Almost three years have passed since at least six people died and countless others were injured in a multivehicle crash on Interstate 81 near Minersville in Foster Township, Schuylkill County.

It was midmorning on March 28, 2022, when Mother Nature decided to serve up an early spring surprise to much of Pennsylvania, not to mention the somewhat isolated stretch of highway that winds its way through Coal Country.

On the menu: Snow squalls.

In an instant, a wall of white smothered the region, blinding motorists and triggering the snap, crackle and pop of twisted metal and plastic in a fiery, chain-reaction crash that involved around 50 vehicles — including tractor-trailers, cars and trucks.

Their drivers and passengers all had destinations. Some never made it.

Since then, officials are doing what they can to prevent crashes of that type from happening.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation have joined with the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to study how snow squalls affect driving.

The study’s goal is to educate drivers on how to navigate through a squall, which could bring heavy snow faster than a New York minute, high winds and limit visibility to less than a quarter mile.

A Hofstra University researcher is developing a virtual reality simulator that mimics squalls with assistance from the National Weather Service in State College, which is providing expertise to ensure the simulation’s accuracy.

The simulator gives researchers information on how drivers in a squall might react. It uses 360-degree immersion via goggles and surround sound. The information will be analyzed and shared with transportation officials, who can notify drivers that squalls may be imminent down the road.

To do that, the agencies will use wireless emergency alerts, changeable message signs and variable speed limits to warn drivers.

The VSL signs offer portability and visibility. They’ve proven effective in quickly reducing speed limits across the state, since they were first used on the Schuylkill Expressway between Philadelphia and King of Prussia in 2021.

PennDOT has 78 of them stationed along I-80 and I-81, their locations based on crash and weather data, such as frequency of wintry conditions and where crashes caused by whiteout conditions led to roadway closures of more than three hours.

Along I-81, from its junction with I-78 in Lebanon County to its intersection with I-80 in Luzerne County, 36 VSLs are poised to warn drivers along the 62-mile stretch.

Since they’ve been deployed, crashes decreased by an average of 3% in Schuylkill County, while serious injuries and fatalities decreased by 33%.

While the VSLs are in place, normal speed limit signs are covered and the device shows the normal speed limit unless visibility or other weather conditions call for slower speeds.

When the speed limits are reduced, a yellow light at the top and the bottom of the VSL flashes to draw motorists’ attention to the change.

The key words here are “motorists’ attention.” It’s not something they do these days, especially when they’re hurtling down an interstate highway at well above posted speed limits — even in imperfect weather.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but it seems to me that so many drivers are in a hurry to get somewhere. I see it all the time.

Admittedly, I’ve been known to suffer from a lead-foot syndrome on the highways, especially in my younger days. But I’ve come to realize that all too often, the time I spent hurrying was often lost waiting in stopped traffic ahead after some Speed Racer wannabe spun out or ran into the back of a stopped 18-wheeler.

In the recent late January storms — whose remnants still line the berms — many of our highways turned into parking lots because drivers just weren’t thinking or paying attention. It cost a few lives, untold injuries and wasted countless man hours of first responders’ time in some pretty tough conditions.

I’m not saying the work of the researchers is worthless. I applaud their efforts. They’re doing their best to bring the perils of poor driving habits into the limelight, and any reduction in crashes and fatalities they can effect is a benefit.

It boils down to just plain common sense.

When driving in a white out, turn on the headlights and hazards, stay off the brakes, slow down and maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and the one you’re following. And hope with all your might that the folks in front or behind you are doing the same.

All the signs, studies and technology don’t mean a thing without the most important part of any vehicle doing its job.

That, of course, is the nut behind the wheel.

ED SOCHA tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years’ experience in community journalism.