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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - Most people know that winters here in Alaska are long and extremely cold. Whether you’ve lived in Alaska all your life or recently moved here for work, everyone should make safety a top priority, especially when it comes to driving. We spoke with Alaska State Trooper Sgt. J. Carson to put together this question-and-answer resource to keep you in the know and help you be safe on Alaskan highways and byways.
Q: What are some important things people should understand about winter driving here in Alaska?
A: Although we have relatively few drivers compared to other states, Alaska per capita has a lot of serious injury and fatality collisions. There are three major contributing factors that cause this:
1) Alaska has relatively poor road conditions and extreme weather changes. Fairbanks, for example, can have 90-degree temperatures in the summer and minus 60-degree temperatures in the wintertime. This, combined with soil conditions, allows for permafrost, washouts, and general expanding and contracting of road material. This contributes to heaves, ruts and other dangerous road conditions. These poor road conditions combined with freezing rain, snow, and ice can create some of the most extreme driving conditions in the nation. In most parts of Alaska, these extreme road conditions last for up to seven months of the year.
2) Many vehicles in Alaska are not equipped for Alaska Roads. Good winter tires are important. All-weather tires are good in most other states, but on black ice, they offer little in the way of traction. Window wipers often freeze to the window and need to be replaced on a regular basis. Although it is important to be able to see, it is also important for others to see you. Make sure your lights are working and keep them clean. Also have your brakes checked by a professional. If your brakes are not properly maintained, you could lose traction when trying to stop. Simply because they bring you to a stop on dry pavement does not mean they are in good working order. Have them checked by a professional to assure they’re engaging at the correct level and the correct time.
3) Driver's don't give the roadway the attention it needs. Driving in Alaska is tough, especially with moose and other wild game near highways. There are many impaired drivers on the road, road conditions are constantly changing and can be very poor at times. Because of this, drivers need to make sure they stay focused. Turn down the music so you can hear what is going on. This allows you to hear your tires spinning, screeching of other vehicles, people honking, or even a collision next to you. Don't focus on your phone, stereo, kids, or do anything else that will bring your eyes off of the roadway while moving. Distracted driving is responsible for a good portion of our fatalities each year. If we subtracted collisions caused by distracted drivers, impaired drivers, and unsafe vehicles, we would have very few fatality collisions to investigate.
Q: How big of an impact does wildlife play when preparing long drives in the winter? How many accidents per year are caused by or related to Alaskan wildlife?
A: There is nothing special when preparing for wildlife on road trips. Everyone should make sure the driver's area of their vehicle is clean as not to cause a distraction. Make sure, the mirrors are clean, the headlights and taillights are clean, and the vehicle is in good working order. Don’t drive tired. Don't out-drive your headlights. Most collisions with moose are caused not because the moose ran out in front of the driver, but rather the driver was traveling faster than their brakes would let them stop with how far they could see.
Last year, 635 vehicle collisions with wildlife were reported to the Alaska State Troopers.
Q: How can a person from the Lower 48 prepare for driving here in Alaska?
A: Make sure they purchase good tires. Remove tint, lift kits, and any other modification, which makes it difficult to see or changes the balance of a vehicle. All-wheel drive vehicles are much easier to handle than rear wheel drive vehicles. Slow way down driving through intersections even if the light is not red. We get a lot of collisions at intersections and stop signs where a driver did not allow enough space to slow down prior to stopping.
It’s important to remember the basics that we all learned, no matter where we learned to drive. Carson noted that a significant number of fatalities are caused because drivers or passengers don’t wear seat belts.
This is the second part of a three-part series of articles designed to help survive winter in Alaska. For more information, visit the U.S. Army Alaska Facebook page.
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2014 14:26 |
| Story ID: | 150084 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Surviving Alaska: Winter road survival, by SSG Sean Callahan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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