Living in the Wonder Lake area, we’re all familiar with the idea that driving on snow and ice is slippery. But, have you considered that autumn leaves can also create a slippery surface for drivers.

With ice and snow, we know that, if the temperature drops, we can expect moisture on the pavement to create potential hazards. It comes with the territory. Wonder Lake drivers have experienced winter driving at its worst for decades. The truth is that they have also experienced the slippery effects of autumn driving for just as long, too.

Fallen leaves create a blanket on surfaces where they fall, including the street. While they’re not so bad when it’s dry out, once the leaves get wet, drivers are driving on foreign matter that has dual slipper surfaces: on the tops of the leaves and on the bottoms of the leaves.

To drive safely on autumn leaves, slow down when you see a carpet of leaves on the road where you will pass. That’s particularly true if the leaves are wet. And, by wet, it doesn’t necessarily mean when you have pouring rain. We can also refer to the dampness of morning dew. That’s all it takes to create the slippery condition between the leaves and the road and between the leaves and anything passing by above.

This time of year, children have headed back to school and are more frequently seen near roads, particularly in the morning or evening when waiting or departing from school busses.

Imagine driving down the road as you approach an intersection on the side street near your Wonder Lake home. Some children are playing catch while they wait for the school bus to pick them up. One of the children misses a throw and, without looking, darts out into the road to retrieve the ball.

In normal conditions, you may find it easy to stop. But, with slippery autumn leaves, you could slide right into the child. Knowing that wet leaves contributed to the accident won’t do much to assuage your conscience and won’t help at all when you go to court to deal with any legal and/or civil situations resulting from the accident.

Look at it this way; getting used to driving on slippery leaves will help prepare you for driving on the ice and snow that will follow with the Wonder Lake winter that’s coming our way.