If you don’t see the sign, expect to do the time (paying off your increased insurance rates after sliding on a sheet of ice that was formerly an off-ramp and straight into a pileup of crashed cars).
You know the sign; the “bridge ices before road” traffic sign that warns you that, um, the bridge, it gets ice on it before the other roads do, because it gets colder, because it is elevated and does not have the ground warming it from below. That sign. The people of Knoxville, Tennessee, did not heed the signs warning, and here’s a clip of their shame, from Jon Ardemagni on Twitter:
The video also got picked up and amplified by ABC World News Tonight.
As unfortunate as it is for the drivers, it seems like it was quite an exciting day at the office for those watching from the nosebleeds. It’s like curling, but much more exciting to watch, featuring thrilling commentary with cars instead of stones. According to weather reports yesterday, the high was just one degree Fahrenheit in Knoxville.
Kudos to the Toyota Sienna driver for quickly reacting and seemingly juuust missing the other cars that met similar fates. The bridge ices before the road, folks. Try not to unintentionally invent a new motorsport at extreme personal cost and danger.