It’s all over the news, the icy roads in North Georgia, but when I headed for the store around 7 last night, I hadn’t heard that news. I’m used to driving in winter conditions in my 4 wheel drive truck and generally feel bullet-proof in winter road conditions. But last night – another story.
Going to town [six miles] was fine. The snow patches had been graveled, and I crept along without incident. But coming back, the road was a sheet of almost invisible black ice. I picked up a guy whose truck was stopped in the middle of the road. It took us over an hour to negotiate the long slope coming out of town, maybe a half mile. I’ve never had the feeling that I couldn’t make it before, but I had it last night, over and over. With two wheels on the verge, we inched along, so slow that the speedometer didn’t move. And it was that way for the seven miles home with frequent slides that almost ended the trip. Uphill was sort of okay. Downhill was terrifying. I made it home three and a half hours after I left, a mass of jagged nerves and sore muscles.
Winter havoc on the roads – More than 200 wrecks reported in Pickens County
Pickens Progress
by Dan Pool
12/16/2010County Fire Chief Bob Howard said emergency crews responded to more than 600 calls with 200 wrecks and numerous minor injuries as a result of freezing rain on roadways Wednesday night. Many motorists reported that the freezing conditions developed so fast that they couldn’t get home.
Emergency crews from both the county and city of Jasper helped get people home while others were forced to walk the last part of their evening commute as they found the roads impassable with the infamous southern “black ice” – thin coatings of solid ice. Howard said Thursday morning that abandoned vehicles remain on many roadsides and in some roadways. He urged everyone to “stay in bed” even as the temperatures are expected to rise later today…
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