'Each year, as the ice begins to skim Minnesota’s lakes and ponds, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources receives hundreds of phone calls from anxious anglers who all have the same basic question: "Is the ice safe yet?" That’s when I whip out my trusty stock answer: "No, ice is NEVER safe."
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Here are a few general guidelines for use by winter recreation enthusiasts to lessen their chances for an icy dip or worse. It’s impossible to judge the strength of ice by its appearance, thickness, daily temperature, or snow cover alone. Ice strength is actually dependent on all four factors, plus water depth under the ice, the size of the water and water chemistry, currents, and distribution of the load on the ice.
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* Snowmobiles and ATV’s need at least 5 inches, and cars and light trucks need at least 8-12 inches of good clear ice.
* Wear a life jacket. Life vests or float coats provide excellent flotation and protection from hypothermia (loss of body temperature). Never wear a life jacket if you are traveling in an enclosed vehicle, however. It could hamper escape in case of a breakthrough.
* Carry a pair of homemade ice picks or even a pair of screwdrivers tied together with a few yards of strong cord that can be used to pull yourself up and onto the ice if you do fall in. Be sure they have wooden handles so if you drop them in the struggle to get out of the water, they won’t go straight to the bottom!
* Avoid driving on the ice whenever possible. Traveling in a vehicle, especially early or late in the season is simply "an accident waiting to happen." In the 117 ice fatalities occurring in Minnesota since 1976, 68 percent involved a vehicle.
* Be prepared to bail out in a hurry if you find it necessary to use a car, unbuckle your seatbelt and have a plan of action if you do breakthrough. Some safety experts recommend driving with the window rolled down and the doors ajar for an easy escape. Move your car frequently. Parking in one place for a long period weakens ice. Don’t park near cracks, and watch out for pressure ridges or ice heaves.
* Don’t drive across ice at night or when it is snowing. Reduced visibility increases your chances for driving into an open or weak ice area.
* Check at the access if there are signs that indicate an aeration system is in operation on the lake. Aerators keep areas of water open to provide oxygen for fish. The ice can be weakened many yards beyond where the ice is actually open. Stay well outside the fenced areas indicated by diamond shaped thin ice signs.'
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'How can you tell if a lake is frozen solid enough to drive on? The surest way to know is to wait until several other cars and trucks have safely driven across the ice. Even then, you should always be extra careful when driving across a frozen lake.
It's possible that one section of the lake has currents that prevent the lake from freezing solid. Or there might be a river or stream that brings slightly warmer water into one part of the lake. So even though most of the lake was frozen solid, one section of the lake could have thin ice.'
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'If you're driving your car (didn't we just say we don't recommend that) safety experts recommend that you drive with the windows down and your seatbelt off. Don't take this an excuse to drive without a seatbelt full time just in case you drive into a lake. Out on the ice you are driving on a lake and if the ice gives way from under you it is critical to get out of your vehicle before it is submerged. A car crashing into water can sink in a matter of seconds.'
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'Take a hard look at the ice before you leap. Clear blue ice is the strongest, and it still takes three inches to safely hold a single person, and five to six inches to safely hold a group of people or a snowmobile. You supposedly can venture out onto thinner ice if you distribute your weig