An abundance of black ice on roads this January is enough to make parents like Shaunna Stroud nervous every time their teenage kids venture out.
“Kids think they’re invincible and nothing will happen to them,” she said. “It happens quickly.”
Stroud’s son, a Tolsia High School junior, was driving on U.S. 52 Monday night.
Shortly after 8 p.m., he was just north of where the route becomes four lanes in Prichard when he hit a patch of black ice and rolled off the road, according to the mother.
“It totaled his car,” Stroud said. “All the damage is on the driver’s side.” A location sharing safety app connected to the car called Life360 notified the teen’s family about the crash and where the car was located. The app also contacted emergency services. “You’re thinking the worst,” Stroud said. “Is he alive? Is he dead?” Fortunately Stroud’s 18-year-old son wasn’t badly hurt and was able to get out of the car on his own. A couple other people driving by stopped, as well, to make sure he was OK. Stroud says if circumstances had been worse, the tech could’ve been life saving.
“I wrapped my mom arms around him and said I was glad he was OK,” Stroud said. “He said ‘God had me.’” The app also records a car’s speed at the time of a crash. Stroud says her son was not speeding. Experts do say drivers should reduce speed by a third on wet roads and by half on snow-packed roads
Courtesy of Newsbreak
