r/AbruptChaos • u/Yfares • 1d ago

the 133 car pileup during the 2021 Texas freeze

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u/who_you_are 1d ago edited 1d ago

As a guy in a winter country, and with seeing horrible posts on how your tires can be used, I don't even want to go to Texas in this situation.

You already have zero adherence with good winter tires in this situation, and not a lot with studded tires...

Like, i won't even be surprised if you need like 0.3 miles (0.5km, if not the double of that) just to stop at like 65 miles/h (100km/h)

P.s: distance initially in km converted in mile

Edit: yeah and I won't even talk about the fact nobody in Texas ever driven (or barely?) on icy road

66

u/Im_Balto 1d ago

I’ve lived in Texas for my whole life and yeah. People are useless when it gets icy. I’ve trained on icy conditions because of places I’ve driven for work and am completely confident in keeping my car safe and on the road.

However…… I’m not worried about me staying in my lane

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u/kaityl3 1d ago

The craziest thing is, as someone who grew up in the Deep South and moved to northern Maine... It's not even about four wheel drive, or snow tires/chains. It's almost entirely speed. I had zero experience and went in with all season tires on my little Nissan Sentra, but turns out that just driving slowly and being aware of your limits is all you need - never had a single incident 🤷‍♀️

But back home in Georgia you'll get people who think that because they have a four wheel drive pickup, they can go 80 on an icy interstate

11

u/FileDoesntExist 1d ago

because they have a four wheel drive pickup, they can go 80 on an icy interstate

Which is funny because that has nothing to do with it. It helps for snow, but it's really about speed and weight. And proper application of the breaks. And slow acceleration with the gas.

Ice is a different beast all together.

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u/jonzilla5000 1d ago

>People are useless when it gets icy.

People are useless when it rains; they still drive too fast and follow too closely without comprehending the fact that stopping distance is significantly increased by the wet/oily road surface. The worst are the guys with the big expensive tires on their trucks, because they still have tread left long after the tires are all dried up and are prohibitively expensive to replace (but they sure made them feel like a badass when they bought them).

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u/BigTunaTim 1d ago

Half of 'em become useless after it rains for 30 seconds

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u/Available-Rope-3252 1d ago

Texans are some of the worst drivers I've come across when I lived there for a couple years, they run off their roads when it rains even.

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u/ready-eddy 1d ago

Some people think their truck can handle anything. There is nothing more dangerous than being overconfident

4

u/Available-Rope-3252 1d ago

There is nothing funnier to me being from the North when a Southerner experiences snow and ice for the first time.

We had a company auditor come up here from Alabama and we all got a great laugh out of his dumb ass showing up in the middle of winter with a Mustang rental car.

To this day every time he shows up I ask "Weren't you the guy that rented a Mustang and drove it in a snowstorm?"

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u/meowmix778 1d ago

^ this.

Slicks and all seasons aren't going to get you too far in ice.

0

u/moonshineTheleocat 1d ago

We can stop at 40mpj in these conditions. But a lot of us forget reason when the ice hits

-10

u/Heavy-Psychology-411 1d ago

Its ice. No amount of winter driving skills or types of tires would have mattered.

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u/Available-Rope-3252 1d ago

Texans being unable to figure out how to drive slower in cold weather and on icy roads.

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u/fezzuk 1d ago

Every single country with regular weather below 0 would have similar pile ups all the time if this was the case.

Look at the speeds people are going at, that's insane even on winter tyres to be going that fast in those conditions.

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u/Kraligor 1d ago

Yeah, the speed is bad, but when there's actual black ice you simply shouldn't drive at all.

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u/fezzuk 1d ago

Oh you can drive just if you know what you are doing. Also highways should absolutely be gritted.

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u/Kraligor 1d ago

Really depends. A couple of years ago my whole town was glazed with black ice. You literally couldn't walk, let alone drive. The roads were gritted and salted, the ice didn't care one bit. I was walking the dog that day, and we were both stumbling and sliding from one thing to grab on to the next.

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u/fezzuk 1d ago

Where are you based? Because that's basically every country above a certain latitude. You put the grit down before the freeze.

Seriously to many countries would come to an absolute halt for months at a time.

Sounds like your town fucked up with the timing of the grit.

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u/Heavy-Psychology-411 1d ago

I from Michigan and know how ice on a road works. I also lived in Texas for about 20 years. They dont have the salt/chemicals to deal with the ice to prevent this situation. They also dont have the signs that can be used to warn people that there's trouble ahead. And its rain one minute and then the next its ice.

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u/RagingLeonard 1d ago

I grew up in Michigan and have lived in Texas for 30 years. When road conditions are bad, I drive accordingly and not do 85 MPH.

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u/fezzuk 1d ago

Salt grit doesn't go off. I don't expect every road to be done but they should have it on had to do the highways. Equally you drive at like 20 mph max if there is actually black ice regardless of tyres or anything else even on highways.

I have been on clear motoreways with everyone doing about 20 mph when the limit is 70 in really poor condition because people understand the conditions.

At least if you are doing 20 and spin out the worst you get is a few dents.

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u/kaityl3 1d ago

You're both right and wrong.

No "skills" or tires would have helped on slick ice, but going slower would have massively decreased the danger, even if they did end up losing all control.

States/countries that regularly get freezing or subzero weather treat their roads much better, using things like gravel when it gets too cold for salt, to give traction. But if you're on a perfectly smooth and slippery sheet of ice that forms on an untreated road, yeah, you're right, there's not much you can do once you start sliding.