Police say they have enough evidence to prosecute 32 motorists involved in a 150-car pile-up on the New Sheppey Crossing Bridge in Kent.
But officers said rather than drag the alleged offenders through the courts, they will send them on driver alertness courses instead.
The huge crash during rush hour on September 5 last year is believed to have been the biggest accident in thick fog in living memory.
It continued for 10 minutes as cars and lorries smashed into each other in visibility of just 25 yards.
Eight people suffered serious injuries and 200 others were treated at the scene.
Inspector Martin Stevens, head of the serious collision investigation unit at Kent Police, said it was “quite simply a miracle” that no-one was killed.
A general view of the scene on the London bound carriageway of the Sheppey Bridge Crossing near Sheerness in Kent following a multi vehicle collision earlier this morning.
Some motorists reportedly drove “like idiots” before the crash, which closed the bridge in both directions for more than nine hours.
Officers are sending letters to 32 drivers involved in the crash, offering them the chance to attend a one-day driving awareness course rather than go to court.
Those who decline will automatically be summonsed to court, Kent Police said.
Insp Stevens said: “This has been a thorough investigation of what was the biggest collision in the county and certainly the largest our team has had to deal with.
“Clearly the thick fog that descended on the bridge that day made driving conditions incredibly challenging and was a contributory factor in the resulting collision which stretched from the approach right across the bridge.
“While a significant number of drivers did precisely the right thing by driving to the conditions, our investigation has provided overwhelming evidence that in some cases motorists were not driving with due care and attention and were travelling at speeds which prevented them being able to stop in the distances that they could see ahead.
“Rather than go through the process of taking these people to court, it was felt that offering an educational outcome would prove far more beneficial for the drivers involved.”
The incident occurred during rush-hour on the Isle of Sheppey
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