Dionne Gretsinger was driving with his 2-year-old out in the snow.
"Slippery, cold, wet," Gretsinger said to describe the roads. "I still have my moments where I slide or tend to hit my breaks and have to slow down."
He says when temperatures drop in the teens and below this weekend, he's going to stay inside. "Right now, I have a pregnant wife at the house, so I'll be stuck in the house dealing with morning sickness," Gretsinger said with a laugh. "I probably won't be too much on the roads, but, if I am, I'll probably just be as cautious as possible."
Even if he does have to go out on the roads, Bill Conklin of the Ingham County Road Commission says his crews have got drivers covered.
"We're doing the best that we can to get some salt and some grit underneath that traffic," Conklin said. "It probably won't melt it until some sunshine and warmer temperatures early next week." He says, even though temperatures will drop so low salt won't melt the ice, crews are still spreading it on urban roads to give cars more traction. In rural areas, that's not always the best idea.
"Typically, if the snow stays dry and white and crunchy, it offers relatively good traction," Conklin said. "In fact, sometimes we don't even salt those areas because the salt would just melt the snow a little bit and let it refreeze and re-glaze into a slipperier condition."
Regardless, Gretsinger says he'll be careful on the roads. "Slow down and be careful, and make sure when you're driving behind somebody, you give them plenty of distance," he said. "I've seen a couple people almost get close to hitting someone like that, so just be careful and don't drive like it's not wintertime."
Conklin gives drivers the same advice.
