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Posted on 01/31/2026 5:43:41 PM PST by algore
A massive chain-reaction crash involving dozens of vehicles shut down both directions of California's Highway 99 on Saturday morning after dense fog reduced visibility and triggered one of the region's worst pileups in years.
The crash happened just after 8.15am near the small farming community of Earlimart in Tulare County, where drivers encountered sudden, near-zero visibility conditions that caused multiple vehicles to collide into one another across both the northbound and southbound lanes.
Within seconds, the roadway became a tangled mass of crushed sedans, jackknifed semi-trucks and debris scattered across multiple lanes.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) confirmed that 59 vehicles were involved, though early estimates from county officials suggested the number could be as high as 150.
Highway 99 was fully closed from Avenue 24 to the Kern County line, with authorities warning the shutdown would last well into the evening as investigators cleared debris and assessed the scene.
CHP officers said visibility at the time of the crash was as low as 100 to 200 feet, leaving drivers effectively blind as they barreled down one of the state's busiest freight and commuter corridors.
Photos released by the Tulare County Fire Department showed cars flattened beneath tractor-trailers, windshields shattered, doors torn off, and mangled metal frames piled against concrete barriers.
The impact was so severe that several vehicles were pushed into the median wall separating traffic, squashing the metal into unrecognizable heaps.
Tulare County Fire confirmed that assistance was requested from Kern County Fire and Visalia City Fire, while CHP officers stayed on scene for hours as emergency responders navigated the wreckage and tried to locate injured drivers.
Officials said fog was the primary factor behind the pileup and issued urgent warnings to motorists about a common and dangerous mistake.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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The public is terrible at math. They see the car ahead of them moving so they think that car couldn’t possibly hit anything and stop it cold so they calculate they, too, have time to stop. Not within 100, even 200, feet.
Pedal to the metal a d don’t slow down.
I’ve never experienced it, but I understand zero visibility fog can descend in less than half a minute.
If you’re on the highway, there’s nothing to do except brace for the crash.
Don’t believe it.
You can’t drive fast enough to create a pile up on a California Highway.
Radar-microwave assisted automatic brakes - programmed per driving speed, distance to the car in front, and rate of closure could reduce and prevent these massive pileups.
Yes, not all existing cars would have them installed all at once, but Congress-NTSB has already mandated automatic backup cameras.
Auto braking before a collision follows a similar control logic to the existing speed controls and their sensors.
How many EVs ?
They drive crazy fast on California highways in heavy traffic. You can’t take your eyes off the road for a second.
I have experienced near-zero visibility just once, in rural England, January 1992.
I closed up shop at 2 A.M. and headed home in heavy freezing fog. It soon got heavier, and I could barely see the reflective center line, and it disappeared shortly past my bumper. I slowed down to 15 kph, and it wasn’t much better.
Suddenly, a pirate ship loomed on the horizon.......no, that’s a different story.
Another car whipped past, must have been doing 40. How he could see to dodge my car, I’ll never know.
Your mileage may vary😉
Not anywhere in LA County.
This is terrible. Seems impossible that there aren’t fatalities.
In low visibility or slick roads s
Keep lots of distance between yourself and the car upfront
Yeah, I’m thinking southern California. Crazy. Don’t know about the rest.
Well, I guess I’m going to be the one to say it.
TRUMP’S FAULT!
imma gonna look for that and watch it love campy movies
Went there just before Covid sent us all home to see the Naval Museum.
LOL! A Yogi Berra-ism!
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