Sunday, December 11, 2005

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Following the first major snow storm of the season, several cars were reported to be ‘entrapped’ by slick ice in the seaside city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ice was believed to be created when the snow, which fell during the night of December 9-10, was packed down by successive cars and trucks passing over it. By morning, several areas of the city had patches of slippery, low-traction crystalline water lying in wait for the next unsuspecting motor vehicle to pass over them. Soon enough, your correspondent witnessed cars which had slowed to a stop or were parked find that, try as they might, they were unable to move forward on the ice and were therefore stuck.

Luckily, most of the cars were able to extricate themselves after either slowly accelerating in a low gear, or ‘rocking’ the car back-and-forth to build up momentum. No one was reported injured, and the only damage believed to be done was the excessive wear and tear on the entrapped vehicles.