We're talking about I-90 here, not some county back road. If there's no fresh snow, there's going to be enough salt and traffic to keep the road clear of ice.
Agree with this. I'd stick to daylight as well just because it's unfamiliar and the deer are usually more likely to be on the move at dawn/dusk.
It’s at least most entirely I-90 but maybe it’s not just I-90 all the way given how people may refer to Austin when even including places somewhat nearby. And even for just I-90, I’ve witnessed some accidents over the year on the entry/exit areas for it and on it elsewhere over the years, more so in the early and late hours of the day when it comes to slick roads being the big factor. Austin area residential roads can be slippery at times even as they do a pretty job of plowing and salting on the main commercial stretches and the streets that feed. But for someone not used to driving on even slush at 25mph, all it takes is a turn at a bit too high speed and there could be some fishtail action.
October and even more so November tend to be amongst the worst times for deer accidents IIRC, but even in the middle of day in the summer I see plenty of deer accidents. The only good way to avoid deer hits is to drive way slower than the posted speed limits, and even that isn’t a guarantee as some deer can run into the right front wheel wells of cars when the cars are even driving well below 45mph.
Either way, if there are strongly blowing winds and/or a heavy snowfall, even with or without deer, even with or without slick road sections, even if on or off I-90 , it doesn’t take a lot to end up in a ditch in winter around these parts.