"As for detecting it in real time, I'm pretty sure it's more reflective than a normal road surface so maybe that could be used to spot patches of the stuff?"
That's why it's called black ice. Black ice is transmissive, not reflective, so light passes through it, making it nigh invisible. Plus as the article notes, it could be happening at night on a rural unlit road. Either way, you can't rely on light to detect a patch of black ice ahead of time. About the only way to do it properly would be some kind of active forward 3D imaging system that can detect the smooth surface of ice even in pitch black. Something like that I think is still some time off due to the processing requirements and time constraints.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
