GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Thursday night’s pileup on US-131 involved at least nine vehicles, hospitalizing many people and serving as a cautionary tale that winter is officially here. With that, road commission and public works crews have a stark reminder for drivers.
Jerry Byrne, managing director of the Kent County Road Commission, said he was not surprised by the extent of Thursday night’s pileup along US-131 due to the lake effect snowstorm.
“A lot of motorists won’t change their driving speeds and habits that quickly,” he said. “For the first snowstorm, they’re not used to driving in the winter. Did it take us off guard? No, because we cringe when we hear ‘lake effect’ — because we know that’s when we’re going to see more of those multi-car pileups.”
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Kent County crews were applying salt on US-131 Thursday night, Byrne said. He added that it’s difficult to prepare any road for lake effect’s unpredictability.
“We’re not going to just pour chemical after chemical on it to make it wet, no matter what. It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “During that lake effect event, we’re not going to treat dry pavement and wonder where that band’s going to set up. We’re going to treat it where we actually have some snow.”
Grand Rapids Public Works Director John Gorney agreed that a season’s first major snowstorm is a rough adjustment, lake effect or not.
“Two days ago, everything was fine. We had perfectly clear roads. Now, today, that’s completely different. We just have to be ready for that,” he said. “With lake effect, we could be treating and have perfectly clear roads in one area. Then the next thing you know, it’s whiteout conditions and covered up again.”
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When a traditional snowstorm, drivers get into the mindset of “winter’s here,” Byrne said.
“When people get up in the morning, they have to scrape off the car,” he said. “What we’re seeing here with lake effect is, you go from dry pavement or wet pavement, and in a quarter-mile, 15 seconds down the road, to a whiteout. You’ve got to be on your game to change your driving habits that quickly.”
Both agree on which habit drivers need to prioritize first in these conditions.
“We’re all guilty of it — just slow down,” said Gorney. “You’ll be in conditions where the road is wide open, it’s clear, it’s open, and then it instantly changes. You’ll have to slow down and know that that’s coming.”
“We’re all in a hurry — that’s the society we live in,” Byrne added. “But you’re better off being a little bit late than not making it at all.”
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