Be prepared for snow, ice

It’s the kind of winter crash that sticks in a trooper’s mind – the kind he never wants to see again.

“There was one lane on Highway 195 south of Colfax that all the vehicles were traveling in, but there was one gal who decided she wanted to go faster,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker said.

So the Moscow, Idaho, mother of two moved out of the right lane into the left, which was covered with compacted snow and ice. She lost control of her car and crashed into an oncoming Suburban.

Thirty-one-year-old Stefanie Crawford died at the scene just two days after Thanksgiving last year. Firefighters spent more than an hour working to get her seriously injured 7-year-old and 2-month-old children out of the car.

This year, Baker and other officers with the Washington State Patrol and Idaho State Police are urging motorists to use extreme caution when driving in winter conditions.

Both agencies are conducting increased patrols over the holidays to crack down on motorists driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, driving aggressively or just plain driving too fast for winter conditions.

In addition to the usual advice to slow down when roads are snowy and icy, Idaho State Police Trooper Sean Lind said drivers need to increase their following distance.

“If under normal conditions you follow the three-second rule for how close you should be behind someone, during winter conditions you need to double that,” Lind said.

That means drivers should observe the vehicle in front of them pass a fixed object, then make sure they themselves don’t pass that object until at least six seconds later.

Few drivers heed that advice, Lind said.

Motorists also need to remember that bridges, without the insulation of the ground beneath them, ice over more quickly than other parts of the road, Lind said. Many crashes happen on bridges.

Baker offered several other tips. Drivers should make sure their vehicle is up to snuff, in good working condition with adequate traction tires and clean headlights and taillights.

Drivers should never use cruise control in snow or on ice because it prevents them from responding quickly if they have traction problems.

Above all, Baker said, drivers need to mentally prepare for snow and ice when they leave home.