ABC News: Dense fog causes pileup on California highway involving at least 50 cars

Highway 99 is closed in both directions in central California.

ByJulia Jacobo
January 31, 2026, 1:55 PM

https://abcnews.go.com/US/dense-fog-causes-pileup-california-highway-involving-50/story?id=129739459

#traffic #CAwx #fog

Dense fog causes pileup on California highway involving at least 50 cars

Highway 99 is closed in both directions in central California.

ABC News

@ai6yr Dense fog didn’t cause the pileup, humans not driving for road conditions did. :(

Many years ago, there was a 70-car pileup in southern Ontario because folk thought they should still go hwy speeds when they could barely see the car ahead of them. It was horrible. :(

@CStamp @ai6yr
The Ontario one in ‘99 had 87 cars and killed 8 people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Ontario_Highway_401_crash

Similar thing in 1989 on the Audubon with 120 cars
But only 3 people died. Maybe German cars are safer (they obviously didn’t drive far slower under the foggy conditions with no speed limits)
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/06/26/Fog-blamed-for-120-car-pileup-on-German-autobahn/4443614836800/

1999 Ontario Highway 401 crash - Wikipedia

@CStamp @ai6yr I'll second that. I recall a morning with just a little fresh snow on the A4 near Vendenheim France and people drove like there couldn't be black ice underneath. About 110 vehicles. One helicopter evacuation, maybe no deaths. Haven't found it on the internet but I was in it for a couple of hours. 1981 or 1982 I think.
@MLanselle @ai6yr I once drove from Toronto to Nova Scotia in winter (~1800km), winter conditions, hwy through Quebec was full of blowing snow, my fellow drove with hazard lights on, in right lane, kept control of car, Quebeckers kept driving like the maniac drivers they are, so 110+km/hr in snow, and we invariably passed them later, them having spun off the hwy into the ditch. At least, no pileups. :)
@ai6yr "Drivers speeding through dense fog cause..."