Although it has felt like spring the last several weeks, Missouri is in the middle of the winter season. With potential snow in the Friday, Feb. 16 forecast, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has provided safety tips for driving in winter weather.
Sgt. Andrew Bell said the first thing to do is have a plan, which includes staying updated on weather conditions. He suggested monitoring the National Weather Service and downloading the Missouri Department of Transportation app.
“If you go to MoDOT Traveler Information, that app allows for you to search your area to know if the road is partly covered, covered, whether there’s icy conditions or any of that,” Bell said. “In fact, in more of the metropolitan areas, you can actually view some of the actual live camera feed too. So it is a great tool.”
Bell said ensuring your vehicle is equipped with everything it needs is also important.
“First and foremost, you have to have tires,” Bell said. “Tires are essential for your traction in any kind of adverse condition, whether it’s wet, ice, snow, gravel, mud, anything. So, you would want to have proper tires. Make sure they're also inflated to the correct psi.”
Bell said having a spare tire is essential, noting that sometimes, when vehicles slide off the road, the tires may become damaged and a spare comes in handy.
He also recommends packing vehicles with a warm change of clothing, blankets, water, and non-perishable snack foods in case they are needed. Bell suggested a vehicle have no less than half a tank of gas, working windshield wipers and wiper fluid, a good functioning defroster, an ice scraper or snow brush, and jumper cables.
“Sometimes our batteries don’t work as good in extreme conditions, so having those jumper cables accessible is helpful too,” Bell said.
Another way to equip a vehicle for the winter is by implementing preventative maintenance. Bell said that could consist of simply taking an automobile to a mechanic to check the antifreeze cooler system.
Bell told the Star-Journal that when driving in icy and slick conditions, a driver should slow down and increase their following distance. If the vehicle begins to slide, the anti-lock brakes have time to kick in. He said to avoid driving into a person or object while sliding, let off the brakes, steer and correct the vehicle's direction and then apply brakes again.
“But no matter what you’re doing with any braking or any steering, it has to be smooth rather than a quick reaction,” Bell said. “You don’t want to panic and overcorrect. Overcorrecting means you’re jerking the steering wheel too far to the left or too far to the right. It needs to be a much smoother approach to your steering and braking.”
Bell advised against using cruise control in adverse weather conditions, explaining that it’s unsafe. However, he encourages using a turn signal to give other drivers advance notice of your actions. He added that pumping the brakes a few times can also hint to other drivers that you are about to brake fully.
Sliding on ice can cause some vehicles to become stuck. Bell told the Star-Journal that if this happens and the vehicle is still in the roadway, it should be moved out of the roadway to prevent another vehicle from crashing into it. However, he said you should remain in your car if it is stuck in a ditch and cannot move.
“If your vehicle is disabled in a ditch — like you’re stuck in a ditch and now you can’t move anywhere — it’s really recommended that you stay inside your car, activate your hazards — you know, four-way flashing lights — go ahead and call 911 even though you're not injured and even though you haven’t hurt anyone else,” Bell said. “We consider that still a highway emergency because we don’t want someone else to slide into you and now you would be a victim of injury. So go ahead and call 911 and provide as many details as you can of your location, description of your vehicle and just remain calm. Remain in your vehicle and just wait for those resources to get there.”
Bell said the sun shining onto a blanket of bright white snow can cause fatigue on the eyes when driving. He said he has begun wearing polarized sunglasses to aid in relaxing his eyes in white-out conditions.
Another weather condition that can affect the eyes is fog.
“Fog limits our visibility,” Bell said. “So, when we’re talking about fog, we’re really talking about being seen. It’s not so much that we can’t see, even though we all know it’s not fun to drive in fog, but really, people can’t see you. That’s what’s dangerous because if you’re going along and the person in the front of you is driving or stopping and they haven’t given any advance notice with their turn signal or they didn’t have their taillight, headlight displayed properly, the last thing you would see is their brake lights and they probably already stopped in front of you. You really have very little time to react.”
According to the National Weather Service, there is an 80% chance of snow on Friday in Warrensburg. Rain and snow are expected after 5 a.m., becoming all snow after 10 a.m. and then gradually ending. Snow accumulation of less than 1 inch is possible. The high will be near 36, with a low around 19 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph during the day.
Saturday through Wednesday are expected to be either sunny or partly cloudy. Chilly temperatures will remain Saturday, Feb. 17, with a high near 36 and a low around 26, but it should warm up going into next week. Sunday, Feb. 18 and Monday, Feb. 19 will see highs in the low 50s, and temperatures are expected to reach the 60s on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Annelia Nixon can be reached at 660-747-8123.
