FREEZING conditions wreaked havoc on the Western Freeway again yesterday morning, as black ice caused a number of cars to spin out of control.
As the temperature plummeted to minus 1 degrees at 8am, eight cars careered out of control near Ballan.
Between 7am and 8am, four cars crashed and had to be towed away, while the others were able to get back on the road with assistance from police. No injuries were recorded.
The spate of crashes came less than a week after six cars lost control on the same stretch of road, between the first Ballan exit and the Gordon exit.
Ballan Police Leading Senior Constable Ian Watson said once again, it was a case of drivers simply failing to drive to the weather conditions.
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He said there was one set of signs telling drivers to slow down during black ice, but that he would push for more to be installed along the freeway.
“It’s a notorious spot for black ice. It always has been but last year it was actually pretty good so maybe people have started to forget,” said Leading Senior Constable Watson.
“A lot of drivers just belt along there. They don’t know to react properly when they lose control and slam their brakes, instead of just easing off the accelerator.”
Although the speed limit along the freeway is 110 km/h, Leading Senior Constable Watson said drivers had to at least halve their speed limit when black ice existed.
Warning signs require drivers to travel at 40km/h during black ice conditions, which often occurred with freezing conditions.
After a mild night, the temperature dropped to minus 1 at 8am.
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