After Tuesday morning's series of crashes on Interstate 10 between New Orleans East and Slidell, New Orleans officials are considering measures to prevent another set of crashes such as these from happening again.
New Orleans emergency preparedness director Collin Arnold says his agency and the New Orleans Police Department will collaborate to find solutions.
"We're working with NOPD right now to try to discuss some other solutions," Arnold said at a Tuesday press conference. "We're looking at talking about convoys, all of these things."
Arnold says he and other city leaders are trying to find ways to help drivers stay safe while commuting through smoke- and fog-filled areas of Interstate 10 until the New Orleans East wildfire is extinguished. Arnold noted that this morning's superfog formed in a matter of seconds.
He said ultimately, it's up to drivers to take the initiative to stay safe when visibility deteriorates.
"You need to slow down. I don't think that can be understated. You need to slow down on these interstates," Arnold said. "People just need to take their time, slow down, and realize that in these mornings, particularly around 4 a.m. to around 10 to 11 a.m., we have been seeing these issues with fog and superfog--fog with smoke in it."
Arnold says the weather forecast shows favorable conditions for more dense fog in the coming days.
"I don't see this easing up any time soon. What we've been told is that our winds are predominantly south through this week turning to east, so I think there is a potential that we'll see this type of dense fog again this week."
