ROAD SAFETY

As the temperature drops substantially below -25°F, local people will begin to rethink their longer trips, and so should you.  Consider that the chance of mechanical breakdown increases as temperatures get colder.  Correspondingly, your ability to fix them decreases and the chance of getting help from a passing motorist is likewise decreased.  At -50°F you may drive to Fairbanks and not see another car between Delta Junction and North Pole.  A simple flat tire can become a matter of life or death at -50°F.  Some other points to consider are:

• The main roads will be plowed as needed, but a light layer of ice and frost will be on every road you drive on from October to April.  Second and third tier roads will likely be covered with hard packed snow.  All roads will be covered with ice and frost at a level that would cause many military installations in the Southern states to close for the day; in Interior Alaska, this is just a fact of life.  Remember that any significant warming up during that October – April period will only make the road slicker.
• The quantity of blowing snow and swirling snow kicked up by oncoming traffic, especially by semi-trucks and snow plows (even on already plowed roads) are enormous.  Visibility when passing these large vehicles will be momentarily cut to zero.  In the daytime when you see these large vehicles approaching, you should ease off the gas and carefully scan the road and adjacent shoulder area for possible problems.  In short, prepare yourself and your vehicle to operate in a whiteout for a few seconds.  If you need to apply your brake, do so before you enter the clout of blowing snow, thus ensuring that any cars behind you see your brake lights.  Once engulfed in the cloud of snow you will not see anything.  Likewise, the people behind you will not see your brake lights.  At night, the task of identifying these large vehicles becomes substantially more difficult and the range at which these vehicles can be identified is greatly reduced.  The only reliable identifiers for these large trucks at night are the amber clearance lights placed along their roofs.  When these lights become visible, you have only a few seconds to prepare for the blinding cloud of snow that will follow.  Some snow plows have additional headlights and at other times a fast moving snow plow blade will generate a line of sparks as it scrapes along the road at high speed.  In time, these other identifiers may be recognizable, but they should not be relied upon by newly assigned personnel.
• Take enough clothing to keep yourself warm if you are stranded for several hours or have to walk several miles.  You do not have to wear it (trunk or backseat is fine).  Insist that your passenger do likewise.
•  Monitor the condition of your vehicle and maintain it accordingly.  Never start a winter journey in a vehicle whose condition is marginal.
• Check weather conditions:  866-282-7577
• Check road conditions:  Interior AK (907) 456-7623.  The only sign announcing closure of the Richardson Highway due to avalanches (usually in the Rainbow Mt. – Isabel Pass area) is located just south of the main gate and north of the construction site entrance.  Thus if you depart directly from the GMD  construction site and go south on the Richardson Highway (i.e. to Anchorage or Valdez) you might drive 50 miles, only to find that the road is closed – and you never see the advance warning sign.  Road closure due to avalanche will require you to turn around and return to Delta Junction.  It is strongly recommended that you always depart for locations to the south via the main gate, if you have not called the aforementioned number first.
• A Mini-Mag flashlight kept warm in you pocket is definitely better than a much larger flashlight that has been  allowed to cold soak in the trunk or glove box of the car.  Even new alkaline batteries are rendered useless in a fraction of their normal service life when cold soaked to -20°F.
• Always carry some dry matches.  Fires can be useful in winter (for warmth and light) and summer (for warmth and insect protection).  If your vehicle is not readily visible, a fire will make it easier and faster for help to find and reach you.  Fires can be started easily with the outer bark pulled off the live white birch trees that are extremely common in Interior Alaska.  The out bark of this tree contains high quantities of very flammable resin and may be lit readily with a match in all but the wettest weather.  Generally, if you can get the match to light, the birch will also burn.
• If your car slides off the road, be very careful about running your engine for heat.  In the winter, your car will invariably be in a snow bank.  That snow bank that has trapped your vehicle will also trap the engine exhaust under it, where it can infiltrate into the passenger compartment and cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Wildlife, especially moose and to a lesser extent caribou, always seem to be where you least expect them.  These animals are much larger (3-10X) the size of typical eastern white-tailed deer.  Because of their mass, accidents involving them are always a serious affair.  If you see a moose cross the road: ALWAYS SLOW DOWN AS YOU NEAR THAT CROSSING POINT, AND EXPECT ANOTHER MOOSE!  It is impossible to tell if the moose that you saw cross was truly a single adult or if a calf or mother is nearby.  As you get close that crossing point, members of that moose family on different sides of the road may unpredictably charge across the road to reunite and prevent your vehicle from getting between members of the family, invariable with tragic results.
• Unless you are sure where shelter is (because you see a light) you are better off staying with your car and building a fire.
• Never depend on your cell phone to the exclusion of the advice above.  Also, remember to keep you cell phone on your pocket or other warm place to insure that battery life is optimized.
• When possible, two or more vehicles should travel together.
• Carry insect repellent during summer months.  Changing a tire or dealing with other mechanical problems will be noticeably easier when you are not being eaten alive.