GEORGIA – A winter storm expected to hit Southeast Georgia on Tuesday evening is likely to create hazardous driving conditions due to icy roads—an unfamiliar challenge for many drivers who are not used to traveling in those conditions.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has already treated the highways and bridges with salt, but salt can only do so much to prevent road surfaces from becoming slick from ice. This is why it’s important to know what to do and not to do if residents have no other choice but to be out on the roads.
“It’s enough to deal with the rain. Sometimes when it’s raining, people can’t drive, so it’s going to be challenging for people to drive on icy roads with icy weather that’s coming,” Pastor Mack Knight, a Southeast Georgia resident, said.
News4JAX spoke with several drivers in Southeast Georgia and asked them about their experience driving in snow and ice.
“Absolutely none. I never. None,” Samantha McArthur said.
“Just a tiny bit,” Matthew Fantasia said.
David Childers, a driving instructor and owner of 10 and 2 Traffic School, said if drivers start sliding on ice, their reaction can dictate the outcome of their situation.
“You don’t want to break suddenly. You want to release the accelerator or gas pedal. You let it come down on its own speed,” Childers said.
Slamming on the brakes will cause drivers to slide even more. They can also find themselves starting to spin as they slide.
“If we were driving here and the back in was coming around this way, I would want to turn into the steer just slightly to get it straightened, and if it comes back to the left, I’d do a slight steer to the left. Just nice and lightly,” Childers said.
Over-correcting the steering wheel can cause the vehicle to spin into complete circles.
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Drivers are also encouraged to maintain a safe distance from other drivers to avoid colliding with them or vice versa.
“You want a minimum in those conditions of 4 to 6 seconds, just for general responses, so if someone starts sliding in front of you, you have plenty of time to respond versus reacting,” Childers said.
Whether driving a 2-wheel drive or a 4-wheel drive, an icy road can easily cause tires to lose traction. Also, weight distribution in the vehicle can play a key role in how a vehicle spins out of control.
“Pickup trucks that have lighter weight in the rear of the vehicle will tend to slide more or come around on the driver, but lower cars with a wider center of gravity and wider wheelbases will keep a better traction,” Childers said.