Slow Down In The Fog

[Scottt]

At Least 1 Dead, 33 Hurt In I-35 Pileup - Kansas City News Story - KMBC Kansas City

[Orangetxguy]

At Least 1 Dead, 33 Hurt In I-35 Pileup - Kansas City News Story - KMBC Kansas City

Not only slow down....but turn on your marker lights!! Turn on your flashers!! Make yourself as visible as possible!!

[Malaki86]

Turn on your lights?!?!?! Seriously?!??

Just kidding of course. It drives me nuts when I see idiots driving through fog, snow, etc with no lights on whatsoever.

[Mr. Ford95]

Not just slow down for the fog but for possible ice when it's foggy and below 32 degrees.

[Windwalker]

Not only slow down....but turn on your marker lights!! Turn on your flashers!! Make yourself as visible as possible!!

That's the one thing I will say for the trailers lit up with LEDs. They may not melt the snow off the lenses, but in fog, rain, or snow, they sure are visible. They shine through about 3 times better than conventional bulbs. But, when there is snow on the road, you have to make 3 times as sure that you keep the snow off of them.

[flood]

remember this thread..?
Rear Ender in FOG

[ronjon619]

Not just slow down for the fog but for possible ice when it's foggy and below 32 degrees.

I never knew fog freezes until I started driving big trucks.

[Malaki86]

I never knew fog freezes until I started driving big trucks.

And it's a hell of an eye opening experience when you *DO* find it out.

[Mr. Ford95]

Nobody around here realizes that little tidbit yet...........I was doing 35 about a week ago and getting run over by folks still running 60+ even though it was foggy and 27 degrees outside.

[Windwalker]

Nobody around here realizes that little tidbit yet...........I was doing 35 about a week ago and getting run over by folks still running 60+ even though it was foggy and 27 degrees outside.

It takes a bit of time for the cold air to absorb the temperature from the road surface. So quite often, below the Mason/Dixon Line, cold temps and fog that freezes will freeze to the windshield, but the ground is too warm for it to form ice. 4-wheelers get away with it quite well, until they hit a bridge. Then, many of them discover that no bridge is wide enough for them.

If daytime temps are above freezing, but when the sun goes down... flip a coin. Maybe the surface of the road is frozen, maybe it's not. If daytime temps are close to freezing, a careless move at sunset can be a real eye-opening experience.

Anytime fog settles on your windshield, and you have to use the wipers, it's settling on the road too. I've also had rain coming down with temps outside at 27 F. Took 5 hours for a service truck to come 18 miles to change my valve stems on the trailer.

And, for those of you that do listen to the CB, in freezing rain, you'll hear someone saying: "WE'RE PUTTING UP A SPRAY, WE'RE OK." Don't take their word for it. Look at the road surface. If you are able to see tire tread patterns in the water, there's ice there too. Chances are, you have a layer of water that has not frozen yet, on top of a layer of ice. I've heard more than one guy preaching that crap, only to get the surprise of his life. It can be a surface that walking on it, you'll have a problem keeping your feet under you.

[Windwalker]

I never knew fog freezes until I started driving big trucks.

There are quite a number of drivers out there that learned that lesson. For some, it took them two weeks to be able to blink their eyes again after learning it.

[Orangetxguy]

I never knew fog freezes until I started driving big trucks.

That cuz You wuz always "California Dreamin" about the chickas in Diego!

[Mr. Ford95]

It takes a bit of time for the cold air to absorb the temperature from the road surface. So quite often, below the Mason/Dixon Line, cold temps and fog that freezes will freeze to the windshield, but the ground is too warm for it to form ice. 4-wheelers get away with it quite well, until they hit a bridge. Then, many of them discover that no bridge is wide enough for them.

Actually the ice was there, the ground wasn't warm enough, it was just patchy as many 4 wheelers found out particularly on the back roads. Schools went 2 hours late then many decided to close when the wrecks started piling up. Didn't help that a quick snow squall came thru and dumped 2 inches in 30 minutes, at that point the wrecks doubled due to the icy spots having a layer of snow on top. Everyone forgot about the layer of ice that was underneath and thought they could get away only slowing to 45 since it was just a little bit of snow.........

[Windwalker]

Actually the ice was there, the ground wasn't warm enough, it was just patchy as many 4 wheelers found out particularly on the back roads. Schools went 2 hours late then many decided to close when the wrecks started piling up. Didn't help that a quick snow squall came thru and dumped 2 inches in 30 minutes, at that point the wrecks doubled due to the icy spots having a layer of snow on top. Everyone forgot about the layer of ice that was underneath and thought they could get away only slowing to 45 since it was just a little bit of snow.........

Now think back a few days... Those icy patches... Mostly where there were trees on either side of the road?

[Mr. Ford95]

I really can't remember because I never really slid around as to exactly where the slick spots were. I remember seeing a pic of 2 wrecks, one was an obvious back road of which I have driven where the trees are right on top of the road so yes, no sun would get on those spots. The other was a big intersection where an SUV had spun off the road and flipped. We hadn't seen the temps much above freezing since the big 2 footer so anything that melted during the day re-froze overnight so the ground wasn't getting warm enough and then staying there. It wasn't until this weekend that the temps finally came above freezing overnight and the ground warmed up with these couple of 60 degree days in a row.

[ronjon619]

That cuz You wuz always "California Dreamin" about the chickas in Diego!

I tell you what....one day I came down the grapevine into Wheeler Ridge hit a fog bank and it didn't let me go until I reached the Bay area.

I can handle plain old fog in 50 degree weather but in sub-freezing conditions I'll leave that to you professionals.

Nothing wrong with thinking about the CHICAS.

[Orangetxguy]

I tell you what....one day I came down the grapevine into Wheeler Ridge hit a fog bank and it didn't let me go until I reached the Bay area.

I can handle plain old fog in 50 degree weather but in sub-freezing conditions I'll leave that to you professionals.

Nothing wrong with thinking about the CHICAS.

Aaaaaaaaah yes! The "Valley Fog"!! I remember heading west from Bakersfield, headed to Taft, by way of Buttonwillow. Fog so thick you could slice it like butter. We were crawling along hiway 43 with all the lights popping away, when 3 CHP cruisers went ripping by us.

As we came up on the intersection with hiway 53, we see all sorts of flashing lights, taillights, and headlights. 2 of the 3 cruisers were on the pileup of cars. The CHP boys and girls were responding to a multi-car pile up and made themselves part of it! That was in 1984/85 winter.

And......The "Chickas" at Newport aren't any better than the "Chickas" of Diego.....but I was partial to the "Chicks" of Loyola Marymount....there in Torrance CA. Loved going to the Torrance beach on warm days!! Catholic girls...nothing like um on earth........unless it is Mormon girls.........or Babtist girls.......or........


Freezing fog gives truck drivers fair warning that it is present, if the truck is equipped with flexible CB radio antennas. The fog builds up on the antennas, the antennas start whipping around wider and wider...until they either break off, or the ice falls off. I have had them beating a load tune on many a cabover cab before...and cracked the windshield of a T-800 once.