Driver’s Ed: The Black Ice Monster

Sep 2, 2008 by Craig Burton

It comes out every fall and stays until early spring. It attacks in the morning when you’re still half asleep and in the evening when you’re anxious to get home. It lurks in the shadows, around corners and at intersections. You can find it just as easily on the highway as in your driveway. Most people refuse to believe that there is anything they can do to escape the cold invisible jaws of the Black Ice Monster.

Have you heard a friend or relative proudly say, that they have never been in a car crash and then add “except for once last winter when I spun out, rolled down a hill and totalled my car?” Of course that was black ice and they were helpless once in its grasp. Despite what drivers have told themselves, spinning on black ice is not up to the road or the car. It’s up to them.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. There will be black ice on the roads this October and for the rest of the winter. I know because last year around the same time, the same thing happened. During the day when traffic keeps water on the road warmed by friction from our tires and the temperature drops quickly, ice forms and looks like light frost or clear asphalt. This is no surprise, or at least it shouldn’t be to people who have lived here for over a year.

This fall and winter look at the road you take to work and back home again notice where water builds up or runs across it. Pay attention to the areas where the road turns from sunlit to shady, both on the way to school or work. Memorize those places and look for the hapless victims you will see mid winter in the clutches of a snow bank. If you see frost on your car, maybe there might be black ice lurking at your feet or waiting at the end of the driveway. Just maybe.