Talking Michigan Transportation Polar vortex, winter storms test driver responsibility
Jan 22, 2026
Michael Shaw, Michigan State Police First Lieutenant who explains crash causes and road enforcement. Bruce Smith, National Weather Service meteorologist who explains warnings and lake-effect snow behavior. They discuss how small crashes escalate, why driving to conditions matters, limits of road treatment, the role of warnings, and local variability from snow bands.
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How Small Crashes Cascade Into Pileups
- Multi-vehicle pileups usually start with one small crash then cascade because drivers are too close or too fast.
- Michael Shaw compares it to a NASCAR “big one”: packed vehicles, one mistake, many secondary crashes follow.
Slow Down And Increase Following Distance
- Drive for conditions by slowing down and increasing following distance well beyond the speed-limit rule of thumb.
- Michael Shaw invokes the driver's-ed rule: one car length per 10 mph, noting nobody followed it in drone footage of the crash.
Vehicle Tech Can Create False Confidence
- Technology like adaptive cruise or four-wheel drive creates false confidence and can worsen close-following behavior.
- Shaw notes adaptive cruise gaps get filled and four-wheel-drive still slides on ice when drivers rely on tech.