The van is obliterated.
Just 5 seconds elapse between the first slip and the van's destruction.
"'It can happen that fast,' I tell them, " Ostrem said.
Ostrem has spent a career studying traffic safety and reconstructing crashes. he said winter driving in Southwest Michigan's snow-covered roads can be a challenge even for experienced drivers. His class for teens shares the tips that can help keep them safe while they gain that experience driving in conditions of reduced visibility, slippery road surfaces and blowing, drifting snow.
Older drivers have likely learned the finer points over the years-- gentle braking, turns and acceleration; the need to scan intersections for cars that may not be able to stop before going ahead on the green; allowing lots of extra time to pull into traffic; making sure headlights and taillights are free of snow and windshield washer fluid filled up.
Young drivers in their first winter need first to pay attention to the two big rules, Ostrem said: Buckle up and slow down.
Mattawan police help teens remember to buckle with " Click it or Ticket" enforcement patrols aimed at kids who are not buckled up on their way to school. Ostrem said he'll stand near the roundabout where traffic slows, checking for drivers who are not properly belted. He radios ahead to a colleague, who pulls them over a little farther up the road.
Ostrem said he tells to teens that not only can seat belts keep them safer in the event of a collision, but they may also help keep them in a position to avoid a collision in the first place, by keeping them behind the wheel, in a position to brake and steer even as a car slides out of control.
Happily, most drivers do buckle up, Ostrem said. Michigan enjoys one of the highest seat belt usage rates in the country, 94.5 percent in 2011, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
To help teens understand the need to slow down, he does the math for them on how far a car travels at various speeds in the 1.5 seconds it takes a driver to recognize and react to hazards on the road-- 55 feet at 25 mph, 99 feet at 45 mph and 154 feet at 70. That's the rationale for leaving plenty of space between the driver and the car ahead, even in great weather, he said.
It's critical to create a much larger margin when roads are slippery and visibility is poor, he said. Slowing down buys the driver time to react, and also helps compensate for the gentle, gradual braking, accelerating and turning that slippery roads require, he said.
Knowing that you should slow down, and actually doing it, though, may require a little help from parents, who can remind young drivers to add to travel time, sometime several minutes. If kids drive to school, breakfast and the whole morning routine may need to be moved up to allow drivers need to leave early.
Parents can also reinforce Ostrem's message that drivers must accept the possibility of arriving late, if conditions are even worse than they anticipated. Once drivers are behind the wheel, their legal responsibility to drive slow enough to control their vehicle trumps the need to avoid being marked tardy at school or work. Because young drivers may underestimate just how much extra time may be required, parents should weigh in on that decision, he said.
There are time times, too, when parents may have to put the kibosh on going out at all, Ostrem suggested, and can help make alternate plans. During a recent stormy weekend, he mad hotel reservations for his daughter and friends to weather the storm on campus rather than drive home from college in the bad weather, an option that allowed them to get out of the dorms as required without putting their safety at risk.
The County Road Association of Michigan offers these tips, too:
- Teens should be encouraged to practice driving in all sorts of weather conditions, and to practice handling skids in open, snow-covered places.
- Make sure tired and brakes are in good condition, windshield wipers function well, and the washer fluid reservoir is full.
- Keep an emergency road safety kit in the car, with flashlight, jumper cables, extra blankets, sand and a small shovel, snacks and bottled water and a reflective safety vest. If a slide off happens, drivers should be taught to stay in their stranded vehicles unless they can safely get out and far from the roadway to avoid being struck by other drivers who hit the same icy patch.