CENTRAL TEXAS (KXXV) — Being on potentially icy roads can be scary, but Sgt. Bryan Washko with Texas DPS shared with 25 News how to navigate driving during winter weather.
- If you hit black ice or a slick spot, the best thing to do is to not put on your breaks — if you hit the breaks, it locks up your tires and you will spin out on the road — instead, take your foot off of the accelerator and coast through
- If you do not have to drive out in slick conditions, don't
- It's best to stay home as much as possible
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As Central Texas prepares for the first cold snap of the season, we have to prepare for what can happen on the roads.
“Unfortunately, here in Texas we see a lot of ice,” said Sgt. Bryan Washko with Texas DPS.
With a lot of ice, comes a lot of wrecks — Washko says the department is gearing up for the worst.
“There’s times here in Bell County where we’ve had 300, 400, 500 crashes in a 24-hour period when we get these black ice storms,” Washko said.
“Our response time can be an hour or two because there’s nobody to work it, we’re constantly going from one to the other — we take the ones that are most severe of course with injuries then the ones with minor injuries, then the ones with minor damage to the vehicles, those are the ones we ask people to exchange their information, get photographs, swap information with the drivers and report to the insurance companies."
What can Central Texans do to keep from losing control of a vehicle during these wintry conditions?
“First and foremost, if you can avoid being in it, do so,” Washko said.
“You reduce your speed up to whatever you feel comfortable to safely travel down that highway, four or five miles down the highway if that’s what it takes."
“False sense of security, four-wheel drive doesn’t necessarily assist on black ice,” he said.
This isn’t weather to mess around with, and you have to be weary of what can happen.
“When it’s that black ice, it’s a very dangerous scenario, just be very, very cautious and don’t get in a hurry,” Washko said.
