Since the Maine Department of Transportation began using pre-storm anti-icing "the number of fatalities on the roads the Maine DOT maintains during ice, snow and slush conditions has declined," the Bangor (ME) Daily News reported today. But "fatalities and serious crashes in winter conditions have not declined on roads not maintained by the DOT," the article continued, citing a new study from the University of Maine .
The difference between Maine DOT’s roads and many local municipalities? Maine DOT uses a salt brine solution before storms as a preventive measure known as anti-icing. Most municipalities use rock salt and sand during and after storms, which is known as de-icing.
Although a new report from the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center is not ready to link anti-icing maintenance with fewer fatalities — as well as the potential for eventually reducing the amount of salt in the environment and lower corrosion rates — the report’s author said it’s a fact anti-icing speeds up the clearing of winter weather messes on the roads.
“The anti-icing leads to a quicker return to a bare road, we know that,” said University of Maine professor Jonathan Rubin, who was the lead author on “Maine Winter Roads: Salt, Safety, Environment, Cost,” which was released Friday.
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