This week is Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana. Safety officials encourage residents to take steps to prepare for potential hazards that come with winter weather.
Slow down and adjust travel to conditions, and never tailgate or drive beside a snowplow, as the driver’s visibility may be limited. If you must pass, do so carefully, and always carry an emergency kit in your vehicle with food, water, a phone charger, sand or cat litter, flares or bright LED alternatives, a flashlight, and blanket. Keep your vehicle full of gas and check your battery, fluids and spare tire.
Throughout winter, snow, ice, freezing rain, and fog all present travel challenges. Roads can become slick, even after pre-treatment and regular treatment during and after a storm.
Indiana Department of Transportation officials say if conditions allow, roads are pre-treated with salt brine and are regularly treated with rock salt. In colder temperatures, salt and brine alone take longer to activate. Environmentally-friendly chemicals may be used if necessary to boost effectiveness.
Snowplow drivers typically work 12-hour shifts during a storm and on average, take two-to-three hours to complete a full route.
