Surviving the transition from winter to spring

  • Published
  • By Gary Johnson
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Safety Office
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Spring in North Dakota is not like many other places, especially those in more southern latitudes. March 20, this far north is likely to appear much the same as the previous three or four months: locked in winter's grasp. When spring does come it brings numerous problems that can dampen your spirits.

There will be periods of thaw followed by freezing temperatures at night that will cover the roads with black ice.

Gravel roads will have soft spots that are capable of jerking the steering wheel out of your hands. These spots are caused by frost heaves that thaw at differing rates and may be the most hazardous of all conditions. If you must travel on gravel roads, slow down. A few years back, our wing experienced 19 rollovers in a two week period, mostly on secondary roads. Luckily everyone was wearing their seat belts, and no-one was injured.

If you drive a sport utility vehicle, the odds of you being in a rollover mishap are from two to four times higher than if you were in a passenger car. Rollovers are the second most common fatal mishap right behind head-on collisions. They are the most common fatal mishap for sport utility vehicles, light trucks and minivans. Rollovers produce 50,000 to 60,000 serious injuries a year.

Other hazards you're likely to encounter is an increasing amount of mud on roadways. This is farming country and the farmers will be preparing their fields for planting as soon as they are relatively certain their tractor won't get stuck. Mud, in addition to creating a slick roadway, will also freeze at night. Striking a frozen chunk of dirt with a tire is about as much fun as driving over a curb at highway speeds.

The weather can change without notice, so don't remove your winter survival kit from your vehicles on the first warm day.

As previously mentioned, this is farm country and farm equipment has the right of way on all roads, even the interstate, so be courteous and move out of their way if possible.

Lastly, make sure you and all your passengers are buckled up before you put the vehicle in gear. Fifty five percent of fatalities in 2004 were not wearing seat belts.