Have you ever heard of someone talking about black ice? I hadn't until I married my husband. His family lived in Oregon for a couple of years. This is where they came across this kind of ice. The main reason that it is called this is because it can't be easily seen. You won't know that it is on the road because it is a very thin sheet of ice that collects on their roads in the wintertime.
It is far more dangerous than normal ice because of this fact. When this ice starts to form in Oregon they close these roads so that people won't get into accidents. Some of these roads have very big drop-offs that, even with metal road guards in place mixed with the rate of speed and the ice, your car or truck won't be able to stop.
This kind of ice is from a fine mist of water or rain that falls in the wintertime in the higher elevations of our country. But now it can be on almost all of our roads because we put black top on our highways and that makes it harder to see. This kind of ice can be a small patch that if you happen to go over it and use your brakes on your car or truck, it can put you in a spin. If this happens and you are able to control your car it would be in your best interest to slow down your car and use any means possible to get out of this situation.
If you think that you need to stop in that town and stay until this ice is gone it would probably be in your best interest also. If the misty rain is still falling, wait until the salt trucks have been over these roads and then go straight home. More and more accidents have happened on our roads because of this black ice in the last couple of years because most people don't listen to the weather and think that they can get to work. Most of our companies say that we need to be at work every day but if this ice is on those roads, stay home. These companies can't do anything or count this against you because this is an act of God and nature.
Remember our lives and the lives of our children come first. If you hear of any black ice in your area stay off the roads.
