VALLEY GETS CRASH COURSE IN TRYING TO DRIVE ON ICE.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer Frigid weather created icy conditions on San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. roads Tuesday, causing a number of accidents, including a nine-vehicle crash in Tujunga, police said. No serious injuries were reported in the 5:45 a.m. pileup, which included a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city fire engine. The engine had responded to the crash in the 9100 block of Tujunga Canyon Boulevard, near Pali Street, fire officials said. Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. commuters faced a number of icy spots in the Valley, particularly at the base of shaded freeway ramps. Among the most dangerous were ramps at De Soto de So·to , Hernando or Fernando 1496?-1542. Spanish explorer who landed in Florida in 1539 with 600 men and set out to search for the fabled riches of the north. Avenue, which one California One California is a skyscraper in San Francisco, California. The building rises 438 feet (134 meters) in the northern region of San Francisco’s Financial District. It contains 32 floors, and was completed in 1969. Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. officer said hadn't frozen in eight years. The Tujunga pileup frazzled nerves and delayed traffic. A quarter-mile stretch of the road was closed for about two hours while city work crews scraped off ice, said Sgt. Tim Walters of the LAPD's Foothill Division. Runoff from the area's hills had collected on the road and frozen. It melted as it was scraped off by the heavy equipment, but rolled 30 feet away and quickly formed back into ice. Crews poured sand to direct the water away from the intersection. The slippery conditions and rash of dangerous skids prompted the California Highway Patrol to issue a warning at 6 a.m. about thin, nearly invisible layers of ice, called black ice, on Ventura Freeway on- and off-ramps. Because they are shaded by overpasses, the ramps freeze first and dry out last, the CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan said. At the east- and westbound off-ramps on De Soto Avenue, sprinkler runoff turned to black ice and sent vehicles spinning out of control, said CHP Officer Doug Reynolds ``People come around the corner and spin out,'' Reynolds said. The last time Reynolds recalled ice on the De Soto off-ramps was eight years ago, when temperatures dipped into the 20s. Temperatures reached 24 degrees in Woodland Hills early Tuesday morning. ``It was definitely colder than normal,'' Reynolds said. John McGinnes, who lives three doors away from where the nine-car pileup occurred, couldn't agree more. ``Just walking up the sidewalk, I slipped a little. It was very, very icy,'' McGinnes said. WHAT TO DO ON ICY ROADS How to drive on icy roads, according to the California Highway Patrol: If you lose control of your vehicle, let off the gas and the vehicle will slow itself. Don't steer abruptly left or right. Instead, keep your hands on the steering wheel and gently turn in the direction of the skid. Never slam your brakes on ice. Be extra cautious on chilly days because you might encounter ice at the base of freeway on- and off-ramps, where shade from overpasses can create icier conditions. Increase your distance behind other cars - and slow down. CAPTION(S): Box Box: WHAT TO DO ON ICY ROADS (See text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion