Your High Risk of Severe Single Vehicle Crashes on Icy Texas Roads
Continued from Part 1. The pileups and multi-vehicle wrecks have taken the headlines since ice began to blanket Texas on Thursday, but our Harris County personal injury attorneys emphasize that the majority of the accidents, including the fatal ones, appeared to be single-vehicle crashes as drivers lost control of their vehicles in the icy conditions. Trucks jackknifed. At least one partially slid off a bridge to leave its trailer dangling over the ground below. A car went off the bridge into Lake Lewisville. And a man died at Preston and Royal in Dallas when his car went off the road and smashed into fixed objects near the shopping center.
It’s certainly not the kind of driving weather we’re used to in Texas. I mean, how many of us have chains for our tires? In icy conditions in Texas, it’s best not to drive unless you absolutely have to do it. And if you must drive, drive slowly and carefully. Yet people went out clubbing during the worst of it on Saturday night. And I know others who drove all the way across the Metroplex when their power went out to find shelter when there were closer places available. My power was only out for 20 hours. But our Harris County personal injury attorneys realize that some people had their power out for over two days.
OK, a couple of days doesn’t begin to compare with some of the long-term power outages that occasionally happen in the North and Northeast during the winter, but hey, we’re not used to it in Texas. And we’re not prepared. When our power goes out, it’s usually high summer.
But maybe this bad and unusually lengthy (for Texas) spell of icy weather is a wake-up call. Prepare. And be ready to stay home and not drive until conditions get better. Ice is treacherous. It’s too easy to lose control of your car or truck and crash. And our Harris County personal injury attorneys caution that once you start to spin on the ice, you can’t get vehicle control back.
Houston largely escaped the ice, but still had cold and moisture to contend with. While roads are generally better across Texas today, sub-freezing nights are expected through North and West Texas through Friday. And the last couple of days’ cycles of slight daytime thawing followed by re-freezing have actually made the remaining icy patches slicker. Shaded areas of roads and parking lots are still mostly frozen over, which can be treacherous if you come upon the ice unexpectedly after mostly dry areas. This writer is still having to wear spiky golf shoes to safely traverse the walk between the car and the door in Dallas.
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