What NOT to do when crossing an ice covered bridge

The first section of this video is worth discussing, an example of how not to drive over an ice covered bridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17aUXZOQ1zg

Here's my take on what happened to this Swift driver:

1. It is likely that the driver did not have the inter axle differential engaged.

2. It is likely the driver did not back off the accelerator as he approached the bridge, to coast through the bridge. Very possibly he may have had cruise control engaged.

Note that at 01,20 in the video his right side drives have started spinning out to his right. At this point the proper response is to back off the throttle and steer right into the skid. It appears that he never backed off the throttle and any attempt to steer into the skid was too little, too late.

It's amazing how quickly things can go bad in a situation like this. From the moment the truck began to spin out to being on a fast trajectory toward the median was less than two seconds.

I recently had a similar situation during an oncoming ice storm in central Texas a couple of weeks ago. I did not have cruise control on and thought I was approaching a bridge in good shape, but I hadn't yet engaged the inter axle differential. As soon as I felt the drives spin out I backed off the accelerator and steered fairly aggressively into the skid. The truck immediately snapped back into straight and true, it was all over in less than a second and I continued driving to the next exit to consider what just happened and get a cup of coffee. After returning to the road I slowed it down and had the inter axle differential engaged for the rest of the day.

Coast over icy bridges. Light on the throttle, light on the steering wheel.

 

Because a professional driver should learn how to drive on ice.... dude.

 

Studded tires? Really? Please provide a link for studded truck tires. I'm curious.

 

Back away from the bong...

 

First, you don't have to come to a complete stop to engage the IAD. You can't engage it if your wheels are spinning, but you can engage it when in motion.

Second, the advise that you can't drive highway speeds with the IAD engaged applies to older technology. Consult your mechanic or dealer for further advise about your particular model.

Much of the advise about the IAD seems to come from truckers that have been in the business long enough to have grown up with technology that was more fragile.