The first car was designed by Benz Patent- Motorwagen way
back in 1886 with Ohio City claiming the first gasoline powered car accident in
1891. Engineer James Lambert was said to be driving his very own gasoline
powered buggy with James Swoveland as his passenger, when the vehicle hit a
tree root Lambert lost control of the car, hitting a hitching post.
Fortunately both men suffered only minor injuries; however
accidents are not always that tame- here are some of the biggest car pile ups
in history:
Finland, March 2005, 300 Vehicles
One of the most unforgettable car pile ups took place in
Helsinki in Finland in March 2005. At least 300 vehicles were involved in this
catastrophic pile up which resulted in 3 deaths and more than 60 injuries. The
accident was blamed on the weather, heavy snowfall followed by a week of good
weather lured drives into a false sense of security when they were actually
driving in treacherous condition.
Brazil, September 2011, 300 Vehicles
Three hundred vehicles collided with each other along the
main route between Sau Paulo and the4 coast in Brazil, the pile up stretched
along 2km of the Imigrantes highway. Two trucks and three cars caught fire in
the collision, which left one person dead and 29 injured.
Germany, July 2-009, 259 Vehicles
The biggest car crash in Germany’s history took place back
in 2009 on the Autobahn, were speed limits were not enforced. A combination of
heavy rain and reckless driving caused a massive puile up involving 259 cars,
60 people were injured and the clean- up was said to have cost over £1.5
million.
Czech Republic, March 2008, 231 vehicles
A 231 vehicle crah caused by bad weather took place on the
Czech Republic’s major motorways connecting Prague and Brno back in March 2008.
With 30 people injured, the pile up caused a 24 mile tail back with around
20,000 people getting stuck in the traffic jam. The damage caused in the
accident was said to have cost over 28 million crowns- over £800,000
Los Angeles, November 2002, 216 vehicles
One Sunday morning, a combination of thick fog, wet roads
and too much speed resulted in a massive chain reaction crash on the Long Beach
Freeway in Los Angeles. Forty people were injured, but miraculously nobody died
when 216 cars ploughed into the back of each other in 2002.
Tennessee, December 2011, 176 vehicles
When three separate chain reaction pile ups occurred in
Hendersonville, Tennessee, back in 2001, 176 cars were involved and one person
died. The mass of wrecked cars stretched along two miles on Vietnam Vets
Boulevard. It began when a car ran off the highway, causing the first of three
multi car pile ups.
England, March 1997 160 vehicles
Back in 1997 a lorry, driven by David Fairclough, joined the
M42 motorway near Bromsgrove where he slammed into the back of a tanker, which
then hit the car in front before exploding. The ensuing moments saw another 158
vehicles join the pile up that stretched 400 yards along the motorway. The catastrophic
crash happened in dense fog during the early morning rush hour; three people
died and another 60 people were injured.
In the UK alone there are around630,000 to 800,000 road
casualties every year, with over 21,000 people seriously injured in car accidents
in 2013.
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