Road Warrior: Risky misconceptions for snowy days

• Myths about safe winter road travel persist despite 900 annual snow-related deaths and 76,000 injuries -- many of which could have been avoided.
• Specific driving misconceptions include faulty information about slippery ice and snow, the appropriate behind-the-wheel wardrobe and several legal issues.
• Among other tips, safety experts suggest avoiding the urge to pass snow plows, lounging in a heated, parked car while it's engine is running and blocking recently plowed parking spaces.

Only four days into the new year, Mother Nature was issuing her typically frosty instructions about winter road dangers that kill 900 people and injure another 76,000 nationwide each year while keeping millions of others from doing whatever it is they normally do on a cold January day.

By year’s end, state and local agencies are expected to spend at least $2.3 billion on snow and ice control operations and many millions more to repair roads and bridges damaged by snow and ice.

Yet, if we think about it at all, we tend to take such statistics in stride. After all, 70 percent of the nation’s roads are in regions where annual snowfall reaches more than 5 inches. So, as sophisticated, educated people, we’re conditioned to certain perceived realities:

1. When the temperature drops, streets and roads get slipperier, which makes us more cautious.

2. If we must drive, we wear our heaviest overcoats behind the wheel to keep warm.

3. Some of us even send our budding teen entrepreneurs into the cold to drum up extra money by plowing the neighbors’ sidewalks and driveways.

As it happens, though, these aren’t realities. None of these perceptions conforms exactly to the way Mother Nature has been organizing winters down through the millennia.

If the Old Gal could communicate in a language we could all understand, she would likely explain, for example, that the coldest, hardest ice is actually sticky, which improves traction, according to road safety experts. Roads tend to become much more slick at 28 to 34 degrees Fahrenheit after cars drive over snow and ice.

Heavy coats and thick gloves amount to poor winter wardrobe selections, mainly because they’re thick enough to impede driving behavior, especially in an emergency, say road-safety experts.

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As for sending the kids out into the street with snow shovels to kick-start their college funds, it’s best to wait until the storm is completely over. In towns like Bound Brook, this practice is discouraged during winter emergencies — by ordinance. Police have been known to ticket teens who hand out advertising fliers during storms.

These are only three among a host of misconceptions that frequently trip up winter road warriors. Here are a few more:

Snowplows

Stay off snow-covered roads if you can, but if you can’t, resist the urge to pass a slow-moving plow. Their drivers typically have limited sight distances, and they can't easily maneuver their vehicles. If you try to pass, poor visibility will likely obscure oncoming vehicles.

And besides, following a plow should be considered a winter gift! After all, they’re clearing the road for you, and their lights can be a beacon in an otherwise cold, bleak night.

School plows

Stay away from schools while their driveways are being plowed. A boy on a sled was run down by a plow at Ringwood High School last year. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously injured, but the borough has banned onlookers from the school when driveways and parking lots are being cleared, a ban that might be considered at other schools with steep, sleigh-able driveways.

Idling death traps

It sometimes can be tempting to rest in a heated car while the snow around it is being shoveled and swept away.

But stay out of idling cars. A Passaic woman and her two children fell asleep in one two years ago while her boyfriend shoveled snow. First responders couldn’t wake them. Snow had clogged the tailpipe, forcing deadly fumes into the car’s cabin.

Trade boots for shoes

You don’t need big boots when you drive. Too often, they’re big enough to depress both the accelerator and the brake, a big-foot mistake that can lead to a completely avoidable winter crash.

Car rentals

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that drivers become familiar with a rental before driving it off the lot, especially the hazard-lights switch in case of an emergency. As with any sophisticated piece of machinery, be prepared by reading the owner's manual.

Cars that shake

If your un-garaged car behaves well at slow speeds after a snowstorm, but starts to shake at 40 mph or so, it might not be a long-term malfunction. There’s a good chance that snow has clogged some of its sensors. Resist the temptation to scrape it away, however. “Leave it alone and let it dry by itself in the sun,” advised Washington Garage mechanic Brian Shanahan. “You don’t want to damage the sensors.”

Personal parking spots

After digging out the parking space in front of your house, it’s tempting to station a chair, a sign or your 6-foot-6 nephew there to preserve it for you when you drive to the store for groceries.

But don’t.

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Unmetered parking spaces that aren’t regulated by signs or yellow curb markings operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and ordinances in some towns bar homeowners from claiming title to them — even after a storm. Indeed, preservation tactics have produced Hatfield-McCoy feuds that ended in arrests, bloodshed or lawsuits — and sometimes all three.

Rooftop snow

The latest excuse for failing to remove dangerous white glop from the tops of vehicles is the inconvenient luggage rack that makes it doubly hard to dislodge snow and ice. The solution is simple: Buy a car with removable racks, or better yet: Avoid many of the wintry disadvantages on this list by renting a garage and staying home on stormy days.

Email: Cichowski@northjersey.com