Wet leaves on wet roads add up to slippery driving

              

All this rain and windy weather over the past couple of weeks has knocked most of the leaves off the trees, creating problems that a lot of people don’t recognize until they’re bitten by them.

My Tuesday column was about the need for people to check on catch basins in the curb near their homes, to ensure they aren’t blocked by fallen leaves that have been washed into the grate by runoff.

We didn’t get enough run during the storm Monday to fill the curbs with water and push the leaves into the catch basin, but another problem soon made itself evident, when I suddenly had to hit the brakes on Tuesday.

The residential street I was driving on was wet from rain and covered with fallen leaves blown off the trees by high winds on Monday night, which were so thick in some spots that they created a mat on the road.

When I stepped on the brakes to avoid hitting a squirrel that darted in front of me, the car slid sideways, due to the coating of mushy leaves between the tires and the pavement.

Luckily, there wasn’t any traffic coming my way when the car slid, but it was a good reminder that wet leaves on a wet road are very slippery.

Drivers need to be cautious and adjust for them.