8 people killed in Utah sand storm
It appears that at least one RV was destroyed in this tragic incident. More than 20 vehicles were involved and a contributing factor was a sand storm. We pray for all those involved.
Forum Discussion
JRscooby wrote:dodge guy wrote:
I think some of you have never driven in an area where these kinds of things happen. There is no preparing for it. A sandstorm or whiteout happens in seconds. Yes me minute it’s clear as a sunny day then seconds later zero, and I mean ZERO, visibility. It’s one of those things you can’t prepare for. Yes you can see it up ahead after it happens, but when your first in line there is nothing you can do.
I pray for all involved.
Over a lifetime I have many times when snow, rain, or dust has reduced the visibility to the point I could not see the end of my hood. But I was never involved in a accident under those conditions. If you hit a vehicle in front of you because you could not see it I question your right to ever drive again.
NEVER DRIVE IF YOU CAN'T STOP IN THE DISTANCE YOU CAN SEE! is one of the basic ideas of being in control of a vehicle.
So, your driving along at say 50mph, then a sandstorm fueled by strong winds takes away your visibility so you can't see past your bumper, what do you do? If you hit the brakes, you cause a chain reaction accident on the freeway, if you don't hit the brakes you sail right through it or hit the car in front of you that hit the brakes... Which do you think happened here? No one knows for sure, but on a straight road you would probably drive right out of it is you didn't touch the brakes and just held your car straight. These things happen because someone freaked out and tried to stop and the people behind them didn't.
I almost got in a car accident because someone hit the brakes driving on wet roads, there was an unseen puddle and they hit the brakes in moderately heavy traffic, everyone else just held their course. Hitting the brakes causes the car to swerve vs holding your lane and riding through it.
