Plummeting temperatures around the Bay Area are responsible for a slew of car accidents this morning including pileups in Berkeley and the Oakland hills. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a San Mateo crash was also blamed on black ice caused by the recent freezing temperatures.
A recurring theme in these crashes appears to be drivers who are traveling too fast to properly respond to black ice, or thin layers of ice on the road which can cause a vehicle to lose traction.
“If the roadway appears wet but, there is no spray coming from the vehicles’ a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.”This could be extremely dangerous. You may be driving on ice.”
Meteorologists expect freezing temperatures to continue in the following days which may mean continued slick roads, especially on hillsides. Rainwater often seeps from the hillsides during the day and freezes on the roads overnight.
The problem should be temporary however with a shift in the jet stream that has been pulling in the cold air from Alaska.
Cold temperatures have been a problem during the past few weeks. Two weeks ago we reported on a few San Pablo Damn Road car accidents being caused by black ice. One woman’s car went all the way down an embankment and hit a tree after she spun out of control. Another crash caused a car to flip over.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Ice on roads causes rash of crashes,” Will Kane, Jan. 14, 2013
