First, some links: Here's yesterday's column about double white lines (with a zillion comments), and here's my story about the new bus lanes on Marquette and 2nd from over the weekend. And, just because they're eye-popping, check out these photos of a semi that jackknifed yesterday on I-35 near Faribault.
Winter is the dominant transportation theme these days, though some drivers are still in denial about what the season demands:
This was taken while I waited at a stoplight this morning, many hours after the snow stopped falling. I guess the other half of her window will be like that until spring. What could go wrong?
I was reminded of an answer to that very question last week on one of the colder nights. The freeways still had some snow on them, so most drivers were going about 40 miles per hour, and things felt relatively safe at that speed.
When I got onto a fairly narrow ramp/overpass at Hwy. 100 and 394, however, I noticed that a van up ahead of me had come to a stop at an odd angle, with its front bumper against the lefthand rail. A split second later, my tires let go of the pavement, and I was sliding along the road, my steering wheel functioning as only a suggestion of where I wanted to go.
The asphalt had looked free of snow but apparently had the dreaded black ice. Having an older, ABS-free car, I pumped the brakes and steered into the skid. After I don't know how many dozens of yards, I regained enough traction to not hit the van.
I wondered whether I should try to call some government official to let 'em know about that slippery stretch, but I wasn't taking my hands off the wheel or my attention off the road for even a millisecond. That's good practice in any season, but especially when the pavement can't be trusted to hold up its end of the traction bargain.
