Prepare for snowy and icy driving conditions with caution
"Always be prepared when it is cold."
NORTH DAKOTA & MINNESOTA (KVRR) – Chilly temperatures, snow and wind can mean less than ideal driving conditions for drivers.
As winter weather is moving in, people need to be careful and cautious when hitting the road.
“Allow extra time for travel, know what the conditions are, look at your local weather forecast and know what is going on. If there is a travel advisory, road closure, things like that – allow more time to travel and have patience. You know things like that are a big part of it and of course keep that cruise control off. We still see a number of crashes where people keep that cruise control on and that is definitely not a good thing when driving on snowy or icy roads,” Minnesota State Patrol Sergeant Jesse Grabow said.
Drivers should be prepared to experience some changes in road conditions.
“Number one make sure that your vehicle is prepared – make sure you have good tires on your vehicle. Of course you are gonna need an ice scraper, snow-brush, just things like that and of course winter survival kits, travel kits, different kits like that just to make sure that you have gone through and make sure the food, batteries, and all of those things are good; always have plenty of extra warm clothing,” Grabow explained.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 40 percent of all crashes are related to bad weather conditions.
“Bad crashes happen all the time if people are not making smart choices, whether that is driving too fast for conditions or not wearing a seat belt, distracted driving, impaired driving, those factors do not go away. Now you put some weather conditions and roads that are less than ideal, dealing with snow or ice, ultimately the person is responsible and every person is responsible and must remain in control of their vehicle at all times. That is just basic common sense,” Grabow said.
Be sure to have the KVRR Weather App on hand to stay on top of current weather conditions
