Wednesday, January 8th 2014, 10:20 pm
Sand and salt trucks are sweeping the entire eastern half of the state and monitoring for slick spots on turnpikes and highways.
The roads were wet in Tulsa as evening fell on Wednesday, and with the temperature dropping, black ice could be an issue.
But some wrecks occurred before the temperature even dropped below freezing.
"I just had my 62nd birthday, I didn't think I'd see 63," Griffin said.
A crash sent a car bouncing into the front of Tim Griffin's men's clothing store off of 41st Street.
Griffin said a silver Grand Marquis couldn't stop when the white GMC pickup attempted to pull in front of it. A white Lexus was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Griffin said the recently opened electronic cigarette store next door took the brunt of the damage, but luckily, no one was seriously hurt.
"We have at least four to six accidents like this every couple of months," Griffin said.
He says while accidents happen all the time one of Tulsa's busiest streets, this crash still got his attention.
"Cars coming through my windows surprise me," he said.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is warning drivers about the unthawed ground combined with freezing temperatures, and off and on rains, are perfect conditions for black ice.
Sand trucks especially have been monitoring bridges.
While drivers are encouraged to stay inside tonight if you do hit the highways, be sure to give ODOT trucks at least 200 feet to operate.
While ODOT has all hands on deck in Tulsa County, Interstate 40 running into Fort Smith, Ark., saw its own problems earlier today.
ODOT says while 1 degree, above or below freezing, can make all the difference, there's one precaution everyone can take to help avoid an accident.
"An extra two minutes isn't going to save you time, you trouble, look at everything that it's caused everybody."
Another important thing to note is if you are out on the roads, give yourself plenty of room behind other drivers. Just because it may not seem slick while you're driving, it doesn't mean that it will be easy to stop.
January 8th, 2014
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