Each year over 20.000 fatal accidents happen in the EU. About 1% of these fatalities is caused by icy road conditions (source: EU Annual Accident Report 2018). At first sight this may not seem an awful lot. However, on average European countries don’t suffer a lot from icy conditions and when they occur, the high population density causes traffic jams immediately during these weather conditions which will stop drivers from going too fast.

In the United States a lot more fatalities happen during icy weather conditions. These statistics (source: carsurance.net) speak for themselves:

• 17% of all vehicle crashes happen in winter conditions.
• 1,836 people die annually due to snowy and icy pavement.
• There are 156,164 crashes annually due to icy roads.
• More than 1,300 people are killed in car crashes on snowy or icy roads every year.
• Over 116,800 people get injured in car accidents on snowy or icy roads every year.
• Every year, about 76,000 people are injured in traffic accidents during snowfall.
• About 70% of accidental fatalities that occur during winter happen in cars.
• 800 Americans die in car crashes annually while driving in winter weather conditions.

Besides the facts that over 70% of US roads are in snowy regions and about 70% of the US population lives in snowy regions, these staggering statistics could be partly caused by the number of rear wheel drive cars on the roads of the United States. RWD cars are harder to control on icy roads than their front wheel drive brothers and sisters.

Our beloved sports cars often are rear wheel drive cars. That’s why we want to show you this video about winter driving education. It may help you in the next few months when snow and ice are likely to occur on the road. Although your sports car may be hibernating, still the video about ‘How to correct a slide’ is highly educational even for front wheel drive cars.

Dan Robinson, contributor for Iceroadsafety.com, has made a series of three videos about this topic. Besides the embedded slide video he’s also made video’s about icy bridges and freezing rain. Enjoy watching this video and learn from it. Info about Dan Robinson after the video.

Biography Dan Robinson

Dan Robinson is a storm chaser, photojournalist and editor of icyroadsafety.com. “As a freelance cameraman, I have spent many years documenting all types of dangerous weather across the country. If you asked me to name the worst type of weather I’ve seen, my answer may surprise you. It isn’t tornadoes, hailstorms, floods, lightning storms or hurricanes (and I have experienced all of those in person many times). While those are all dangerous phenomena that deserve due respect, the lowly snowflake or frozen raindrop gets my vote for the most fearsome of weather’s threats to people. In recent years, I have become heavily involved in covering and documenting this winter weather hazard. This website is a culmination of the experience and information I have gathered through the course of my work.”

“You probably know to take shelter from an approaching tornado or to evacuate in advance of a hurricane, even though you may never experience one in your lifetime. But are you prepared for a weather hazard that is just as dangerous and far more common – one you will face again and again, every year? Ice on roadways and bridges is a threat to you, your family, your friends, coworkers and neighbors – anyone who gets into their car during the winter.”

“It’s not a matter of if, but when, you’ll come face-to-face with road icing. I can say that seeing the things I’ve seen first-hand has changed the way I drive in the winter. It is my hope and mission that this site will do the same for you, and that you’ll be more aware of and prepared for this danger on the roadways.

As a storm chaser/photojournalist covering all types of extreme weather across the USA, I have seen my share of dangerous conditions. Out of all the phenomena I’ve witnessed and documented, it is road icing during the winter that have by far been the worst in terms of the danger presented to the average person. Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and lightning are the ‘stars’ of TV documentaries and safety talks, but rarely does road icing get the same attention.”

“My involvement with the road icing story has become central to my news coverage efforts as a freelance cameraman, and through my job and this web site, I hope to increase awareness of the dangers of driving during winter precipitation. The mission of this site is to educate everyone of the threat presented by road icing, and hopefully by doing so encourage a change in driver behavior during winter weather that will reduce the incidence of crashes and their aftermath.”