Michigan’s Winter Roads Have No Memory – The Drivers Certainly Do

Ask any native Michigander and they likely will tell you they have the skills needed to navigate the roads and highways of the state in winter. They will just as likely have a story or two about the most white-knuckled drive they've ever done through snow and ice.

The roads, however, have no memory.

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Consider how quickly conidiations can deteriorate, change or improve along the state's highways. A freeway that's littered with slowdowns and slide-offs on a morning commute can be clear and dry for the afternoon drive.

Even the most serious accidents and pile-ups are often cleaned up after a few hours leaving little trace of the carnage that just ensued. Perhaps a mangled guard rail or missing fencing may be the only clue of the incident.

To drivers who pass after a clean-up, the road gives little evidence. The roads have no memory.

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But for drivers the memories linger. Ask someone involved in the 2015 pile-up of nearly 200 vehicles on I-94 between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. It's likely a memory that stays with them every time they pass that stretch. Same for a late season 100+ vehicle snarl between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids that occurred in 2022

There are some Michigan roads that do close completely in the winter. While that is, of course, impractical to do on a wide scale, those who have memories of the worst crashes in the state likely chose their winter routes very carefully.