Black Ice (or glare ice) is ice frozen with few air bubbles trapped inside, making it highly transparent. This type of ice appears in the color of the material beneath it, often wet asphalt or a darkened pond. Because it may be difficult to see, it presents a significant hazard to automotive traffic, pedestrians, mountaineers and sailors. Black ice is a generic term typically used to describe slippery road conditions. Black ice, sometimes called "glare ice" or "clear ice", refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a road or sidewalk. While not truly black, it is transparent, allowing the usually-black asphalt/macadam roadway to be seen through it, hence the term. It is unusually slick compared to other forms of roadway ice, and is a factor in some car accidents during cold weather. A similar problem occurs on pavements and sidewalks, and is a common cause of slips to pedestrians resulting in personal injury. Black ice is a term also used in those geographical areas where it rarely rains. When it does rain, the oils from vehicles that have dripped on roadways float on the thin layer of water resulting in a very slippery condition. Diesel is a specific hazard because it is present when passing vehicles leak fuel from the tank or engine. The light fractions quickly evaporate to leave a transparent surface film of high lubricity. Motorbikes are at especial risk from such surface slicks. Because it contains relatively little entrapped air in the form of bubbles, black ice is highly transparent and thus difficult to see (as compared to snow, frozen slush). In addition, it often is interleaved with wet road, which is identical in appearance. For this reason it is especially hazardous when driving or walking on affected surfaces. Deicing with salt (sodium chloride) is effective except when temperatures fall below about -18°C, although other compounds such as magnesium chloride or calcium chloride have been used for very cold temperatures since the freezing-point depression of their solutiuons is greater. Also, in the low rainfall condition geographical area, the black oils that float on the surface of the rainwater on roadways make the surface appear black. This can be especially dangerous on asphalt roads which are black to begin with. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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