# any reason I shouldn't put some of this sand on the icy patch on my street? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199 "2015-02-20T16:13:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/21 "2015-02-24T09:39:13Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > it isn’t even about being “nice,” it’s about being realistic. ice is slippery, wet ice is slippery as shit. most tires (even winter tires) are impotent on slick ice. like I said, there’s no “learning” to drive on ice that doesn’t involve studded tires or tire chains. OK, lets be realistic, If the folks in the southern part of the US only see icy roads every 25 years or so, you recommend that they get studded snow tires +/or tire chains? Am I understanding you correctly? I would like to point out that I was addressing Omar Little’s comment not yours, I thought that you had a point. I do/did not think that you were being mean. I think that just perhaps you do/did not realize that those southern folks almost never see icy roads, & thus they have no need for studs or tire chains. They just need to wait a day or two for the ice to melt. Carlotta did what anyone who has never learned to drive on icy roads should do. She chose not to drive! Good for her! This choice will keep her & her passengers safe. Carlotta was asking if putting sand on an icy patch would help folks get more traction for their tires. I believe it would, & I actually answered her question, I said that I would use the sand. I doubt if Carlotta still has an icy patch on her road, so she is good for another 25 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/22 "2015-02-24T14:19:45Z")
When my business’ parking lot was a sheet of ice (looked like the zamboni had just finished) a few weeks ago I called the company that plows the lot. They spread something that worked great. I was billed for “anti-skid”. Looked like large grains of sand. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/23 "2015-02-24T16:39:32Z")
There’s no way to practice driving on ice if you never get ice! We shelter in place. (Except TODAY when these ASSHOLES didn’t CLOSE ANYTHING because last year they were too jumpy last year and people complained so now I woke up to ACTUAL SNOW coming out of the SKY and had to go to WORK GODDAMN IT) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/24 "2015-02-24T17:42:20Z")
You can learn to drive on slick roads. And you don’t need studded tires or chains. :rolleyes: I grew up in Texas. And we normally got snow about once a year, enough to make the roads snowpacked with icy patches for a few days. If you choose to stay inside, that’s better for the rest of us that are driving out in it. As far as the OP, apparently many of her neighbors have been able to drive across this icy patch without careening into a tree or other cars. (_most likely the patch has melted away over the last week_) I now live in the Midwest where we get a fair amount of snow and ice throughout the winter months, and I don’t own studded tires or chains and do fine. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/25 "2015-02-24T19:58:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Can’t you call the city and complain? It’s not your job to make sure the streets are clear, it’s theirs. Why risk falling over on the ice, or getting run over by a car, while you are out there taking care of it? I’m behind this suggestion 100%. If it’s a public road, why use your own time, supplies and equipment to do what you pay local taxes for your DPW to take care of? Squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you keep doing their job for them, on your dime, what incentive do they have to ensure the condition doesn’t repeat itself in the future? Don’t set a precedent. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/26 "2015-02-26T01:36:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Can’t you call the city and complain? It’s not your job to make sure the streets are clear, it’s theirs. Why risk falling over on the ice, or getting run over by a car, while you are out there taking care of it? > [@Casey1505](#): > > I’m behind this suggestion 100%. If it’s a public road, why use your own time, supplies and equipment to do what you pay local taxes for your DPW to take care of? Squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you keep doing their job for them, on your dime, what incentive do they have to ensure the condition doesn’t repeat itself in the future? Don’t set a precedent. What needs to be kept in mind is that Carlotta’s Government, be it city, county, or state, probably has no infrastructure for ice abatement. Complaints to them will be less helpful then just doing what you can, with what you have. Letting the sun take care of it will work better than complaining. IF the government has the where-with-all to address the icy road in this small neighborhood, & chooses to not fix this icy road, then perhaps complaining will help. Since this is most likely not the case, complaints will probably be perceived as whining for the sake of whining. Whining just to whine pisses people off. Good luck with that approach. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/27 "2015-02-26T12:47:59Z")
> [@48Willys](#): > > What needs to be kept in mind is that Carlotta’s Government, be it city, county, or state, probably has no infrastructure for ice abatement. Complaints to them will be less helpful then just doing what you can, with what you have. Letting the sun take care of it will work better than complaining. > > IF the government has the where-with-all to address the icy road in this small neighborhood, & chooses to not fix this icy road, then perhaps complaining will help. Since this is most likely not the case, complaints will probably be perceived as whining for the sake of whining. Whining just to whine pisses people off. Good luck with that approach. During our last really bad winter, the small town I live near ran out of money budgeted for salt/sand/plowing. We then had some bad storms in March. Tempers flared, and the town handled it poorly. Some people plowed their roads with their personal vehicles and the boro threatened to cite them. Just when things were getting really ugly, everything melted. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199/28 "2015-02-26T14:40:55Z")
Most of the towns around my way have run out of their salt/ice removal funds for the year. We had a couple of inches of snow the other night and the temp dropped around to 0F by morning. The highway I use to drive to work wasn’t treated because the state, running low on funds, has had to divvy what’s left between every single highway. I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Even with that plus in low gear, I skidded quite a few times. Thankfully nobody else was around me. I was terrified, and I’m someone who’s grown up and still lives in New England, so I’m used to this. My town, much to everybody’s chagrin, had started using sand because the salt ran out. It’s going to make a mess come spring. In addition to eating vehicle undersides and wreaking havoc with greenery come spring, the continuous melting on the asphalt + the variations in temperature causes potholes. The roads are going to be an utter mess around here after the snow melts and the flooding subsides. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-put-some-of-this-sand-on-the-icy-patch-on-my-street/713199.md?page=1)