4 ms·

I was driving back from San Francisco to the South Bay in the early afternoon. Parts of the 101 were apparently closed off, so we took the 280, and saw several

I was driving back from San Francisco to the South Bay in the early afternoon. Parts of the 101 were apparently closed off, so we took the 280, and saw several accidents along the way. Visibility was quite poor and the roads were very slippery. Haven't seen it this bad since I moved to the area about a decade ago.

arcticbull 4y ago
To be fair most of that decade has been a state-declared drought (2012-2016) :) and I believe the interceding years were also usually low in terms of precipitation even though they didn't meet the formal definition of a drought. None of that detracts from this of course.
cj 4y ago
> the roads were very slippery This is one thing that surprised me when moving from NY (lots of snow) to SF. Rain in SF seems to trigger traffic conditions similar to light snow or ice in the northeast. I’ve always been curious what causes this. (My guess is people are slower to replace balding tires when there isn’t frequent rain or snow)
- maxerickson 4y ago
  One theory is that oils build up on the road surface. https://blog.response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-water-and-dangers-spring-showers https://blog.response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-water-and-dan...
- colechristensen 4y ago
  I’m pretty sure it’s just that people are so inexperienced when it comes to wet roads that the slightest bit of loss of traction causes chaos. I’m sure buildup of dirt and oil on roads that isn’t regularly washed off with rain makes things a little worse. But like in Minnesota there are always tons of accidents during the first snow of the year. Then people remember how to drive in the snow and everything is fine for the next 40 snows.
- Manuel_D 4y ago
  Infrequent rain means when it does rain lots of oil floats to the surface and creates poor road conditions. That, and drivers are less accustomed to driving in rain. By comparison, here in Seattle light to moderate rain and people still drive at full speed. A heavy downpour will slow things down a bit.
  - Gibbon1 4y ago
    Life long Bay Area resident here. This is absolutely the case. When I used to commute over HWY17 I started taking the day off on the first rain of the season because it was way too slippery to be safe. Corners that were safe enough at 55 in the rain normally people would spin out going 35.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

arcticbull 4y ago

To be fair most of that decade has been a state-declared drought (2012-2016) :) and I believe the interceding years were also usually low in terms of precipitation even though they didn't meet the formal definition of a drought. None of that detracts from this of course.

cj 4y ago

> the roads were very slippery This is one thing that surprised me when moving from NY (lots of snow) to SF. Rain in SF seems to trigger traffic conditions similar to light snow or ice in the northeast. I’ve always been curious what causes this. (My guess is people are slower to replace balding tires when there isn’t frequent rain or snow)

maxerickson 4y ago
One theory is that oils build up on the road surface. https://blog.response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-water-and-dangers-spring-showers https://blog.response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-water-and-dan...
colechristensen 4y ago
I’m pretty sure it’s just that people are so inexperienced when it comes to wet roads that the slightest bit of loss of traction causes chaos. I’m sure buildup of dirt and oil on roads that isn’t regularly washed off with rain makes things a little worse. But like in Minnesota there are always tons of accidents during the first snow of the year. Then people remember how to drive in the snow and everything is fine for the next 40 snows.
Manuel_D 4y ago
Infrequent rain means when it does rain lots of oil floats to the surface and creates poor road conditions. That, and drivers are less accustomed to driving in rain. By comparison, here in Seattle light to moderate rain and people still drive at full speed. A heavy downpour will slow things down a bit.
- Gibbon1 4y ago
  Life long Bay Area resident here. This is absolutely the case. When I used to commute over HWY17 I started taking the day off on the first rain of the season because it was way too slippery to be safe. Corners that were safe enough at 55 in the rain normally people would spin out going 35.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]