the Walnut Diary

The most hazardous stretch of highway I have encountered this year is the 3.4 mile section of County Road #42 between Philipsville and Forfar. Twice my vehicle has left the road for the shoulder due to icing.

The first time occurred just as I passed the Elgin turnoff and climbed the knoll to approach Philipsville.  All of the sudden the road was slippery enough that my SUV drifted over onto the shoulder, then recovered the lane at a bit over 100 km per hour.  Strange, no other portion of the 33 mile drive that afternoon was slippery.

Yesterday evening on the return trip from Easton’s Corners I watched Ruby’s thermometer gradually descend from 4 degrees C to 1 C as I drove up the slope in Philipsville in a heavy fog and light rain.  Needless to say I drove a lot more carefully this time.  Nonetheless, about a mile later, at about 70 km per hour, on a straight stretch, Ruby slid off the road into a set of newly-formed tracks on the shoulder before recovering.  There had to be a patch of black ice there which had nabbed someone just before I came along to account for the identical tracks on the shoulder.

It surprises me that this stretch of road should hide hazards.  The pavement is by a considerable margin the best of my route.  Unlike the stretches to Toledo and Jasper, the road is straight, has wide shoulders, and until recently was a provincial highway.  The variable might be that there is little traffic on this road.  Perhaps the salt truck drivers see greater needs elsewhere.

I could attribute the first slip to speed or carelessness, but in the second case I drove expecting black ice, and Ruby slid off the superelevation of the lane, just the same.

Until maintenance improves on this section of #42, don’t trust the traction.