I was thinking about that situation the other day while reading an article about how ice climbers brake a slide using their ice axe and crampons...and remembering how much it hurt when I slipped walking home from work last week.

Crampons which slip over your shoes/boots are cheap and compact. I own a pair but didn't have them with me that day (I also didn't have my super jumbo winter boots). I don't leave without them now. I'm tempted to put a pair in each of my cars too...the roads around here this time of year are so polished it's amazing anybody gets anywhere on the roads...and amazing more people don't get run over. I guess we're just used to it up here.