It was a treacherous morning on the roads in parts of West Michigan. Accidents became too numerous to count. Much of West Michigan is now under a winter weather advisory until tomorrow. WGVU checked in with the Kent County Road Commission for an update on road conditions and what we can expect.
“Mentally you need to prepare yourself, if it’s raining, misting, and it’s below freezing, it’s a very good chance it’s going to be sheet ice.”
And that’s exactly what it was this morning-sheet ice, glare ice, black ice-- that wreaked havoc on the morning commute. Jerry Byrne, Director of Operations with the Kent County Road Commission says it started early but it took a while for motorists to adjust.
“When you don’t see snow, you don’t think slippery. And that’s what happened this morning. People were driving the speed limit or above and they were icy.”
Icy roads caused many schools to call for a two hour delay that turned in to school closings, police and emergency crews were busy responding to numerous crashes throughout the morning. Roads were even closed in at least two locations. Byrne says it was a slow, tough commute.
“Worst case scenario. Ice is much worse than snow. The other thing, with the rush hour, we had 80 plus trucks out loaded with sand and salt, but during rush hour, when it stopped, it stopped for us too. It's just a slow go for everybody."
And now, for the evening commute and later tonight into tomorrow, there’s a winter weather advisory predicting more of the same. Byrne says trucks will continue to be out and adds motorists should, in addition being mentally prepared for icy pavement, to also avoid distractions.
“You don’t need at any time on dry pavement, but you certainly don’t need distracted driving with cell phones, food, any type of distraction on icy conditions. You need 100 percent of your driving skills on the road.”
