Winter driving offers challenges

Winter is here. The Fort Gordon Safety Office wants to keep you safe while driving in wintery weather.

Along with winter come heavy rain, fog, ice and snow. Bad weather affects visibility and stopping distances.

Russell Blandin, the garrison safety officer, recommends you allow extra time for your journey and reduce speed. “Increase the distance between you and the vehicle in front,” he said. Be certain you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

“If visibility is seriously reduced by fog, use dipped headlights and rear fog lights,” explained Blandin. “Switch on your wipers to keep your windshield clear. Remember to turn fog lights off when they are no longer needed because they can be a distraction to other drivers.

While driving in fog avoid crossing traffic unless absolutely necessary, he cautioned. Roll down your window a little and listen for traffic you cannot see. A constant flow of cool air will also help to keep you alert and will allow you to hear sirens and other warning sounds more quickly.

“Don’t pass lines of traffic while driving in fog,” added the garrison safety officer. “Unless absolutely necessary, don’t stop on any freeway or other heavily traveled road.”

Remember this rule of thumb, wipers-on-lights-on, he added. “When traveling in snowy weather, remember to clear tail lights, signal lights and headlamps regularly.

“You can see snow, but you can’t always see ice,” said the garrison safety officer.

Avoid sudden braking, accelerating too quickly and harsh steering in slippery conditions. Keep your windshield clear of snow.

“Anticipate difficult situations,” said Blandin. “Studies show that 80 percent of all accidents could be prevented with only one more second to react. In many situations, this one second can be gained by looking far enough down the road to identify problems before you become a part of them.”

One way to deal with road conditions is to understand various weather conditions that you may be headed into. Meteorologists describe flurries as light snow falling for short durations with no accumulation or just light dusting.

Snow showers occur when snow is falling at varying intensities for brief period of time. Some accumulation is possible.

Occasionally, you’ll hear a meteorologist refer to squalls which are brief, intense snow showers accompanied by strong, and gusty winds. Accumulation may be significant.

Wind-driven snow that reduces visibility and causes significant drifting is referred to a blowing snow. It can be snow that is falling and/or loose snow on the ground picked up by the wind.

Heavy snow is 10 centimeters or more in 12 hours, or 15 centimeters or more in 24 hours, and snow falling reduces visibility up to a quarter of a mile or less.

Black ice or glatteis fools drivers, according to Blandin. “Its shine tricks them into thinking its water on the road,” he said. “What they may not realize is that condensation, such as dew, freezes when temperatures reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. This forms an extra-thin layer of ice on the road.

This shiny ice surface is one of the most slippery road conditions, continued Blandin. “Black ice is likely to form first under bridges and overpasses, in shady spots and at intersections.”

The most perilous of winter storms is the blizzard. It combines falling, blowing, drifting snow, winds of 40 kilometer/ hour or more, visibility less than one kilometer, temperature less than -10 degrees Celsius: six hours or more.

A rapid fall in temperature in a short period of time which requires greater than normal protective measures is referred to a cold wave.

Sleet falls to the earth as ice pellets. These ice pellets are formed as snowflakes and melt into raindrops as they pass through a thin layer of above-freezing air. The rain drops then refreezes into particles of ice as they pass through a sub-freezing layer of air near the ground. It’s very familiar to freezing rain in that it causes surfaces to become very slick, but is different because it’s easily visible.

Freezing rain can glaze roadways with ice causing extremely hazardous driving conditions.

Ice storms can be the most devastating of winter weather phenomena and are often the cause of automobile accidents, power outages and personal injury. Ice storms result from the accumulation of freezing rain, which is rain that becomes super cooled and freezes upon impact with cold surfaces.

Expect icy conditions any time the outside air temperature reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Although water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, road surface can freeze when the air temperature drops to 40 degrees or less.

“An important place to watch for this condition is on bridges,” cautioned Blandin. “Bridge surfaces are exposed to the wind and cool off faster than the rest of the road. You should also prepare for icy conditions on roads through shaded areas where a cold wind can freeze a wet road surface.”

The garrison safety officer also recommends adjusting your speed to the current condition you are driving in. “When driving in challenging conditions, slow down,” he said. Decreasing your speed will allow more time to respond when a difficult situation arises. Factors such as the type of vehicle you are driving, the quality of snow tires your car is equipped with, and your abilities as a driver should all be considered in the speed adjustment.

“The jury is still out on whether rapid pumping of the brake pedal is more effective on slick surfaces than applying a soft steady pressure on the pedal, letting off just before the tires begin to slide,” explained Blandin. “Of course, if the latter method is attempted and the tires do begin to skid, the driver must immediately let off the pedal and recover by steering in the direction of the skid.”

If you do get stuck in the snow, Blandin advised, “rock your vehicle back and forth by first putting it into forward and then reverse. Gently press the accelerator pedal so the tires don’t spin.”

There is also some value to letting some air out of the drive wheel tires to get more tire-to-snow contact if you are stuck in deep snow. Don’t deflate your tires below 18 pound per square or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch. If you do it, stop at the first filling station to re-inflate the tires if you get out of the snow.

Soldiers can use the Travel Risk Planning System available online at https://safety.army.mil to find more tips for safe winter driving. All you have to do is log into TRIPS and follow the easy directions to see areas where you can increase your margin of safety on the road. This handy on-line tool can help Soldiers avoid hazards rather than having to confront them on the road. For more safety tips regarding wintery driving, call 791-7233.

(Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part article on wintery driving.)