Road salt was sprinkled in almost all of the Netherlands last evening and night. This was the first national spreading campaigns of this season.
Yesterday evening, preventive gritting was already carried out on a large scale in connection with slipperiness due to freezing wet roads. In the interior, the road surface temperature dropped below freezing on a large scale, and winter showers moved across the country, especially in the west.
In the west, the road surface temperature did not drop below freezing on a large scale, but there were several accidents due to slippery conditions. The situation was treacherous, as some roads were below freezing and others were not. In addition, numerous hailstorms passed over, making it suddenly and temporarily very slippery. There was also some snow locally. The fact that drivers have to get used to the slippery driving conditions again may have played a role. The car thermometer will have given a wrong indication, because in the west of the country the air temperature has not been below freezing.
Prior to the first national spreading campaigns last night, a lot of spreading was already done in the south of the country in the night from Friday to Saturday. Snow turned white in the east of North Brabant and elsewhere in the south there was a chance of frostbite. The coming nights it will be a lot softer. Certainly in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, no spreading actions will be necessary.
Impact on cars
Although road salt helps against slippery road conditions, it is not exactly conducive to cars at the same time. Road salt has a pretty nasty effect on the bodywork and wheels of a car, but also on other parts. For that reason, especially classic drivers leave their cars when there is spreading. Here you can read more about the impact of road salt on cars and what you can do to prevent damage. More tips for driving in winter can be found here.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl