As you’ve probably already noticed, winter is well on its way. With temperatures quickly dropping, it won’t be long until we’re making our daily commutes on powdered roads. That being said, PennDOT recently released a video to educate PA drivers about their work during winter maintenance and provide some safe driving tips. You can find that video embedded in this post.
Last winter, PennDOT used more than 1.2 million tons of salt on PA roads. So far, they’ve stocked 639,000 tons and are still accepting deliveries. Motorists are able to check the conditions of roads, traffic alerts, and weather forecasts at www.511PA.com 24 hours a day.
We’ve summarized some of PennDOT’s most important winter safety tips as follows:
- Store an emergency kit in your vehicle complete with water, blanket, phone charger, first aid supplies, and small shovel.
- Keep in mind that major roadways will receive the most resources in major winter storms. Smaller roads may have more accumulation.
- Slow down and increase following distance on icy or snowy roads. Last year, there were 427 crashes in winter conditions caused by aggressive driving behavior.