Black ice or just wet?

Since when do atlases show truck stops? Now my GPS has them. Along with all rest areas, weigh stations, parking areas etc. love my rand McNally.

 

I'm sure he meant to say the GPS as well...

 

I have always lived by the saying, if you see the spray your okay!!!

 

When no spray, then we pray.

 

Spray can be misleading...there can be ice just beneath it

 

when the city's spray with the newer liquid salt it looks wet & if you don't know better, you would think it has to be black ice or about to freeze over.

 

I was on I-80 W in IN last Saturday... going to IL... It wasn't raining... The road looked wet but I guess that was a very thin layer of black ice, specially on the right lane... I was empty and the wind blowing hard sometimes... I kept the speed below 55 and sometimes 25 mph. Truck slid several times and the drives span a couple times... So, I released accelerator, didn't touch any pedal and turned the steering wheel into the direction of the slide till truck would go straight again. Then, I stayed on left lane a lot cause that was drier and in better shape than the right lane.
I-80 E was in much worse shape... there were at least 20 big truck accidents, jackknifes and rollovers... Saw one Yellow pulling doubles jackknifed in the medium and then an Estes pulling doubles too... The road looked like a wreck yard... When you see vehicles on ditches... that tells you there is black ice on the road. Reduce your speed till you feel you can control the truck in case of a skid. Also, any movement you do, changing lanes or whatever, must be done VERY SLOWLY... in slow motion... don't rush anything, no abrupt movements. Stay alert all the time and keep your hands on the steering wheel. And be aware of other drivers... Try to always keep distance from everybody else just in case they or you lose some control. Be safe.

 

One more thing that works for me, I keep my rpm low.

 

Or the pocket guide to truck stops. We have many means at our disposal to identify and locate safe places to stop in bad weather. We need to use them.
Or end up like the SWIFTY I saw on Sat. on 63 south of Rochester, MN.
He failed to use the most important tool, the one between his ears.

He ended up pointing north in the south bound shoulder a good 15 ft from the road surface. With his sleeper crushed by the box when the trailer jackknifed, and his hood torn off and lying on the ground up next to the airport fence.

 

Yep go one higher gear than you need to keep the rom low but still within torque range. I also do what my trainer called the 1 mile lane change. Go slow enough where you don't even have to turn the wheel to change lanes.