DashCam Footage of Highway 154 Collision Points at Semi-Truck

It's kind of amazing that a diver would post this video seeking to blame this truck driver for his own incompetent and unsafe driving. The reason that you should not follow too closely, and drive cautiously, especially at night, is that unexpected things like this happen and you are responsible for dealing with them safely. Sometimes there are things that cause an unavoidable accident because they happen too fast, but this isn't one of them. No way will you not be held responsible for hitting the driver in front of you.

FondofDB, and NOT having brains enough to see that PATRICK is not me while you though he was kind of disqualifies you from the being able to actually THINK about the crash critically doesn't it? So that was a brilliant comment wasn't it?

Actually J, as my REAR dashcam showed I was on the breaks decelerating the whole time. I am just so thankful I didn't risk going over the edge of the road (like two separate cars did in this accident without anyone touching them), or into the oncoming traffic lane, as I might have been killed. I was simply braking slower than the car in front of me. So maybe all 4 of the drivers who were involved in the 4 separate accidents that occurred in the 10 seconds and 1/4 mile were all wrong, but the truck driver was right?? LOL!!! How incredible that 4 people would have made bad decisions driving separately in 10 seconds and 1/4 mile, and not the truck driver for causing it...

I'm so happy to see two people mentioning putting stop signs on the pass to slow traffic down until the mapping apps consider it slower than the 101 route. I've been nagging about that simple solution for years, maybe it is starting to gain traction in the public mind and thus may eventually seem obvious to the Road Overlords who could approve and install them.

Be it clear, rainy, foggy, smoky or whatever cars follow each other too closely.
Driving down South on 101 around Los Alamos yesterday I was passed by three cars, going about 85 MPH following each other by LESS than 20 feet.
If the first one has any problem, guess what happens to all three.
CHP has NEVER enforced the 3 seconds rule.
Events like those will keep happening!
Another point: I NEVER drive 154 at might, under no condition!
Between the people who don't know how to drive (even worse in the winding road up/down the pass), the trucks driving over speed, the drunks from wine tasting and casino stays: you're potentially risky your life anytime you go through at night (it can of course also happen daytime but at least you have more time to react there provided you pay attention to your driving).
Another point: the Gaviota "rest stop" : guess what? It's been closed for more than 2 weeks! When it reopened I jokingly posted (on Edhat) that they "won't be open months", Well SADLY I was right!

Actually Voice of Reason, I WAS hitting my breaks, and interestingly the rear view also clearly shows that if I HAD slammed them on I would have been rear ended. Further as could be seen, my distance was good, and you could not see the road, so you could not see if you were even in your own lane (a MAJOR issue as I could easily have gone into oncoming traffic, or off the road (like another car did) in the smoke. Here is what the Government says:

"In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero (mine was AT ZERO), the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights (I was reaching for them when this happened), then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business and stop. That would involve MOVEMENT, plus, being on the bridge there was no safe location).
If there is no parking lot or driveway to pull into, pull your vehicle off to the side of the road as far as possible. Once you come to a stop, turn off all lights except your hazard flashing lights, set the emergency brake, and take your foot off of the brake pedal to be sure the tail lights are not illuminated so that other drivers don't mistakenly run into you."

It would be interesting to see how much time and fuel semi's actually save by going over the pass. I doubt it's much. I just did a route on Google maps from the Miramar (given it's proximity to the 101) to Los Alamos. Taking the 101 takes 58 minutes and is 61.3 miles. Taking the 154 is only 49.5 miles, but the time is the same - 58 minutes. I'd guess fuel consumption is about the same either way. So, why are semis taking the 154 at all? In the transit world, I'd assume time is of the essence, so if it makes no difference to get from point A to point B, why are they doing this?

There is no good reason to have semi trucks on the pass. Any local deliveries can be made by smaller trucks.

Actually Voice of Reason, my REAR Dash cam shows clearly that I WAS breaking. I simply did not slam on my breaks, for fear of being rear ended, or going into oncoming traffic which could have been deadly, off the edge of the freeway (which one car did) , but I was actually on the breaks from the beginning of the clip!

Jeff4510 the problem with traffic "Cameras" is that they are ultra LOW resolution and black and white". However it is possible that this is an imagining camera that you are referring to. I am not sure. Interestingly the CHP Dash cameras were OFF coming up the pass, as they are only turned on when lights and sirens come on (something I did not know).

Looks like the trucks brakes were smoking or it had a mechanical issue to cause such obscuring smoke, it didn't look like there was a place for the truck to pull over, if the driver had any idea there was smoke coming from their truck. The car in front had it's brakes on going into the smoke and the car with the dash cam was closing at a higher rate of speed. The crash is unfortunate and may not have been avoidable either way, possibly have been lessened by reducing more speed and activating the hazard lights entering the smoke which would eventually dissipate. Sure, keep trucks off the 154, there's still plenty of crashes not involving trucks though. I hope everyone is ok and recovering.

Keep semi-trucks off the 154!

Glad you are okay and have this footage. 1st off the person in front of you is an idiot to have stopped. 2nd and more important there is a camera reader about 5m back from the bridge (east) which keeps track of all vehicles. The chp or sheriff will have access to this and if they won’t give it to you subpoena them! They have cameras everywhere- get that footage.

Hope they find the semi driver and charge him with felony fleeing of an accident! As someone who has been commuting the pass for almost two decades, I’d have to say it far past due to put restrictions on semi trucks that are going north/south that are not doing deliveries or business on the pass!!!!!glad everyone is alive!!