Since there is a potential for freezing rain and sleet across the area, I wanted to walk everyone through some tips for driving during these icy conditions.
Tip #1
Truly, that is the best advice. Just don’t drive. I know that isn’t always an option, but it is the best option. The problem with ice is that you can’t always see it.
I recall driving in Oregon during a Black Ice event, where it rained during the day, and then temperatures tanked at night into the 20s. And I was driving down a road along the Columbia river at about 30mph and the VW Beetle in front of me suddenly just drove into the river next to me. Didn’t skid, didn’t fish tail. Just nose-dived into the water.
Thankfully for the woman driving, there was a short landing of sand and dirt as the base of the hill before the water. I pulled over and jumped out of my car and ran down the hill to pull her out of her car before it sank into the water. Thankfully, she only had a concussion and some bruises… but it could’ve been way worse. And, let me tell you, trying to get a concussed person up a 15-foot drop-off / hill on the side of a road next to a river is difficult. For both of us.
I asked her what happened and she said – and I’ll never forget this – that she didn’t even have time to react before the nose of her car was pointed toward the river. “It happened so fast that I couldn’t stop it. I’m so thankful to be alive.”
Tip #2
If you MUST drive, drive very slowly. Very slowly. Speed limit is 50? Go 20. Bett yet, 10. Speed limit 20? Go 10. Maybe 5? Drive slowly, accelerate even slower. Getting somewhere late is better than never getting there at all.
Also decelerate slowly. Very slowly. Using your gears to slow down (if you have a manual) is the best way. The goal is to make sure your tires are still moving the whole time. Because the second your wheels lock and the tires stop moving, you greatly reduce your ability to steer the vehicle.
Tip #3
Don’t use brakes or the gas over a bridge or overpass if possible – just coast. This will make sure the tires keep rotating and thus, will help your ability to steer your vehicle. If you hit the gas, and the tires start to spin or you hit the brake and the tires lock up, you greatly reduce your ability to maneuver your vehicle.
The goal is to have as much control of directing your vehicle as possible. On ice, your ability to control the acceleration (or deceleration) of your car will be greatly reduced to begin with, that is why driving so slowly is so important.
Tip #4
Don’t drive at all!
I already said this? Oh, well the advice is so nice, I thought I would say it twice.
Tip #5
Take turns slowly and very wide. No don’t make sudden movements or turn with the wheel of the vehicle.
This advice goes for correcting your vehicle when ti starts to slide out of control. Turning the wheel quickly to correct your tailspin, may not be the best move.
And when your vehicle does start to spin out of control, always turn your wheel in the direction against the way your car is turning. Try to point your tires in the direction you WANT to go, not in the absolute opposite direction that your car is currently going.
That is to say, if you start to tailspin, don’t simply spin the wheel all the way around in the opposite direction back-and-forth, as that will not solve the problem, but instead exacerbate the issue.
