Highway Deicing for Safety and Mobility Salt was first used in the 1930's in snow and ice control. It wasn't until the sixties that its use became widespread after winter maintenance personnel learned of its effectiveness. Today, salt is a necessary and generally accepted part of the winter environment. It provides safety and essential mobility for motorists, commercial vehicles and police, fire and other emergency vehicles.
Drivers have special responsibilities for careful winter driving.
But without salt, there would often be hazardous conditions and even chaos. Yet its use has brought criticism, sometimes justified in the past, when it was used to excess. Criticism is unjustified when salt is used properly and does not present environmental harm. However, there are those who would like to see it banned and replaced with less effective materials for various reasons, including effects on the environment and salt' s contribution to corrosion. Salt is used as the principal deicer because it is the most available and cost-effective safe deicer.