Top Reason I-94 Pile Up May Have Happened, Michiganders Say Its Not Uncommon
The I-94 pile up in Indiana, on January 9, 2015, seems like something from the grotesque thriller Final Destination. Cars, trucks, SUVs, and commercial semi-trucks with hazardous wastes all collided helplessly. Or was it? What caused such a catastrophe? Michiganders say that they’re not surprised it happened.
From the cameraman’s viewpoint in the early moments of the I-94 pile up, it seemed all that was missing was the semi-truck carrying tree logs. Collision after collision, clash after clash — followed by distant yells, cries, and screams — the incident appeared to go on, endless.
It’s no doubt that both Indianans and Michiganders were involved in the I-94 pile up mayhem, given that the freeway travels interstate. Michigan natives suggest that the drivers were simply going too fast for the unfavorable conditions. Seems like common sense, right? Well, there are several views on the matter.
Many say it was a lack of personal responsibility and accountability. As can be seen from the video — found at the end of this article — vehicle are, indeed, moving at a speed with is not advisable in these conditions.
A possible-Michigan native speaks from snow squall experience, as she responds to someone’s I-94 pile up comment and says.
“Snow squalls like this come out of nowhere. You slow down and you get rear-ended. You speed up you rear-end someone. All you can do is maintain the flow of traffic. No amount of cautious driving could’ve really prevented this. You must not live in Michigan.”
From these events, it’s clear to see just how quickly things can go bad. However, on the other end of the spectrum — since the conditions could cause for things to go bad so rapidly — others state that traffic should have simply slowed down to a crawl. Or better yet, pull over until the vision was somewhat better.
Some commentators, from Michigan and other parts of the nation, had some direct and to-the-point statements to make about the I-94 pile up issue.
Contrary to the earlier-mentioned Michigander, another in a response to a comment states, “I’m a lifelong Michigander… and I’m always amazed at the way people drive on slippery roads here. It’s scary that they can’t slow down and don’t leave enough space to stop safely between them and other vehicles.”
Yet, there’s a common factor in both I-94 pile up accounts: many drivers in that region have a speed complexes.
“You slow down and you get rear-ended…”
Crazy pics from the scene of that 123 car/truck pileup on i-94. This is the aftermath! #michiganweather #I94pileup pic.twitter.com/fjbZmKUeU6
— Patrick Price (@PatrickWWMT) January 9, 2015
At the time of the video’s upload, the collision-count was at 150. The recording was near the latter-beginning or middle wrecks. Accordingly, the cameraman and his accomplices began helping those who started coming from the I-94 pile up wreckage.
It is believed that the incident began in the morning. In an article by the Detroit Free Press, it states, “The crash was reported about 10 a.m. By 1 p.m., it appeared that most of the victims had been transported from the scene.”
As can be seen from the video, when the camera pans to the left — regardless of its shaking — you can see there’s already a trail of devastation leading up to his position. However, by the end of the vehicular carnage, the number of collisions totaled to 193. That’s 43 extra wrecks in the I-94 pile up after the video was uploaded.
Police now say there were 193 vehicles involved in deadly #i94pileup. @WOODTV pic.twitter.com/NfFCHk4JeB
— Leon Hendrix (@LeonHendrix) January 10, 2015
Sadly, this seems to not be the first incident of this nature on I-94. According to this tweet, a similar pile up happened on January 23, 2014.
Holy accident. Everyone needs to drive safe. #I94pileup pic.twitter.com/ynTXFjIewQ
— Ian Prokes (@ianprokes) January 24, 2014
So what do you think? Should personal accountability have played a better role? Would you have continued driving or pulled over in such weather conditions?
[Feature Image via Yahoo News, Video via YouTube]
