When winter arrives, commercial and industrial properties face a much higher risk of slip-and-fall incidents. Wet surfaces, black ice, snow compaction, and vehicle slip zones all add up to serious liability. The real question many safety directors ask is what can be used to build up traction in the snow around your tires if you get stuck?, and by extension what to use for traction on ice across pedestrian and vehicle zones. Rather than relying solely on reactive measures, businesses must adopt a proactive strategy that treats surfaces, not just footwear or tires. Here are five crucial tips that every business should implement to reduce slip-and-fall risk in winter.
Before the snow even starts, you must plan for treating all high-traffic pedestrian walkways, entryways, loading-dock ramps, and parking lot sidewalks. Early snow removal and application of a surface traction agent ensures safe footing from the start. Waiting until after ice forms allows dangerous conditions to develop.
By applying traction treatment early, you reduce the chance that a slip happens in a high-volume zone. Investing in surface traction is more reliable than relying on salt alone or waiting for employees to tread carefully on slick paths.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, snow, ice and sleet contributed to tens of thousands of workplace slip-and-fall injuries each winter
When a vehicle gets stuck in snow, a common question is what can be used to build up traction in the snow around your tires? Materials like sand, kitty litter or gravel are often thrown under tires—but these are localized fixes for a single vehicle. For broad-based business surfaces, you need what to use for traction on ice across every foot and wheel path.
Many businesses switch to a mechanical or granular traction agent that embeds into the icy surface and provides grip for both pedestrians and vehicles. For example, Ice Traction is designed to create texture that tires and shoes can bite into, reducing drift and slip risk across entire vehicle routes in parking lots and loading docks. Unlike salt, it delivers traction instead of waiting for melt.
Salt may seem like a quick fix—but it has profound limitations for business environments:
In short, salt alone keeps you reacting—not preventing—and creates cumulative costs and risks that businesses cannot ignore.
Salt can take 15 to 45 minutes to begin melting ice, leaving business walkways and parking lots dangerously slick during that waiting period.
To implement a surface-safe traction strategy, businesses should follow these best practices:
Ice Traction is formulated to be PEOPLE & PET SAFE and non-corrosive. It embeds into slick surfaces and creates gritty texture so tires, shoes and wheels find traction immediately—both reducing slips and enabling safer vehicle movement.
Get Ready For winter INDUSTRIAL GRADE TRACTION For Ice And Snow
Slips, trips and falls are among the most costly workplace injuries—and winter conditions amplify that risk. Businesses must view winter traction as part of their risk management and operations continuity planning.
By using a traction agent that improves the surface universally—not just when someone is wearing special footwear or when vehicles have winter tires—you reduce injury risk, maintain productivity, protect your equipment and avoid liability. The difference between treating snow/ice by splaying salt and proactively embedding traction is the difference between reacting and preventing.
Slips, trips and falls account for over 33% of non-fatal workers’ compensation cost, and winter weather increases those risks substantially.
In winter, asking what can be used to build up traction in the snow around your tires if you get stuck? or what to use for traction on ice is not just a flick-on question—it’s a strategic decision for business safety, continuity and cost control. Sand under tires might help one truck once. Salt may melt ice—but leaves weaknesses, costs, and risks for your property.
By contrast, a modern traction agent like Ice Traction delivers instant, surface-wide friction. It is PEOPLE & PET SAFE, non-corrosive, and designed for commercial operations where pedestrian foot traffic, vehicle movement, and equipment operations must continue uninterrupted. Use traction agents to elevate your winter prevention strategy—from reactive to proactive.
For businesses committed to safety, productivity and long-term asset protection, surface traction is your foundation. Don’t wait for the slip to happen—build the grip that prevents it.
By Gaia Team