Ice turns the simplest walk into a balance test. The trick that health and safety teams repeat every winter is easy to remember: walk like a penguin. Short, flat-footed steps with your weight over your front leg keep you upright on surfaces where a normal stride would send your heel skidding forward.
Why normal walking fails on ice
On dry pavement most of us stride out, strike the ground with the heel and roll onto the toes. That heel strike is exactly where a slip starts on ice: the foot lands ahead of the body, pushes forward and outward, and there is almost no friction to stop it.
Dr Gordon Hendry of Glasgow Caledonian University, who studies gait, explains the fix in simple terms. When friction disappears, change how the foot meets the ground and keep your bodyweight over the leg that is planted. A body whose centre of gravity sits over its feet stays stable; one that leans back over an extended heel does not.
How to walk like a penguin
Hospital and university safety teams in Minnesota, Nebraska and Scotland give almost identical advice:
- Bend slightly forward and keep your knees loose.
- Point your feet slightly outward and spread them a little wider than usual.
- Walk flat-footed, placing the whole sole down at once.
- Take short, shuffling steps and keep your weight centred over your front leg.
- Hold your arms out at your sides for balance, and keep your hands out of your pockets.
- Keep your head up and watch where you are going, not your phone.
The result looks a little comical, which is part of why the message sticks. It also works: a short step keeps your foot under your hips, so a small slide stays small.
Footwear, cleats and what to carry
Grip starts with the sole. University of Nebraska Medical Center safety staff recommend boots or overshoes with rubber and neoprene soles and warn against heels and smooth leather or plastic soles. Slip-on traction cleats such as Yaktrax improve grip on packed snow and ice; take them off before walking on smooth indoor floors. If you use a cane, fit an ice tip or cane spike.
Travel light. Heavy bags, boxes and swinging handbags shift your centre of gravity at the worst moment. A backpack keeps both hands free and the load close to your body.
Cars, steps and doorways
Many falls happen in the few seconds between a car seat and the pavement. Look down before you step out; if you see ice, move the car. Use the car for support while you get in and out, and put both feet down before you stand.
Use handrails on every step, test a surface with one foot before committing your weight, and treat curbs and slopes as the hardest part of any route. At the door, knock snow and ice off your shoes and dry the soles on the mat, because meltwater on a tiled lobby causes its own share of slips.
If you fall on ice
Expect that a fall can happen and you will tense less. Safety staff advise against throwing your arms out to brace or ease the fall. Hennepin Healthcare notes that falls are the number one cause of brain injuries, so the best protection is still the slow, short, flat-footed penguin walk that keeps you upright in the first place.
For more winter know-how, see our guide to winter tricks for cold-weather problems, and a reminder of how quickly children slip on an icy path.
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