Highways Like Skating Rinks: Driving On Slick Ice
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - When temperatures are below zero, highways can become like skating rinks.
Lt. Tiffani Nelson from the Minnesota State Patrol shared some advice about driving safely in icy conditions.
When there's a thin layer of ice between your tires and the pavement, the rules of driving change.
"You have to be actively engaged," she said. "You cannot look at driving in ice and snow and inclement weather conditions as a passive activity."
Nelson said a slower speed is what you need the most. It gives you more control of your vehicle.
"If you start to lose traction at slower speed, it is going to be easier for your tire to regain that traction on the roadway," she said. "If your tire is spinning at 55 miles per hour, that traction is going to be harder to regain."
If you want to protect yourself from the mistakes of others, make sure you leave some space between you and the vehicle in front of you--at least three car lengths.
"The more distance you have in front of you as a safety buffer, the more you are insulating yourself from becoming involved in a rear-end type of collision," she said.
If you do lose control of your car, truck or minivan, don't slam on the brakes. Instead, turn the steering wheel in the direction you want to go.
When "we are driving in a straight line, if I start to feel the vehicle drift to the left because it is losing traction, I am going to take my foot off the gas and then turn my steering wheel to the right," Nelson said. "I am not going to oversteer, not going to steer hard, I want to steer gently."
She recommends you be extra vigilant as you approach exit and entrance ramps, bridges and underpasses. Those tend to be the slickest areas.
Also she said the first thing drivers need to do is clear all the snow and ice off the windows of their vehicles so they can see the traffic around them.
