Steve Eldridge: Autumn means more hazards

To me, it seems an awkward time when it’s still dark when we wake up and getting dark as we head home from work. That transition from light to dark creates real problems on the roads.

It will be even worse for a week or two after Oct. 29, when our clocks “fall back” an hour. During that period of time, the sun is lower in the sky for those heading west in the afternoons, meaning that roads such as Interstate 395 and Interstate 66 will be downright hazardous.

Don’t forget as well that as these leaves fall from the trees after a week or two of glory, they will be like walking and driving on ice.

But the leaves aren’t the only thing that’s slippery out on the roads. Ryan writes: “Why in the world do they always have to put up signs telling people that there are steel plates ahead? You talk about signs creating problems and this is a perfect example. Every time people pass one of those big orange signs about the steel plates people tend to slow down. Do we really need this information? Is there a real risk that I don’t know about?”

Yes, there is a risk and there is therefore a good reason to have warning signs. If you’ve ever had to hit your brakes real hard while crossing over these plates, which are usually put over construction work that leaves a hole in the road, you’d know why — steel plates are very slippery, and it’s even worse when they are wet. There is nothing for your tires to grab hold of, no friction to help slow you down. There is also a slight risk that by starting a hard brake before getting on top of one of these plates that you could actually push it forward and expose the hole beneath. THAT would be a real drag.

Those signs are there to tell you to leave more space between you and the car in front of you and to avoid panic stops.