Once in a while, a massive pileup will make national headlines. One such accident occurred in another state last week, and the situation has raised a question being asked on a national level: Are there state or federal guidelines about closing roads, and what are they?

The tragic car accident in Florida last week left 11 people dead. It happened after poor visibility from smoke and fog had closed an interstate for several hours. Shortly after troopers reopened the road, the massive pileup occurred.

Similar accidents have happened in Pennsylvania and other states before. Such tragedies beg the question of when roads should be closed. The answer is, there is no easy answer.

According to a CBS News report, few guidelines exist when it comes to shutting down roads because of poor conditions. In many instances, such as with last week's accident, officials will rely what officers see at a scene. But as that crash clearly demonstrates, that strategy doesn't always work.

Guidelines have never been issued by federal transportation agencies on when roads should be closed due to poor visibility caused by fires, fog or dust storms. In some states, such as Maine, the decision to close a road can be made by a trooper at the scene.

Still other states use engineers who work together with troopers to determine how poor visibility is and how safe roads are. But no way is foolproof, and officers say that the best way to prevent accidents continues to be drivers themselves. Slowing down to adapt to bad road conditions is extremely important, especially if drivers are caught in a situation where they shouldn't even be on the road in the first place.

Source: CBS News, "Few guidelines exist on when to shut down roads," Feb. 1, 2012