Bad weather driving ... some call it ski season!

    It’s that time of year again, which means snowstorms are on the horizon. Bad weather isn’t all that bad, because with it comes all of the fun activities we like to do in Colorado such as skiing, sledding, skiing, hiking and skiing/snowboarding.
    I joke about the ski season, but when we see a good snowstorm, that’s when skiers and snowboarders head to the slopes in larger groups than normal. Let’s talk about the situations where we just have to get around in snowstorms.
    Reduced speed is always a key factor to staying safe when driving on snow or ice-packed roadways. It’s winter, so make sure you take that extra step to have the time to drive to your destination safely, which means slower-than-normal speeds. Bad weather doesn’t necessarily mean we have to have bad driving.
    One situation that worries me is black ice. Ice is the unseen danger that is often a factor in wintertime driving. I’ve seen people going lower speeds when they are on snow-packed roads only to speed up to or beyond the speed limit once the road clears. The road may still be wet, and with cold temperatures that means it can and often freezes to the road surface. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not still there.
    Slick roads also mean it’s harder to stop when less than favorable road conditions exist. Give that extra distance needed to stop when snow or ice are present. It’s hard to give just one correct distance for bad road conditions. Use good common sense and the rule of thumb that it could take double the distance on wet roads and up to as much as 10 times the distance on snow and ice-packed roadways to safely stop.

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