Slippery roads — Kansas Permit Test

Shady spots on Kansas roads can be ice-covered on cold wet days because shade-covered areas often freeze first and dry out last.

The sun never reaches them. A patch under trees can be frozen when the rest of the road is merely wet.

Shady spots can be ice-covered on cold, wet days because shade-covered areas often freeze first and dry out last on the roadway.

Kansas roadway pavement on bridges, overpasses and underpasses can be ice-covered even when other pavement is clear, because bridges do not have earth underneath to insulate them against the cold.

The ground under a road holds heat. A bridge has air under it instead, so it freezes first.

Bridges do not have earth underneath them to help insulate them against the cold and can be colder and more ice-covered than other roadways.

When the temperature is near the freezing point, Kansas ice-covered areas can become wet, and water over ice makes it more slippery than at temperatures well below freezing.

Melting ice is worse than frozen ice. The film of water on top removes what little grip was left.

Water over ice makes it more slippery than at temperatures well below freezing.

Kansas ice-covered roadways are especially dangerous because roadways are higher in the center and sloped to the side, causing a skidding vehicle to slide off into a guardrail or drainage ditch.

The road is built to shed water, which means it is built to shed a sliding car too.

Roadways are higher in the center and sloped to the side, causing a skidding vehicle to slide off the roadway into a guardrail or drainage ditch.

Why are shady spots more likely to be icy?

They freeze first and dry out last. The sun never reaches them. A patch under trees can be frozen when the rest of the road is merely wet. Kansas Driving Handbook, p.60: “Shady spots can be ice-covered on cold, wet days because shade-covered areas often freeze first and dry out last on the roadway.”