The invention provides a method for automatically detecting and safely traversing an accumulation of ice on an impending bridge. The method automatically identifies, by the vehicle, impending approachof the vehicle to a bridge and senses an accumulation of ice on the bridge. The method then calculates a speed of the vehicle needed to prevent longitudinal slip between the vehicle and the bridge, and automatically slows the vehicle at a rate sufficient to enable the vehicle to reach the calculated speed by the time it reaches the bridge. A corresponding system is also disclosed and claimed herein.