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Holiday drivers: Take chains, expect worst Photo by Steve Johnson Weather pattern - One thing about the snow and ice that are lingering in the Rogue Valley -- they may not be much fun to drive in, but they make pretty patterns on the windshield. Road condition info Oregon : (800) 977-6368 inside state, (503) 588-2941 outside California : (800) 427-7623 For updated weather information, see www.mailtribune.com Leave by 11, get there by 5, police recommend By JULIE SWENSEN If you plan to drive to Grandma's house for Christmas without preparing for the worst, you might heed what Oregon State Police Sgt. Steven Cupernall has to say about last Saturday night. Cupernall was patrolling just north of Mount Sexton, a stretch of freeway that had to be shut down because of snow. Motorists without chains got stuck there for as long as eight hours; cars stuck in the left lane prevented police cars, tow trucks and ambulances from getting to the scene quickly. Cupernall handed out all eight or nine of his plastic emergency blankets to motorists. One woman was a diabetic who didn't have any insulin with her. "She'd never thought to even bring any," Cupernall said. So the sergeant has some tips for motorists embarking on that holiday car trip. For one thing, he strongly recommends that people carry tire chains -- "It's the cheapest investment they'll ever make." That's even for motorists who bought tires in Canada or live in Klamath Falls. Motorists have given him those excuses for why they weren't driving with chains. People should carry flashlights, so they can see if they need to put chains on at night, Cupernall said. They also should bring blankets and whatever prescription medicine they take on a regular basis. They should stay out of the left lane in case emergency vehicles need to get through. For the safest driving, they should leave between 10 and 11 a.m. and plan to arrive at their destination by 4 or 5 p.m. And, he said, people need to slow down. "People are still driving way too fast on the highway," he said. They'll be driving at 65-75 mph, then hit 200 or 300 yards of ice, he said. "I've been a policeman for 29 years and I don't understand what goes through people's minds when they're driving on those conditions," Cupernall said. People heading north up through Canyonville should be especially cautious, as black ice led to the death of a man and the critical injury of another man near the town on Tuesday. Just after 1 p.m., Robert Griffith, 68, of Roseville, Calif., was killed on Interstate 5 northbound about seven miles south of Canyonville. He had just finished changing lanes, and lost control on the ice. His car struck an embankment and rolled, landing on its roof, state police Sgt. Dan Hermansen said. Griffith's granddaughter suffered a broken nose, but his wife was fine. About 15 minutes later, a man from British Columbia lost control of his car on the ice on I-5 southbound in Canyonville. His car came to rest either on or against the guardrail; he was in critical condition, with fractured legs and a possible fractured pelvis. The accidents were part of "a bunch" of wrecks in that area in a two-hour span, Hermansen said. Besides black ice on the Canyon Mountain Summit, the Oregon Department of Transportation was reporting spots of ice Tuesday on I-5 from Roseburg to California on the Siskiyou Summit and Sexton Summit, and further north on I-5 from Portland to Wilsonville. Packed snow was reported on Highway 66; motorists need to carry chains or traction tires. On Highway 62, spots of ice were at the west boundary of Crater Lake National Park, and on Highway 140, spots of ice were at Lake of the Woods. The California Department of Transportation didn't report any traffic restrictions on I-5 because of the weather. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA