SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – As temperatures continue to drop, Highway Patrol encouraged drivers to pay attention for black ice on the roads, and especially over overpasses and bridges during your commute.
Roads may appear clear, but that doesn’t mean they are.
“A lot of this water run-off that you see, and some of this ice and snow that hasn’t quite melted off the roadway, that will refreeze,” said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway. “So, if you’re not careful, and you hit some of that, doing the speed limit, or above, you could definitely lose control of your vehicle.”
Ridgeway said pay special attention to black ice.
“Especially once it gets down below freezing, you know, 32 or below, because that’s when you’re going to hit that unrecognizable black ice, unexpectedly,” he said.
He said the best thing to do is take it slow while driving.
“You get into trouble with black ice when you’re doing the speed limit, or above, but if you do start to lose control, the biggest thing is don’t panic,” said Ridgeway.
Here’s what you need to do if you hit black ice.
“If your rear-end starts to kick out to the right, you want to gently counter steer to that direction, so to the right. If is starts to kick out to the left, you want to gently counter steer to the left. You also don’t want to jam the breaks or pump the accelerator,” said Ridgeway.
Because of the weather, many school districts aren’t having in-person learning Tuesday. Chief Communications Officer Sandra Williams said District One in Spartanburg County will be online.
“We’re in a very rural part of the Upstate, just because our primary roads are clearing, a lot of times that is not the case for our secondary roads,” said Williams.
Williams said they made their determinations by listening to the National Weather Service, and by going off the opinions of their safety team.
“They’ll go out and will patrol the roads throughout our district and help to make that determination as to what secondary roads may not be safe,” she said.
Williams said they will take it day-by-day to determine the safest decision for their students and faculty.
District Three Director of Public Information and Communications Aly Myles said their district also follows the National Weather Service. She said they try to give families as much notice in advance.
“Our administrators, including the director of transportation, will drive the bus routes ahead of time- including very early on the morning of the day in question – to see if routes can be driven safely,” said Myles in a statement. “If there is ice, snow sticking to the roads, or winds forecasted above 30 mph, buses cannot safely run their routes. All of these factor into any delay or cancelation that the District may choose.”
Ridgeway says a lot of secondary roads aren’t cleared in Spartanburg, Greenville and Anderson counties.
