Ice Driving And You - Protecting Yourself and Your Family on the Roads
Driving on ice is one of the most dangerous road conditions imaginable.
Even skilled, seasoned and wise drivers have difficulty navigating their trucks, cars, 18 wheelers or motorcycles across streets and highways that have developed a thin and sometimes invisible sheen of frozen water crystals.
Even when other conditions dictate increased defensive driving and other adjustments to your car operating tactics, driving on ice presents an entirely new approach, altogether.
However, that does not excuse people from not taking their obligations to operate their vehicles safely, especially when they have to share the road with everyone.
It is everyone that chooses to drive or bike along the roads to do so in accordance with the law and the driving conditions present, and if they do not, they can be held responsible for the injuries, damage and pain and suffering they cause.
With the fact that not everyone is going to be as careful as they could be when operating their vehicles on frozen streets, you can do a few things to keep yourself and your family safe:
That's the most dangerous part of it all; never expecting to deal with ice on the streets means people aren't prepared for it, and tragedy often follows.
If you live in southern California, especially in the eastern parts or in the mountains, take extra care to observe the drivers around you and how they react to dangerous frozen water driving conditions.
Never forget that if someone fails to take into account the hazards of driving on icy roads and causes an accident that results in your suffering injury or pain and suffering, you have the right to take legal action against those responsible.
Even skilled, seasoned and wise drivers have difficulty navigating their trucks, cars, 18 wheelers or motorcycles across streets and highways that have developed a thin and sometimes invisible sheen of frozen water crystals.
Even when other conditions dictate increased defensive driving and other adjustments to your car operating tactics, driving on ice presents an entirely new approach, altogether.
However, that does not excuse people from not taking their obligations to operate their vehicles safely, especially when they have to share the road with everyone.
It is everyone that chooses to drive or bike along the roads to do so in accordance with the law and the driving conditions present, and if they do not, they can be held responsible for the injuries, damage and pain and suffering they cause.
With the fact that not everyone is going to be as careful as they could be when operating their vehicles on frozen streets, you can do a few things to keep yourself and your family safe:
- Take extra time.
Don't count on being able to drive fast on ice-contaminated roads.
Keeping a buffer of time between you and your appointments can help reduce your need to exceed safe speed limits for the situation.
It can also give you time to plan alternative routes around where you know careless drivers frequent. - Drive slow.
Ice makes more difficult to control your vehicle, even if you have chains and snow tires.
In fact people who take these extra precautions often drive more recklessly for the very reason that they think that these pieces of technology will actually make them safer, and take more risks than they would normally if they didn't use them.
You can counteract this notion by keeping an eye on other drivers that utilize them, and being prepared to take extraordinary measures to avoid an accident. - Black ice.
The biggest danger is the one you never see, and black ice, or the thinnest coating of frozen water that is virtually transparent, is everywhere in the wintertime.
It is relatively easy to adjust driving practices to accommodate obvious hazards of snow, puddles and other inclement conditions, but if other drivers never think to be extra careful because of something they can't see, that's when accidents occur.
Black ice can even develop when the weather isn't particularly inclement, as even when the temperature is above freezing thin frozen water crystals can occur, making what appear to be routine drives into a death races.
That's the most dangerous part of it all; never expecting to deal with ice on the streets means people aren't prepared for it, and tragedy often follows.
If you live in southern California, especially in the eastern parts or in the mountains, take extra care to observe the drivers around you and how they react to dangerous frozen water driving conditions.
Never forget that if someone fails to take into account the hazards of driving on icy roads and causes an accident that results in your suffering injury or pain and suffering, you have the right to take legal action against those responsible.