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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Be prepared for winter driving conditions

Barbara Gerry The Spokesman-Review

“It’s not fit out here for man nor beast!” – exclaims the shivering weatherman on his 7 a.m. remote telecast from a freeway overpass.

Not good news – we’re about to get in our car and risk our necks on those slick and hazardous roads.

Driving icy roads is tantamount to driving without brakes … to brake is to skid. Once you’ve accepted the cold, hard fact that it’s impossible to stop … you’re 90 percent icy-road savvy.

Now, it’s the other guys we need to worry about, especially those young whippersnappers in their hot little trucks with monster tires. Heck, they don’t sweat small stuff like icy roads. For them it’s an opportunity to show their stuff; they drive at their usual speed – fast and faster.

Fast drivers – young or old – in flashy cars or rattle-traps, are hands down the greatest driving hazard, but on icy or wet roads they’re lethal.

Although we may be well-experienced drivers in winter driving conditions, it still helps to learn new (or relearn old) skills for handling treacherous roads. So, last month, I took the (two-hour) Idaho State Police Winter Driving Class.

The class did not disappoint. I finally “got it” about black ice: We cannot see black ice. Just know that when the air temperature is 34 degrees, the pavement temperature is 28 degrees – below freezing. The pavement is always 6 degrees cooler than the air temperature. Sunshine on the road? Don’t be fooled – shady spots may be icy.

Driving on ice? The first thing to do is take your car out of overdrive, and don’t use cruise control. If the “D” gear has a circle around it, it’s in overdrive. Drive in a lower gear and go to the lowest gear, 3 – when approaching an intersection. Depress the brake softly, as if you are barefooted and the brake pedal is a tack strip. In extremely slick conditions, the only way to stop may be to just roll to a stop.

Studded snow tires? They’re great for snow, but act like skates on ice and can impair braking on bare pavement.

Our teacher, Sgt. Tim Johnson, was a cute guy (now, that’ll get him in big trouble at the office!) and very funny, too. But he was deadly serious about the somber facts he demonstrated with gruesome film clips of fatal crashes … each time pointing out the “yellow blanket,” on the road – the universal symbol for a fatality. He sounded like a broken record, as he repeated after each clip, “Driving too fast for the conditions.”

Yeah, Sgt. Johnson sounded like a broken record, but we sure got the message.

Auto accidents are now referred to as “crashes,” as most are totally avoidable, Johnson said. Calling them crashes puts accountability on the drivers.

Johnson cautioned us to allow extra time for our winter commutes. We need to completely defrost windows before taking off, plus commit ourselves to accommodating the road conditions, and drive whatever speed that requires.

As for skidding … when your car suddenly starts to skid, take your foot off accelerator, apply light, steady brake pressure to slow down – but don’t stop rolling. Turn into the skid. The objective is to get both the car and its wheels going in the same direction again and that’s done in a series of slow and easy corrections – or turns.

Once, our car went into a serious skid. It took six, maybe 10, corrections to regain control. We turned into the first skid, and into each subsequent skid … the car careened wildly from one edge of the road to the other at first, finally narrowing the skid pattern until we stopped skidding and resumed driving. Breathtaking!

You have a much better chance in this situation if you were not driving way too fast before going into the skid.

Tailgating is a major cause of crashes. Remember: one car length for every 10 mph, even more in bad weather. Here’s something I didn’t know: there’s a trailer hitch, called a “stinger,” sticking out almost four feet from the rear of logging trailers. The stinger is the same height off the ground as a passenger car windshield. Need I say more?

And don’t be fooled, four-wheel drive vehicles are great in deep snow, but are no better than any wheels on wet/icy roads, and certainly don’t offer faster braking.

If you find yourself smack dab in the middle of weather that’s not fit for man nor beast, you and your car may still be able to creep home safely … but, be winter savvy. Know when to stay put and leave the driving to those young whippersnappers.