A multi-vehicle collision (colloquially known as a pile-up) is a road traffic accident involving many vehicle

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s. Generally occurring on high capacity and high speed routes such as freeways, they are one of the deadliest forms of traffic accidents. The most disastrous

Disaster

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...

 pile-ups have involved more than a hundred vehicles.

Causes

Pile-ups generally occur in low-visibility conditions as drivers on freeways are sometimes caught out by driving too close to the vehicle in front and not adjusting to the road conditions.

Due to the high traffic speeds on the road, if one car develops a problem and suddenly halts, those behind it cannot stop in time and may hit it. Considering that these roads often have high traffic volumes, more cars are forced into braking and skidding, darting into other lanes and in front of oncoming traffic and so more vehicles become involved, creating a chain reaction effect.

Determining the cause of such accidents is difficult for investigator

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

s and it is often impossible to tell if negligence

Negligence

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...

 caused the crash.

Effects

Multiple-vehicle collisions are particularly deadly as the mass of crumpled vehicles makes escape for survivors difficult. Even if a survivor is able to exit their vehicle, another car may strike them. A fire in one part of the accident can quickly spread via spilled gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

 and cover the entire crash area. Individual vehicles in a multiple-vehicle collision are often hit multiple times at high speed, increasing the risk of injury to passengers who may have survived the first impact. Collisions after the initial collision may occur from the side where the car is more vulnerable. Multiple-vehicle collisions can also overrun local firefighting, ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

, and police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 services making speedy rescues more difficult.

The large scale of these accidents can close important routes for several days. The destruction and intense heat of fires can also damage roadways, particularly by melting and burning the asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

. Bridge structures can also be weakened by the heat. A pileup inside a tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

 is most serious, as there is little means to escape the tunnel and the confined heat may damage the structure of the tunnel.

Major pileups

Date	Killed	Injured	Vehicles	Details
11 December 1990	12	42	99	Interstate 75 Interstate 75 Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...  in Calhoun, Tennessee Calhoun, Tennessee Calhoun is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 496 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calhoun is situated along the north bank of the Hiwassee River, which flows down from the Appalachian Mountains to the east and empties into the Chickamauga Lake impoundment of the... , United States, between Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...  and Knoxville Knoxville, Tennessee Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...  near the Hiwassee River Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in northern Georgia and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee... , due to very heavy fog; fiery crash involved 99 vehicles; 12 deaths and 42 injuries. A fog warning system has since been installed, and the highway patrol Tennessee Highway Patrol The Tennessee Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Tennessee, responsible for enforcing all federal and state laws relating to traffic on the state's federal and state highways. It is a component of the Department of Safety....  enforces speed limits aggressively.
October 1991	1	64	150	A15 Motorway A15 motorway (Netherlands) The Dutch Rijksweg 15 is a set of two motorways in the Netherlands, the A15 and the A18. The map on the right-hand side shows these two parts of this Rijksweg 15.- Connection between A15 and A18 :...  near Ochten Ochten Ochten is a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Neder-Betuwe, and lies about 10 km southwest of Wageningen.... , Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... , due to fog, 150 vehicles, 1 death, 64 injuries.
2 December 1994		67	127	Interstate 35 Interstate 35 Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...  in San Antonio, Texas, United States, 127 car pile-up caused by blinding glare and rain-slicked roads, 67 injuries.
20 March 1995	11	90	200	Jubilee Parkway Jubilee Parkway The Jubilee Parkway is a pair of parallel concrete viaduct bridges that carry Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay from the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama eastbound to Spanish Fort/Daphne, Alabama. The bridges are similar in design to the I-10 Twin Span Bridge near New Orleans, Louisiana. Each...  in Mobile, Alabama Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest... , United States, due to fog, 200 vehicles, 1 death, 90 injuries.
10 March 1997	3	60	160	M42 motorway M42 motorway The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...  in the United Kingdom, due to fog – 160 vehicles involved 1997 M42 motorway crash The 1997 M42 motorway crash is a multiple vehicle collision which occurred on 10 March 1997 on the M42 motorway at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire in the United Kingdom as a result of fog... , 3 deaths, 60 injuries.
31 December 1998	1	39	100	100 cars crashed on an ice-slicked section of Interstate-75 in central Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... , killing one and injuring 39.
3 September 1999	8	33	87	Highway 401 in Essex County, Ontario Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... , just east of Windsor Windsor, Ontario Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor... . Very dense fog Fog Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...  and tailgating Tailgating Tailgating is the practice of driving on a road too close to the vehicle in front, at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible...  causes an 87-vehicle pile-up, killing 8, and injuring 33 more.
February 2001			131	Interstate 95 Interstate 95 in Virginia In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Interstate 95 runs through the state. It runs concurrently for with Interstate 64 in Richmond, and meets the northern terminus of Interstate 85 in Petersburg. Though Interstate 95 was originally planned to go straight through Washington, D.C., it was instead...  in Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, and just across the Rappahannock River from the City of Fredericksburg. As of the 2000 census, the population was 92,446, increasing to 128,961 in 2010.. Its county seat is Stafford. In 2006, and again in 2009,... , United States, 131 vehicles plus two others nearby totaling 80 more, due to a snowstorm whiteout.
March 2002			125	Interstate 75 in Catoosa County, Georgia Catoosa County, Georgia Catoosa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 5, 1853. As of 2000, the population was 53,282. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 62,241... , United States, due to one-time sudden fog, about 125 vehicles
12 January 2005	2	35	10	Interstate 96 Interstate 96 Interstate 96 is an intrastate Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 and Business US Highway 31 , on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the...  in Ingham County, Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... , United States, around 200 vehicles, due to dense fog leaving 2 dead and 35 injured.
17 March 2005	3	60	300	near Helsinki, Finland, around 300 cars crashed on highways leading to the capital, 3 deaths and 60 injuries. Visibility was very poor due to heavy snowfall and a week of clear weather had given drivers a false impression of safety.
5 November 2007	2	dozens	100	Highway 99 south of Fresno Fresno Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León... , California, United States, due to the tule fog Tule fog Tule fog is a thick ground fog that settles in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley areas of California's Great Central Valley. Tule fog forms during the late fall and winter after the first significant rainfall. The official time frame for tule fog to form is from November 1 to March 31...  that occurs frequently in fall and winter; involved more than 100 vehicles, killed at least 2 and injured dozens of others.
6 January 2008	2		100	Two people are killed as 100 cars pile up on Interstate 90 near Madison, Wisconsin.
9 January 2008	4	38	70	Four people were killed and as many as 38 injured in a major pileup on Interstate 4 Interstate 4 Interstate 4 is a intrastate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida . It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small...  in north central Florida involving 70 vehicles, as fog mixed with smoke from a controlled fire that reached out-of-control proportions combined to make it almost impossible for motorists to see.
20 January 2008			100	More than 100 vehicles crashed into each other on Highway 400 near Toronto due to bad weather conditions.
11 March 2008	3	277	60	Around 6.39am UAE time UTC+4 UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:Gulf Standard Time uses UTC+04.-As standard time :...  a series of vehicle crashes occurred, involving cars, SUV Sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel... s, buses and trucks, because of heavy fog Fog Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...  on the Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western... -Dubai Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...  highway near Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a... , leading to the worst ever crash and multi-vehicle Vehicle A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....  pileup in the country’s history. According to Dubai based Gulf News Gulf News Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...  and Reuters Reuters Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...  the incident killed 3 people and injured 277, involving 60 vehicles from which 25 caught fire according to Abu Dhabi Police Abu Dhabi Police Abu Dhabi Police is the primary law enforcement agency in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Under the command of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Abu Dhabi Police is primarily responsible for enforcing criminal law,... .
20 March 2008	0	33	231	231 vehicles round about number of foci crashed at highway D1 Highway D1 (Czech Republic) D1 motorway is the main highway of the Czech Republic. Currently it connects the two biggest Czech cities, Prague and Brno, in the future it will link Ostrava and the border with Poland...  in Vysočina Region Vysocina Region Vysočina Region , is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the historical region of Moravia...  of the Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... . About 30 people were injured, 3 of them seriously. Nobody was killed.
25 March 2008	1	6	60	A near 60 vehicle pile-up in heavy snow on Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... 's main east-west highway causes one death with six injuries.
11 January 2009			50+	"More than 50 cars..." in Derry, New Hampshire Derry, New Hampshire -Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...
19 January 2009			35	A 35-car pileup occurs during a snowstorm on Interstate 70 Interstate 70 Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...  in Myersville, Maryland Myersville, Maryland Myersville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census.-History:The Peter of P. Grossnickel Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.-Geography:... .
19 July 2009		Dozens	259	Dozens of people injured, 10 critically, when 259 vehicles were involved in a pile-up due to heavy rain on the German Autobahn A2 near Braunschweig Braunschweig Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....  in Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany... .
13 December 2009		52	56	56 cars involved in a pile-up on Route 110 Route 110 Route 110 or Highway 110 can refer to multiple roads:-United States:* Interstate 110** Interstate 110 ** Interstate 110 ** Interstate 110 ** Interstate 110 ** Interstate 110 * U.S...  in Shelton, Connecticut Shelton, Connecticut Shelton is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,559 at the 2010 census.-Origins:Shelton was settled by the English as part of the town of Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639...  due to black ice Black ice Black ice, sometimes called glare ice or clear ice, refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface.While not truly black, it is virtually transparent, allowing black asphalt/macadam roadways to be seen through it, hence the term "black ice"...  resulting in 46 injuries and six hospitalizations, but no deaths or life-threatening injuries.
23 December 2009		36	43	M27 motorway M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs west-east from Cadnam to Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983. It is however unfinished as an extension to the east was planned...  20 vehicles involved in a pile up westbound at Rownhams services and another 23 eastbound between J7 for Hedge End Hedge End Hedge End is a town and civil parish located in Hampshire in England. It is situated to the east of the City of Southampton, adjoining the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urban Area.It is sometimes mistakenly claimed...  and Botley Botley Botley is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:*Botley, Buckinghamshire*Botley, Hampshire*Botley, OxfordshireOther*Botley the Robot is a fictional robot featured in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain...  and J8 for Bursoldon and Netley Netley Netley, sometimes called Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England, situated on the east side of the city of Southampton...  due to severe black ice, freezing fog and deep snow. 36 people injured.
10 February 2010		7	50	Near Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city... , whiteout conditions during the morning around 9:00 am EST 10 February led to a fifty-car pileup on a stretch of westbound I-64. The accident took hours to clear, and seven people suffered minor injuries requiring hospitalization.
14 February 2010		13	100+	In the Kansas City Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...  area, several pileups involving 100+ vehicles, including two Greyhound Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...  buses was caused by whiteout Whiteout (weather) Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow or sand. The horizon disappears completely and there are no reference points at all, leaving the individual with a distorted orientation...  conditions. The largest pileup, involving 40 vehicles along I-70 Interstate 70 in Kansas In the U.S. state of Kansas, Interstate 70 contains the first segment to start being paved and to be completed in the Interstate Highway System. It extends from the Western border to the Eastern border covering and passing through several of the state's principal cities in the process.-Route...  and K-7 K-7 (Kansas highway) K-7 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is mostly a small country highway winding its way through the Osage Questas and Glaciated Regions of eastern Kansas, although a portion of the highway passes through the Kansas City metropolitan area. Significant portions of the highway overlap...  near the city of Bonner Springs, Kansas Bonner Springs, Kansas Bonner Springs is a river city in Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a suburb in the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. The vast majority of the city, which lies in Wyandotte County, is part of the "Unified Government" which contains Kansas City,... . No fatalities or critical injuries were reported. The accident closed I-70 for several hours so emergency workers and crews could clean up the area. The same day, also in the Kansas City metro area, a separate pileup caused by whiteout conditions, involving at least 20 vehicles closed parts of I-35 near 87th Street. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported there as well. The accident sent 13 people to area hospitals.
15 September 2011	1	several	100	Rodovia dos Imigrantes Rodovia dos Imigrantes Rodovia dos Imigrantes is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.The highway connects the city of São Paulo to the Atlantic coast and with the seaside cities of São Vicente and Praia Grande. It follows the route of Rodovia Anchieta and is also one of Brazil's busiest highways, particularly on...  at São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... . around 100 vehicles involved in an accident due to heavy fog. Several injuries and one person dead.
4 November 2011	7	51	34	Near Taunton Taunton Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset.... , Somerset Somerset The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... . 34 vehicles involved in an accident 2011 M5 motorway crash The 2011 M5 motorway crash was a multi-vehicle collision that took place on 4 November 2011 on the M5 motorway near Taunton, Somerset, in South West England...  near Junction 25 on the M5 motorway M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...  near Taunton due to fog and heavy rain. 7 confirmed deaths currently reported and 51 injured.

Motorsports

Multiple vehicle collisions can occur in the restricted courses used in motorsports as well, most commonly after a green flag (on road courses) being waved following a warm-up lap during the start of the race. Reporters and fans apply subjective guidelines as to what threshold needs to be crossed before a simple on-track incident can be described as such. NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 fans, for example, talk about 'The Big One

The Big One (NASCAR)

The phrase The Big One refers to an accident involving roughly eight or more cars in NASCAR stock car racing.Though multi-car pileups have occurred at nearly every NASCAR track, the term is largely reserved for large Sprint Cup accidents at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway...

', where many cars can be involved in a wreck while running close together.

In popular culture

Both of the Blues Brothers movies feature a massive pileup of police cars.

In the film Final Destination 2

Final Destination 2

Final Destination 2 is a 2003 supernatural horror film and the sequel to the 2000 film Final Destination and was directed by David R. Ellis. It was written by Jeffrey Reddick, Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. The film stars Ali Larter, A. J. Cook, Michael Landes and Tony Todd...

, there is a pileup on Route 23 at the beginning of the film.