Slick, icy roads took over northern Michigan Monday night.
Once one wave of freezing rain stopped, another was not far behind on Tuesday.
Michigan State Police say closing and cancellations kept accident numbers down Tuesday.
“A lot of schools were closed that kept a lot of traffic off the roadways,” said Lt. Derrick Carroll of Michigan State Police. “So I think that really helped with the traffic situation.”
Troopers say they were mostly on secondary roads for the crashes that did happen.
“The issues we saw on a few areas where people were using GPS and it said to take a different route, you’ll save a few minutes,” explained Lt. Carroll. “Well, those routes were secondary roads which were covered in ice, which led to slide-offs.”
Black ice also caused crashes in northern Michigan.
“One thing I like to tell people is when you’re driving down the road, and the pavement looks wet. If you can see that vehicle in front of you and the rear tires and they’re not throwing up water, or it’s not mist coming up at you, that’s black ice,” said Lt. Carroll.
A good reminder before heading out on the roads, no matter the distance, never leave without a charged phone, water, snacks, a blanket and a full tank of gas.
Lt. Carroll states you might have only gone ten minutes down the road, but the nearest responder might be 40 minutes away.
If your car does get stuck, stay calm and wait for assistance.
“We also want to encourage people don’t attempt to get yourself out of a situation and overexert yourself because that could lead to injury, heart attacks and other things,” said Lt. Carroll.
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