Truckers on Oregon: 'You can't wait to get out of the state so you can relax'
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is experimenting with salting roads along a few state border crossings to de-ice them, but it has no plans to apply rock salt to Interstate 84, where a tour bus crash last month killed nine people.
Most neighboring states use rock salt on their roads, so drivers may face icier roads as they cross into Oregon, which has cost and environmental reasons for relying on sand and less-corrosive magnesium chloride.
Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water. But rock salt also rusts out vehicles and bridges, and Oregon doesn't want rock salt winding up in the Columbia Basin, the East Oregonian reported.
The Oregon State Police say the Dec. 30 tour bus crash happened on a stretch of road with ice and snow patches, but they have said it may take weeks to determine what caused it.
The crash, though, has raised the question of salting Oregon highways.
"Am I in the minority that feels like there is a moral obligation to this?" said Oregon truck driver Larry Phelps. "At some point we have to see that this is costing lives. I'm tired of seeing cars turned upside down on my route."
Phelps, 62, said the state is a running joke among truckers: "You can't wait to get out of the state so you can relax."
As an alternative to sodium chloride, or salt, Oregon uses magnesium chloride. That lowers the freezing point of water to about 25 degrees, while traditional rock salt lowers it to about 15 degrees. But the magnesium chloride is also 70 percent less corrosive than salt.
After numerous wrecks involving cars driving in from salting states, Oregon has begun five-year tests of applying salt on 11 miles of Interstate 5 near the California border and 120 miles of U.S. 95 as it cuts through southeastern Oregon between Nevada and Idaho.
Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Strandberg said, however, that salting Interstate 84 at the Idaho border "is not on the horizon."
"We can't just go out and begin using salt," said department District Manager Marilyn Holt. "Oregon is a very environmentally conscious state with very tough groundwater laws."
She said extensive salting would mean expenses for equipment and retrofits.
Strandberg said ODOT applies both sand and magnesium chloride to known trouble spots — curves, inclines and places where ice tends to accumulate — and gives priority to highly frequented roads. A few hours before the crash, the department had put sand on that stretch of I-84.
"Unfortunately, we just don't have the money to hit every spot," he said. "It's often a judgment call by local crews."
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Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.info
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
I remember seeing Chevy Vegas in salt states that looking like swiss cheese on wheels.
Just slow down, not only is it safer, you might just get to your destination maybe 2 or 3 minutes slower. If you just slow down and do get into an accident you are not likely to get hurt as badly. Driving sensibly also creates less stress, saves gas, brakes, and tires. It just has all kinds of good benefits.
salt is bad especially if your on a low salt diet
With some of the lowest speedlimits in the nation I cant blame them.
Lived in Illinois, where roads are salted. Any vehicle over 5 years old is a rusted out hulk. You can have your salt, just keep it out of Oregon, and learn how to drive smart.
This is an excerpt from this article: "Phelps, 62, said the state is a running joke among truckers: "You can't wait to get out of the state so you can relax."
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Mr. Phelps is probably one of those truck drivers who's truck is governed and goes two miles per hour faster than the truck in front of him, but he will get in the number lane and hold up traffic for 10 miles or more trying to get around that truck in front of him going two miles per hour slower than he is! If that doesn't classify as a moron I don't know what does! What is the big hurry, slow down and get where you're going without killing someone!
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What Mr. Phelps and 99% of the vehicles out there need to do is to SLOW DOWN! I've been driving a big rig since 1993 and I have never hit, or slid into anything. And yes I've driven in ice and snow many, many times!
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Of course salting the road would help, but at what cost? Almost all crashes are driver error, and driving TOO FAST
FOR CONDITIONS!
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Just about everyone out there is in a hurry to get no where or to kill someone including big rig drivers! I cannot count how many drivers and how many times big rig drivers are tailgating the car or truck in front of them. And there's absolutely no way they can stop!!! They know it, but they think it won't happen to them!
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Following two or three car lengths behind the car in front of you going 60,70,80 miles per hour! If the vehicle in front slams on the brakes the person following doesn't have a glimmer of hope of even changing lanes, let alone stopping!!! It's mathematically impossible! And these people very often have small children in their vehicles with them. Not only are they endangering themselves, their children and those around them, but they are teaching their children this is how you drive. So we bring up another generation of idiots!
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I've seen people throwing things from their cars (happens more often than you think) cutting each other off and hitting the brakes in order to teach that driver they are going too slow, or they don't like what they did, or for some equally ridiculous and dangerous reason! They come from the number one lane (fast lane) cross three or four lanes of traffic to get to that exit they almost missed. Endangering themselves and everyone else on the freeway! Flipping each off, swerving at other cars with their car! You name it, you idiots do it! And I'm talking about 99% of you out there driving, and you know who you are! We are a nation of drivers who refuse to give the right of way to pedestrians. You ever see someone crossing a crosswalk, and a vehicle is moving forwarding as to push the pedestrian along! Its unbelievable, you should stop that damn vehicle until that pedestrian gets completely to the other side, and I might add thats the law. Someone crossing the street in a crosswalk has to reach the sidewalk on the other side before a vehicle can proceed. And its just common safety and respect!
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Most of the time speeding won't get you there more than few minutes sooner, and with great risk I might add! Yet you idiots continue to speed!
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God protect us from ourselves!
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Well, actually, you no longer have to wait until the pedestrain get completely to the next curb. That portion of the law was changed as unreasonable and causing traffic delays. You still must give pedestrians adequate room (I believe it is 6 feet) to cross before going through the crosswalk with your vehicle. I agree with you about the driver rage going on out there. As a motorcycle rider, I see stupid moves by many drivers. Not 99% of them, but a lot more than there should be. Texting, Cell phone calls, make-up applying, eating, reading, driving recklessly......
 @Postone As a Commercial Driver who's home base is Oregon,we sorta know how to drive our roads..Bear in mind there are a lot of out of state truckers,,who Don't have the nasty winter driving conditions we do here. They are unfamiliar with the roads and Oregon really doesn't do much in the way of making the roads safer in winter conditions.I have been driving commerical vehicle for over 20 years,,and I haven't really seen very many truck drivers driving too fast for the conditions,however the 4 wheeling public drives like bats out of hell when its iced up ,as if they don't even know there is ice on the road. The majority of wrecks are caused by 4 wheelers and not truckers.Idaho is next on my list of not taking care of the roads in winter conditions.Utah,Colorado .Montana,Washington take better care of the roads in winter conditions and yes,it a relief to get back into one of those states where the roads are well kept and maintained in winter.Even Northern California takes better care of the roads than we do.
The portions of I-84 that could use salting..are up and down Cabbage pass..up through Meecham and down the hill towards La Grande.. This area is no where close to the columbia waterway system..The one waterway system that could possibly be affected would be the La grande river. the other areas of I-84 are up through Ladd canyon..again no where near the columbia river and up through the hills going into Ontario..and again..not even close to the Columbia.. or even the snake river.
 @Whitehawk The Pendleton side of Cabbage Hill is part of the Umatilla Basin Watershed, which means all the water ends up in the Columbia where the Umatilla River runs into it. The other side is the Grande Ronde Watershed, which runs into the Snake and eventually into... the Columbia. The water runs through a lot of farm and ranch land and fills wells of people who don't have city water treatment.
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I think people just need to be aware, and careful, of mountain pass conditions and drive accordingly. ODOT does a good job of plowing and sanding these passes to help with traction, but sometimes they just can't keep up. And much of the time, temperatures in the passes are too low for magnesium chloride or salt to do a bit of good.