Winter Driving

Driving can be especially nasty on snow and ice days, no matter how hard the highway crews work to keep the roads clear, so caution is always advised. On heavy snow days, stay tuned to your local radio or TV news & weather channels for the latest reports.

Be a smart winter driver:
• Limit your travel to essential trips only.
• Stay off the road when traveler warnings are issued.
• Leave early and expect any trip to take twice as long as normal.
• Plan your route to avoid steep mountainous areas and lightly traveled roads.
• Slow down! Slick pavement means reduced traction and excessive speed will cause loss of control. On snow or ice, you should drive much slower than the posted speed limit.
• Increase your following distance. It can take three to ten times farther to stop on winter-slick pavement than on a dry road. Therefore, leave a much bigger gap between your car and the vehicle ahead of you.
• Avoid quick acceleration, hard braking and fast turns. Remember, if your car has antilock brakes, do not pump the brake pedal.
• Winterize your car before the snow starts to fly.

Motorist checklist:
· Clean all snow and ice from your windows and mirrors before traveling.
· Make sure all lights are working and always use your headlights when it's snowing.
· Keep wiper blades in good condition and keep windshield washer fluid levels full.
· Check tires for tread and proper inflation and add weight to rear-wheel-drive vehicles.
· Carry emergency equipment in your car, such as flares, shovel, chains, flashlight, jumper cables, sand, blanket, hat, boots and gloves.

Local road conditions
Local road condition reports are available from your local district office . Please be patient if you get a busy signal. These offices are not set up to handle the high volume of calls they receive on blizzard days. Please understand that during winter weather advisory conditions, the first priority of all office staff is to support the workers who are in the field plowing and treating the roads.

Emergency services during blizzard conditions
If you need emergency medical, fire or law enforcement services, call your local emergency services agency or 911 number directly. Do not call the Division of Highways. For emergency road-clearing situations, the Highways office will only respond to requests from local emergency services units.