[NEWSUP] Serial Collision, Collapse, Power outage... To prevent 'All-time Heavy Snow' damage?

■ Host: Anchor Yoon Jae-hee
■ Starring: Lee Young-joo, Professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Kyungil University

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News UP] when quoting.

[Anchor]
It is a forecast that a lot of snow will fall until today, so we are concerned about the damage. Let's take a look at the safety rules with the experts. It is with Lee Young-joo, a professor at Kyungil University's Fire and Disaster Prevention School. Please come in.

[Lee Young-joo]
How are you?

[Anchor]
Black ice appears when it snows in winter, and a 53-car crash occurred in Wonju, Gangwon-do yesterday. This is also presumed to be caused by black ice, right?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. Black ice. I'm sure you've heard a lot about it. If snow builds up and freezes, it's also slippery.You can check it with your dry eyes. In the case of black ice, melted water freezes on the road surface again, and in short, the road surface is coated with ice, so it is not well identified and it comes as a greater risk because you are not careful. Even in yesterday's accident, the water where the snow melted during the day must have been wet on the road. In that situation, as the temperature fell in the evening, these things froze, forming black ice. As a result, a traffic accident occurred and subsequent vehicles were involved in a series of crashes, leading to a 35-car crash.

[Anchor]
I'm also curious about what to do when I meet black ice like this on the road, but I can't know this in advance, but do I only know when the vehicle slides?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. People who push, slide, or drive a car when they brake will know. Also, when the steering wheel is not properly operated even when the steering wheel is turned, in this case, black ice can be suspected. However, in the case of daytime, if the sunlight is excessively reflected on the road surface, or if the light is strongly reflected on the road surface when the headlights are turned on at night, you can see that black ice has been formed. If you recognized that it was a section with black ice like this, you might be embarrassed and rush to the brake.

In this case, it can be much more dangerous because the car turns stronger and the steering is not working. So in this case, it is safe and desirable to slow down and brake slowly. In order to do that, you need to maintain enough distance between cars. And not just a footbreaker, but an engine brake, how to decelerate while putting Kia at the bottom end. These methods can be safer. On the other hand, don't change lanes or anything like that, but keep in mind things like normal driving as much as possible.

[Anchor]
I think you have to be very careful with thin ice on the road. It's important to secure enough safety distance, but if the road is icy like this, will there be a big difference in braking distance?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. Many drivers must have experienced this experimentally. In fact, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority conducted an experiment on the difference between normal road surface conditions and dry road conditions and icy road braking distances.
If you look at the results of the experiment, the braking distance is about seven times longer for trucks and buses. Also, it has been confirmed that regular cars are more than four times longer. That's why I'm telling you that in the case of driving on a rainy road or driving on an icy road, securing a safe distance is enough to respond to the long braking distance.

[Anchor]
It's a situation where you have to widen your distance from the car in front of you more than usual.

[Lee Young-joo]
If you spread it out, the more you spread it out, the better.Things like this are difficult, too. If you decelerate more than twice the safe distance and more than half the speed, you will be able to secure a sufficient braking distance.

[Anchor]
He said that earlier.If you brake incorrectly on the icy road, don't you think there are many cases where the vehicle turns on the spot? How can I brake safely?

[Lee Young-joo]
As explained earlier, foot brake is called engine brake rather than foot brake, and the so-called method of braking while gradually reducing the speed by putting low and low gears. This way, it'll be safe. As mentioned earlier, you have to drive at low speeds and secure enough safety distance. And when driving at a low speed or braking like this, it seems necessary to see if the cars that follow are normal, and to turn on the emergency light before decelerating and tell the cars behind me that I'm going to slow down.

[Anchor]
Isn't the braking method different from the usual when there is a lot of snow?

[Lee Young-joo]
The state of heavy snow is similar. Anyway, even if a lot of snow accumulates, it slides. Therefore, as I said, you can use the engine brake in the same way as you do to decelerate.

[Anchor]
Yesterday, there was an accident in the tunnel entry section, and there are many situations where roads freeze at the entrance, exit, or bridge of the tunnel?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. Especially around bridges or overpasses, they don't directly touch the ground but float in the air. As a result, geothermal and other things do not work, so if the wind flows down, it freezes better because it has a much greater cooling effect. So, there are much more frozen sections, so you should always be careful of driving in bridges and overpasses. As you said, a lot of freezing occurs in the entry and exit sections of the tunnel.

This is because there are many cases where molten water from outside freezes around the entrance to the inside of the tunnel when there is a cloud inside the tunnel and there is sunlight outside, so in this case, you should pay special attention to driving safely and preventing slipping.

[Anchor]
I hope you don't go.Any tips for driving safely when you need to go uphill or downhill?

[Lee Young-joo]
Basically, low-speed driving is natural. Then there is a slight difference between uphill and downhill. As mentioned earlier, in the case of uphill roads, you have to drive at low speed. It is important to use low-speed gears to ensure that the force is evenly cracked, so that it is stably transmitted. Also, of course, you need to prevent slipping to climb uphill well, so it is necessary to install snow tires and chains. However, rather than accelerating quickly when you go up, the wheels will be spinning.

So it's more important to make sure you go up at the same, uniform speed rather than sudden acceleration, and if you stop in the middle of the uphill path, you don't get the strength to go up again, so I'd like to tell you to go up all the way once you start going up. And in the case of downhill roads, as mentioned earlier, you need to use engine brakes to drive at low speed gears. It's right to use the brakes to a minimum.

Because if you slide when you apply the brakes, you can't control the car, which can lead to more dangerous situations. It's better to secure the safety distance as much as possible, but it would be safest for me to go downhill when there are no cars in front of me in the downhill section. If these parts are difficult, it is necessary to secure sufficient separation distances and such.

[Anchor]
It is said that the snow fell this time is humid. It's said that it weighs quite a lot because it contains water vapor, but how heavy is it compared to dry eyes?

[Lee Young-joo]
If you check this experimentally now, it is confirmed that it is about three times heavier than dry eyes. Most of Korea is a habitual theory. Therefore, it is very heavy, and the problem with this wet snow is that in the case of construction, it is light, so it does not build up when strong winds blow, so it does not work as a load on houses or buildings, but in the case of wet snow, it is heavy and piled up as it is, so the part about the load. Collapse accidents continue to occur today, which is the cause of that. On the other hand, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the wet snow because there is a risk that pedestrians may be injured by being hit by the snow if it is piled up and then poured down the slope.

[Anchor]
When I see it piled up like this, I sometimes feel anxious and clean it up, but I think I should be careful when I clean up the snow. Especially in the case of greenhouses, isn't there a case where they suddenly tear and collapse?

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. I think it'll be dangerous if more snow builds up, so I clean it up as soon as it snows. Even at this time, the most important thing is the safety of workers and the safety of those who clean up. So, for example, in the case of a greenhouse, you can shake off the upper ceiling or the eyes from the inside, and this can also be very dangerous. Because if it collapses from the top as it is, it can be laid down as it is. Looking at the accident again today, there were situations where snow removal was done from below at the golf practice range and collapsed from above. Therefore, it is dangerous to remove snow directly from inside the building or inside a temporary building. On the other hand, there are people who go directly to the roof and snow removal, and this is also very dangerous.

There is already a risk of collapse due to the weight of the snow, and if the workers go up and add load, they can collapse and be injured by slipping, so it is better to remove snow as much as possible from the outside side of the building, and if snow removal is difficult, evacuate the people in the building quickly and stay in a safe place. Rather, active snow removal can be more dangerous.

[Anchor]
I'm worried because not only heavy snow but also strong winds have continued until today, but there was also an accident yesterday in Jeju where a ship ran aground. How should I prepare for the damage from strong winds?

[Lee Young-joo]
It is very difficult to do anything about strong winds when the wind is blowing. Before strong winds are predicted or expected, these structures, various facilities, and things like this are needed to be fixed well and checked for fixed conditions. However, when strong winds occur continuously, for example, windows may be broken by strong winds in our house, so we need to close the windows accurately and insert tissues and paper so that there is no gap between the window frame and the window so that they do not shake. On the other hand, when walking, you should refrain from walking close to the building as much as possible because there are falling objects or signs due to strong winds. You should also be prepared for these risks because street trees or utility poles may fall and be injured.

[Anchor]
Snow removal has been underway on every road since yesterday.Even if you do snow removal, there are still some places that are slippery. Why is that?

[Lee Young-joo]
Even if snow remover is sprayed, it is difficult for the effect of the snow remover to function as well as the snow. That's why there are slippery conditions because the snow doesn't melt enough, and on the other hand, before it started to snow, it naturally changed to snow because it rained a lot. Therefore, there were difficulties in preventing snow removal in advance. Therefore, in the process of repeating melting and freezing snow, there are parts where it is difficult for snow removal to be effective.

[Anchor]
It's snowing now, and especially in winter, there are a lot of falls, so it's not easy to clean up the snow in alleys or deserted places, so a lot of falls occur in places like this. What should I be careful about?

[Lee Young-joo]
First of all, in the case of alleys and arterial roads, it is difficult for snow removal cars to pass, so you have to be more careful about these areas because they are in the lower priority of snow removal. Basically, I have to clean the snow in front of my house first so that I can prevent slipping and pedestrians passing in front of my house can be safe, I hope you understand this. If you walk with your hands in your pockets because it's cold, you can't cope with falling, so it's important to wear gloves and free your hands. Also, things like looking at your cell phone will be dangerous.

It would be better to avoid steep slopes or places with many stairs, and move around as much as possible. In the case of shoes, it is necessary to prepare for slipping by wearing sneakers, hiking boots, and other things rather than shoes that slide easily like shoes or slippers.

[Anchor]
When it suddenly snows like this, you often get isolated for a few hours, and I think there are some things to be careful about when you are isolated like this.

[Lee Young-joo]
That's right. When you're isolated, for example, in the case of a vehicle, if you're stuck in the snow and you're isolated, it's important to keep warm in the vehicle and wait. Even at this time, because of the cold, you have to ventilate regularly if you have the heater on or keep the vehicle on. Even if you sleep in isolation in a vehicle for a long time at night, or if you have a passenger in this situation, it will be important to check the safety aspects while sleeping in turns. On the other hand, if you can leave the vehicle and move or go to another shelter in an isolated situation, leave your contact information on the vehicle at this time. You have to put the key in, too. Because there may be situations in which the vehicle needs to be moved after snow removal is over, so you should keep these in mind.

[Anchor]
I see. Since there is more snow forecast everywhere until today, it would be good for viewers to be familiar with these and prepare. So far, we have talked in detail with Lee Young-joo, a professor at Kyungil University's Fire and Disaster Prevention School. Thank you.