Winter driving has a way of turning “just one quick trip” into a test of patience, traction, and visibility. This is because the situation manifested itself on a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 196 in Western Michigan, where a chain reaction crash involving more than 100 vehicles closed both sides of traffic between Hudsonville and Zeeland during severe whiteout conditions. The crash involved about two dozen semis, and there were 10 non-life-threatening injuries reported with no fatalities. The incident began with an initial crash at 10:19 a.m.
Whiteouts pose a special type of hazard because drivers are no longer able to rely on their visual references for pace speed and distance. Visibility reduces to a few feet in front of the car, and the road appears empty until the next set of brake lights suddenly appears in front of you. It is in these situations that even the most cautious drivers are left with split-second decisions, and one hard stop can lead to a multi-vehicle pileup.
But if the road surface is also slippery, the physics becomes nasty. AAA has warned that icy roads can increase stopping distances by three to nine times, which means that a following distance that was “safe” on a dry road can be nowhere near safe enough once the tires encounter ice or packed snow. Four-wheel drive can assist a car in getting started, but it won’t reduce the stopping distance; braking is still dependent on tire traction.
Some surfaces are primed to freeze before drivers think they will, and this is especially true for elevated surfaces. Many people have seen the warning sign “bridge ices before road,” and there is a reason why it has stuck around as long as it has. This is because bridges and overpasses are subjected to cold air from above and below, meaning that they cool down faster than the road, which is in contact with the ground.
On I-196, the closure remained for hours as crews worked through dangerous conditions to reach stranded motorists. The cleanup efforts and transportation of patients brought cooperation from all agencies, and buses were used to transport stranded motorists to safety. Ottawa County Sheriff Eric DeBoer later called the response a success in terms of how it came together, saying, “All and all while we don’t want to see a 100 car pileup it was a success as far as how that all went.”
But for drivers who must travel in the winter, the fundamentals are still the most protective: check the forecast and road conditions before heading out, slow down well before known problem areas such as bridges, and leave plenty of space between vehicles, much more than you think necessary. A winter survival kit with blankets, water, food, and a shovel can be a lifesaver when traffic comes to a standstill. The best course of action in areas where whiteout is likely to occur is often the most boring option: don’t drive until the view through the windshield looks like a road.
