# Pollen - Road Safety Risk! **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571 "2012-03-23T15:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Radclyffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Radclyffe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Radclyffe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/1 "2012-03-23T15:56:32Z")
Yesterday while slowly pulling out of a local home improvement store’s parking lot my Toyota Tacoma slid uncontrollably all over the road. Granted the bed was empty but for a bag of Weed & Feed but I have driven this vehicle for 9 years and never had this experience before. I believe it was because of the pollen that is EVERYWHERE and a rain shower that had just occurred. Is it possible that because I live in the allergy capital of the U.S., Knoxville TN that pollen poses a road safety risk or is it just that Tennesseans can’t drive? More people should be made aware of this possible danger so I thought I’d throw this out there. ---
**Author:** ![mleich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mleich](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mleich)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/2 "2012-03-23T16:35:54Z")
Has it been a long time since it rained? Often, oils in/on the road surface become very slippery just after it rains after a long dry spell. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/3 "2012-03-23T18:23:45Z")
In addition to what mleich stated, I hope the OP realizes that a pickup truck without a significant load in its bed has poor traction to begin with. Then, throw in some other factors (oil, dew, pollen), and the poor traction becomes really noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Mechaniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Mechaniker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mechaniker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/4 "2012-03-23T19:02:35Z")
# " Then, throw in some other factors (oil, dew, pollen)" Pollen? ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/5 "2012-03-23T19:43:45Z")
Yup, pollen! Wet leaves can act like grease also. ---
**Author:** ![bscar2](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar2/32/2468_2.png) [@bscar2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar2)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/6 "2012-03-24T02:31:15Z")
How worn down are your tires? ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pollen-road-safety-risk/71571/7 "2012-03-24T03:03:07Z")
I had a small pickup, precursor to the Tacoma. Lousy traction at a hint of anything. As I put less than 10k per year on the car bought all four tires, a compromise between snow tires and all season tires called mud grips. They were great in winter rain and pollen.