Icy accidents abound in Interior Alaska
Published Monday, October 6, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Poor weather and slick roads contributed to a rash of car accidents over the weekend.
Alaska State Troopers responded to more than 20 accidents during an eight-hour stretch Friday, a trend that continued through the weekend.
“I responded to a four-car crash before I even made it to work,” Sgt. Chad Goeden said.
In many of the cases, drivers caused the accidents after losing control on the ice, and many rolled their vehicles. On Saturday morning, for example, a 17-year-old driver found herself unable to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Chena Small Tracts and Chena Pump roads, causing the four-car accident. The driver was taken to the hospital with a concussion and whiplash but went home later that day, Goeden said.
A number of the accidents were rollovers. Matthew Kidwell a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said snow late last week fell when the temperature was still lingering around freezing, leaving some ice on the roadways around town.
Goeden urged drivers to slow down, offer only “subtle inputs” when managing brakes and steering, and start braking early when approaching an intersection.
Anything else, he said, “is going to put you in the ditch” when driving on icy roads, he said.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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Since when is Friday the weekend, and maybe you could provide a few pictures and some actual numbers.
I could have written this story from my desk by just looking out the window.
I saw 2 roll overs on the Richardson near 12 mile village. One on Thursday evening, and the other 12 hours later on Friday morning. What about injuries in the accidents.
I am willing to bet the number of accidents was much higher. Maybe a few calls to towing companies would provide a better number than 20. And maybe a call to the emergency room to see if there was a surge in patients...
Scotty, quit picking on Chris. Chris, good story. Now you two boys play nice.
Same thing every year. What is so hard about slowing down when the roads are icy. But then again, how many believe that four wheel drive means ice control, rather than four wheels out of control. The time of the year to hear from the nut jobs who say it is their right to drive fast on bad roads and throw the finger to those who demonstrate caution.
I hope the guy driving the Arctic Fire & Safety van on Sheep Creek Road who was tailgating everyone and passing uphill on a double line with oncoming traffic the other day reads this.
Badger Road was very icy on Saturday afternoon--no sand, no gravel. On Sunday afternoon, there were two trucks in the ditch right after Two Rivers Lodge, last Sunday AM, another pickup in the ditch there too--granted one of the trucks was going way too fast--and when I stopped to help, the guy said to me, hey, do you have studded tires, how could you stop just like that--well, I have Blizzax tires and unlike him, I had my truck in 4WD and I was going 45, not 65--so I did not have any problem slowing down gradually and remaining in control
Oy, not a good start to the comments....
First, Scotty is right on. Mr. Eshleman is demonstrating, daily, his poor reporting skills.
Next, offering up the statement "slow down when the roads are icy" is generalized and meaningless; it certainly has no impact upon driver behavior. Yes, all should demonstrate caution, but doing so is a matter of driving within the capabilities of the driver and vehicle. That may mean, for instance, I might drive 35 down Farmer's Loop in a 4wd with poor tires, or it could mean I drive 50(+) down the same road in a FWD with new Blizzaks. Either way, I am probably going to annoy another driver on the road (either the one(s) I hold up or the one(s) I pass), but at least I am doing so with caution and arriving at my destination safely. Drive within your capabilities and do so with courtesy - regardless of where you fall on the bell curve that day.
If you are a white knuckle driver with a line of cars behind you, then you are part of the problem!
I completely disagree that the person who is driving slow and has cars building up behind them is part of the problem. If I see someone going slower than me, I maintain a safe following distance, which is much greater than the distance would be on dry roads. People who get so impatient that they follow too closely, thinking that maybe they'll reach their destination a whole 5 seconds earlier, are the problem. Winter is a time for Zen. Calm down, relax, get there when you can, and do so safely. The driver who is driving slowly is driving at the speed at which they are comfortable.
Wes, no one should be driving 50 on these roads, with or without Blizzaks. The 50 mph speed limit is for DRY roads. I have a friend who was driving 40 in a 50 mph zone, slid off the road and flipped her car. The trooper gave her a ticket for driving too fast for conditions.
Someone in a white minivan decided to tailgate me within 2 inches....I am NOT exagerating....so I swerved over to let him by, and guess what? Im apparently the bad driver! And this happened on the Rich at 55mph!!!! Its people like him that make the icy roads even worse.
Exactly, suomi, why is everyone in such a hurry? Another thing that really bothers me is parents allowing their teens (aka new drivers) to drive on these roads. The kids just don't have the experience to handle the conditions. How many young boys do we have to lose (and it usually is young boys). We've lost at least 1 per year in the past few years. I hope this is a good year and we don't lose any. Parents, I know its nice that your kid has a license to drive, which frees you up to do what you need to do, but it may not be worth it on icy roads.
Good Morning, let me see where to start?
Up until medical problems made it unsafe for me to drive, I seem to remember that it was always my habit when the snow came back, to find a good level smooth spot away from other vehicles so I could squirel around an get the feeling of the tires back,(it's a seasonal thing that I would recomend for all skill levels, and once you try it you'll understand the feel part).
Please try to remember [T]he highway does not care what your driving skill is and snow and ice only follow the temprature.
I've often wondred (actually for many years) why there is no designated area for this sort of thing, I believe it would decrease the traffic incident rate significantly.
Also please note this important factor: Most of my twenty plus years of driving experience were as a professional driver and were how I earned my living!
Oh,.... and also bare in mind "sometimes 5 mph. is too fast"!
What I always enjoy is the Subaru group….Yes I agree slowing down is the correct thing to do when conditions warrant. On the other hand driving a safe vehicle to start with is the foundation. Is it really sooo difficult to sweep the snow off your car? How about chip the ice off the whole windshield instead of just a hole in front of the driver. That 200 pound husky standing in the passenger seat does great things for your visibility. It might be time to replace those subi racing slicks for tiers with tread on them. A bare bulb with red tape on it is not a acceptable alternative to a tail light. Mind you that these infractions were all on the same goldstream special. Before you launch think about am I driving slow because its icy or if your just unsafe to start with.
My next vehicle will be an Army tank. Not just for the traction but for that big gun on top. With that I can take care of tail gaters, people who pull out front without looking, cell phone gabbers, the soda/coffee jerk, and it will come in handy for going thru the drive thru.
We all need to drive more carefully. The posted speed limits is for ideal road conditions, not when you have ice on the roads.
And a note to the NEW school bus drivers out on Chena Hot Springs Road, you may want to turn your red flashers on and put your sign out BEFORE you open door to let kids on. I watched bus #71, not put sign out or red flashers on until the kid was already inside the bus. And parents please put reflectors on your kids when they have to stand out at a bus stop.
Well, jak, that is your opinion. A trooper should certainly give someone a ticket for driving too fast for conditions if they lose control of their vehicle due to the conditions, regardless of the speed they were traveling at the time or whether they crashed or not.
I have run the gamut of vehicle types and abilities in winter conditions. I enjoy no type of driving more than winter driving (in any vehicle), and I can safely say that my statements above are tried and tested. My driving speed is certainly not always on the top of the bell curve on winter roads - in fact, it rarely is these days - but I am always going safely. Sometimes, when I have to venture out in my old 2wd pickup with well-aged tires, even 25 is questionable on the same roads I would have driven a Blizzak-banded Subaru with ease at the speed limit.
Like Dondi mentioned, one must have a feel for the interaction of the vehicle and road conditions, then mate that to their driving speeds and skill level. The road always sets the starting parameters - you just have to respect that... and test it so you know where you stand! I always start my driving day out by running a brake/acceleration test.
I'm house sitting for a co-worker out on Badger Road and it was unreal to me just how slippery the roads were, and only in certain sections! It took the entire weekend for them to finally put sand/gravel out on some areas where I could only go 30mph, and still felt the car slipping. Trying to stop was a joke, even coasting to a stop, I had to pump my brakes. I'm nervous every time I see someone driving up close behind me...regardless of four wheel, all wheel drive or anti-lock brakes, better to be more cautious than having to deal with insurance claims!!! The ice doesn't care what kind of tires/car you drive!
Wanted to add a quick response to akjak--when it comes to "brand new" drivers, most responsible parents take them out and TEACH them on these freshly snowed upon roads. Our children have passed their written tests and now have thier permits. My husband and I have acquired a safe and roadworthy vehicle to teach them to drive in, and put good tires on it. If we don't take advantage of these less than ideal condition to teach them to drive on I beleive that we will be doing not only them, but other drivers everywhere a huge disservice!
The snow on the ground is a Fabulous opportunity for us to teach our children. Not only with them behind the wheel, but when we are driving. It is our job to set a good example.
Drive like responsible adults. Take care of your equipment and remember that all of our lives are too valuable to be wasted on trying to get somewhere 30 seconds faster! I'm pretty sure that my husband would much rather see me be 30 minutes late than to come and visit me in the hospital (or the morgue) because I was driving too fast on these slippery roads.
Amen to that, Lady!
common sense says to just go slow as heck.
youre awesome aklady
OH DON'T GET ME STARTED ABOUT THE BUS DRIVERS!! Since when do they have the right-a-way coming out of a parking lot? I thought vehicles on the road have the right-a-way over a parking lot. Of course I could be wrong, but I'm NOT slamming on my brakes anymore.
What duty does the state/borough have to provide for safe travel on Fairbanks roads?
The DOT website proclaims that DOT's mission is to "provide for the safe movement of people and goods and the delivery of State services". This would seem to imply that DOT should anticipate and quickly mitigate slick conditions in order to provide for safe travel. I have noticed that the pea gravel the DOT currently uses in Fairbanks is not as effective as the sand/salt on the Anchorage-area roads.
Other transportation agencies in snowy states seem to have taken safety more seriously and implemented "bare pavement" policies to provide for safe travel after/during snowstorms. The Federal Highway Administration promotes "anti-icing" which is likely to be very effective in Fairbanks in the Spring and Fall when the conditions are slickest.
(http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/mopeap/e...)
The News-Miner and the military installations should make it a habit to provide detailed winter-driving guidelines each year, before the first snowfall. And, for the News-Miner, include a comments section so that experienced drivers can fill in the areas they may have overlooked.
No-one has mentioned the longtime practice of gearing down to slow the vehicle, rather than using the brakes.
Someone might also want to comment on how to properly correct when your vehicle goes into a skid.
I saw a bus lose control the other day because it drove too far over to the right and the tires got sucked in by slush.
Crest a hill slowly on winter roads, because you never know what might be on the other side - possibly cars crosswise from the icy descent.
Slow down when approaching a curve, then have your foot on the gas (lightly) to keep the car from sliding off the road on icy curves. (This is good driving practice even on dry roads.)
Howdy! Welcome to Alaska. A place where road conditions can change by the hour. Please remember that. And yes, there are times when even the most careful of drivers will encounter a situation that nothing they can do will change a darn thing.
Have a nice day and don't forget to tighten the nut holding the steering wheel.
speaking of school buses, I just saw one pull a U turn in the middle of geist road near the university fields. the last 2 numbers where 18.
And I am a firm believer that school buses, make that all buses, should have seat belts. See the numerous stories about bus accidents for proof they are needed.
yeah really scotty.. i wonder why school buses never had them in the first place!
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