Icy conditions result in accidents and road closures around Santa Cruz County

Icy road conditions have made for a dangerous morning commute for people around Santa Cruz County, but for many the problem starts before they hit the road.

Drivers waking up to iced over windshields and there are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to taking the ice off.

Mechanics with Winchester Auto in Soquel say one mistake people make is pour water on the windshield then run the wipers, “even cold water will crack a windshield, hot water will really crack it,” says Patrick Hughes.

There are different kinds of tools and liquids you can use to save yourself a few minutes of defrosting in the morning. Winchester Auto carries Prestone Ice and Frost shield which deters ice from forming. They also carry one that helps the ice melt.

But they say there’s also the manual way with and ice scraper or your windshield wipers; they recommend putting the defrost on as you use those.

Once you are ready to go, it’s not all smooth sailing from there. California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney says we’re seeing some dangerous roadway conditions, “we’ve had a lot of reports of ice on roadways, a lot of accidents, people spinning out on our County roads especially. Some have been so hazardous we’ve had to completely shut them down.”

Freedom Boulevard near Watsonville and Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley were both closed for at least an hour as a precaution.

There was also a non-injury accident on Brown Valley road in Watsonville.

Officer Courtney says if you do find yourself sliding on ice, “keep calm, take your foot off the gas pedal, you may not even be able to use the break at all; that could make things worse. Until your tires hit pavement and you actually start getting some tire friction, then gently apply the break.”

He says even though we haven’t gotten rain in a few days, the storm run off is still flowing on to the roads and freezing over.

Another reminder, even after the temperature warms up, that doesn’t mean the ice is all gone, “if you’re up in the mountains at the higher elevations and it’s really shady, you could still have ice even into the afternoon.”

Chp says your best bet for a safe commute is to drive slow on these freezing mornings and leave safe distance between you and the car in front of you.