Black Ice Blamed for Many Crashes Wednesday Morning

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF-TV) A lot of people who consider themselves good and safe drivers got a rude awakening this morning from what’s called black ice.
That’s where things are fine one minute—and your car is spinning out of control the next.
That accounts for many of the traffic crashes Wednesday morning.

Losing control of your vehicle is a helpless feeling. The driver of this panel van had that experience on Cummings highway around 9 a.m.
The truck left the roadway and ended up in a deep ditch. First responders arrived quickly and pulled him from the wreckage. The driver suffered injuries and was transported to a hospital.
And he wasn’t the only one.
This TDOT video of exit 11 on I-75 south where several cars collided during the morning commute.
The Tennessee Highway patrol investigated several of these accidents as a freezing rain and sleet fell over a wide area of the Tennessee valley.

LT. JOHN HARMON, MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE, THP "I personally did not see any black ice this morning but several of our units did. And when they did find that black ice…they immediately contacted the roads ..road departments..both the county and the TDOT road crews to come out and salt or sand..or whatever resources they had to fix the roadway."

Those maintenance trucks were stationed at intervals–especially on the interstates. They were ready to respond quickly.
Lt. Harmon urges drivers to obey the rules for weather events like this one.

LT. JOHN HARMON "We’ve worked multiple crashes today…both property damage crashes and injury related crashes ..not only just on the interstate but on the rural roads too..and the state roads."

The key factor in black ice is that it begins to form when the temperature hovers around the freezing mark. And, since it can come and go quickly, the secret to avoiding these problems..is to slow down.

LT. JOHN HARMON "That has been the majority of the crashes we’re having..people are just driving too fast for weather conditions."

Lt. Harmon reports that, for the 12 counties in the Chattanooga District , the THP has worked 26 property damage crashes, 5 injury crashes, and helped 21 stranded motorist since 8 am eastern time Wednesday morning.