those that say southerners don't know how to drive in the winter.....It's ice, this happens everywhere when ice gets laid down. Snow is simple, ice is next level.
I worked outside the night before in Fort Worth. I told all my friends that very night around 10-11pm when we got out of work to “drive home safely” because of temperature and wet conditions. I said it myself this is the perfect conditions for black ice. My friends told me “yeah,okay” and brushed off my advice. The next morning the Fort Worth I-35 disaster happened and when I got to work in the afternoon my friends at work came to me with wide eyes and a thank you.
I blame the city and the toll way industry for not doing their job. They knew it was going to be like that I knew it was going to be like that. They didn’t salt the roads. Nothing was canceled or delayed or warned. People go out not to go cruising around but to go work and go home.people died or where injured And now the people are the ones in charge of this toll way price spike. I was mad.
I live off 28th & I am so glad this winter storm ‘22 they closed the tollways, thank God! Good Job 👍🏼 & I agree we should get alerts on our phones etc..
@17:30 I totally agree with you on using an emergency warning system over the cell phones.
Our cell phone went off late at night and we’ve only heard our cell phones do this 3x before and it was an AMBER ALERT but this time it was warning us to stay out of a part of town due to a shooting.
I think this would be the smartest way to warn the public of the ice rain. It’ll hopefully save lives.
Great video explaining everything so expertly!! Well done!!
For years my prius has been flashing to me when it hits 37 degrees and finally I looked it up, apparently at that temperature you can still have icy roads, so it reminds me ❤
Thank you for sharing this. I never knew about bridge icing or its dangers before this video.
This video deserves MANY MORE views - great job!
When it is a Demanded to stay off roads during severe weather there should be a fine for any assistance!!!
I grew up somewhere it doesn't snow, so this video is very helpful. I had no idea that bridge icing is a common issue.
Ty for the very helpful video. I don't live in that environment so, it's important to know this information. 🕊️
You are phenomenal the effort you take to combat thus all around is humanitarian. Thank you
Everyday I drive that bridge to go to work and I'm glad I called in that day!
Excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to put all of this valuable information together. Your concern for the safety of the motoring public is greatly appreciated. I’ve been driving semis for 28 years now and Lord knows that I have seen my share of tragedies up close. You are correct, ice, and especially black ice, are very hard to detect. I was taught to look for shiny reflections on the pavement. If you see them, chances are that black ice is present. If people would heed the precipitation warnings like tornado warnings, as you stated, many lives could be saved if they drove accordingly. Excessive speed and a short following distance, are recipes for disaster, ESPECIALLY in an 18 wheeler. In fact, for trucks, that is the case even for ideal conditions due to their size, weight, and increased stopping distance required to get them stopped completely. Add ice and snow into the equation, we truck drivers must reduce our speed and increase our following distance accordingly. Drivers of smaller vehicles (cars) that try to cut in between semis trying to slow down in inclement weather, are only putting themselves in more danger by doing this. We need that distance to stop in an emergency. If you are there when that emergency occurs, we are powerless in trying to avoid colliding with you. Laws of physics simply cannot be compromised.
Pickups are particularly prone to losing control on ice because they are so light in the rear. Breaking traction is VERY common in pickups. I noticed that many of the vehicles losing control in your excellent video were pickups.
I recall people here (MN) putting sandbags in the back of pickups to better keep traction
Wow Dan, obviously we know that this area was iced over,but what I appreciate is the total breakdown and explanation of why and how it became iced over.I want you to know Dan that I was so compelled by this video and I want to let you know that all your hard work wasn't in vain and wasn't wasted at all on me. I live in a one square mile town Conshohocken Pennsylvania and I witness every winter car accidents on the main bridge leading in to my town. There are several signs posted warning that the bridge will ice over before any of the streets do...and even still...there are accidents. If with your help, towns can have a universal warning system, it would save lives. Thx again Dan.
Sounds like they need active signs and large flashy things to show well ahead of time the issues involved at these bridges and weird corners. And either put permanent speed reduction to those locations or temporary when the conditions are met. Possibly with people going out to check. If they already have tempature gathering they could automate if the data collection is accurate enough. If not add people and other static things like reduction of speed past certain condition. Possibly below what is needed to slow them down before with a noted speed reduction well ahead of the potential obstacles.
That coudl be a general thing for all bridges regardless. Unless the maintenance and implementation is too costly.
Can they stick anything in the underpass in side those safety areas for tornadoes to raise the temperature. Or anything around bridges to lower the winds effect and raise tempuratures? They could try to lower the problem all together on top of anything else. There are probably a lot of relateively simple and cheap solution on top of anything else. More small plants for wind blocks would be the obvious. Any good plants that don't grow out of control or hurt foundations that could be planted to block the wind?
What about side guards that get hit by tempuratures/winds but don't transfer heat/cold along the sides to the bridge to slow down the freezing? Any surface paints or anything that help heat it up. What about chemical or other odd paints that react to cold and get warm or something odd.
Might need a plant that actually has leaves or enough branches in a dead winter state depending on where they are located. Or something to maintain blockage.
Mr Robinson you're doing great!
signals to indicate reduce speed limit and clear assured distance ahead requirements? activated for temperature/precipitation events?
Simple solution-- SLOW DOWN!!!
But people won't- they think "I haven't seen any ice" and then they spin out. Only afterward do they become a believer. With warned winter storms here, the Highway Patrol reminds everyone that if you crash or end up in the ditch they will write you up for "Too fast for conditions" no matter your speed, and in addition to any other tickets you might get.
And change tyre
Lol... Speed isn't always the issue. That same storm, my vehicle wouldn't stop sliding. My speed? I put my foot on the brake, changed the gear to drive, and took my foot off the brake.
That's to simple !
It was on the hov lane meaning you arent supposed to be going slow
This video should be required in every CDL school, driver education course and should be required to be watched before you can renew your license.
This was very informative. Thank you!
I live in this area and my family and I heed the warnings each time. It always baffles us how fast people drive under these conditions. Every winter, if we get days like these I don't ask IF there are accidents and road closures due to people being idiots but how many.
In the Netherlands we have dynamic signage along the freeway. In case of incidents, emergencies or traffic buildups speed limits on the highway can be dynamically adjusted and lanes can be opened or closed. There are also display signs which allow the road maintainers to display any messages to make the dangers extra clear. In a case of icy rain the speed limit could be reduced to say 20 mph to avoid people crashing into each other at highway speeds on the bridges.
Bridges could also be closed off entirely if it gets way too dangerous to even drive over them.
Do you consider having snow/winter tires and driving speeds according to environment? I wouldn't expect someone in texas to have winter tires but definitely slow down mainly if you can't see.
My rule of driving is... I MUST to be able to see the amount of road I need to come to a full stop. If I can't see... I slow down.
I think studded tires are illegal in Texas (hence most of the highways still have nice pavement)
Good ol Swifty at it again. That was a good one, I though every trucker knew you always let off the throttle on any corner, bridge, bump or dip in the road if you think it might be icy. Looks to me like he had his cruise control on.
I certainly agree with all the measures you have suggested - we have similar warnings in place, from our government agency Environment Canada, to media outlets, and a place to tweet to should find a Traffic incident. When we get ice rain, often our school buses will be cancelled (funding for schools is tied to how many days they are open, so they don't close very often). We are taught from the very beginning to be vigilant when driving on an overpass during winter. We often just stay home when the weather is crappy. - Ottawa, Canada.
i no longer do, but i used to live in Denton, and worked in Lewisville at the time. i am very fortunate to have not worked for a couple days at the time
The N Tarrant express is totally at fault---all people that got damage should sue the N Tarrant express and rebuild those roads the right way
A lot of fingers were being pointed that day. A lot of people just say "TxDOT" because they don't know any better. Thanks for mentioning NTE.
Sounds like an excellent candidate for a class action lawsuit
Oh crap 2:04 the day after your video came out every driver at swift got a message with that clip in it. Always wondered where it came from. I was actually in texas just before that storm. Heard of roads potentially closing once the storm hit and got out while i could.
Thank you Dan! Your presentation is brilliant. Simple plan..if it’s cold consider all roads icy!
9:04. Says full highway speeds of 65-75 mph, "or higher". That last part is severely understated. I live in Fort Worth and at least 25% of the drivers are traveling at 85-90 mph and hardly ever see anyone pulled over for speeding. Daily commute is a different path each day due to avoiding wrecks.