Weather Looks Frightful, Safe Driving Tips to Keep Holiday Travel Delightful

Snow in the Forecast

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has issued a hazardous weather outlook for today through the weekend.

There may be another round of accumulating snow on Friday and Saturday.

This means many drivers will be facing winter driving conditions.

Which means you have to change the way you drive.

SLOW DOWN – the posted speed limit is for dry, ideal conditions.

INCREASE FOLLOWING DISTANCE – you’ll need more space to stop on slippery roads.

AVOID QUICK STOPS, STARTS and TURNS – smooth inputs will help you stay in control.

These are just the basics – get more winter driving tips here.

Because of the slick roads, troopers and other emergency responders will likely be handling crashes.

Every winter, troopers and their vehicles are hit when they’re helping others with crashes.

These secondary crashes put emergency responders’ lives at risk, as you can see in this video:

You can help them get home safely to their families by following these steps:

SLOW DOWN – you should be traveling under the speed limit, since it’s snowy and icy. Remain vigilant to conditions ahead.

DO NOT BRAKE SUDDENLY – when you get close to the crash site, slamming on your brakes can cause you to slide into the vehicles on the shoulder.

LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO – not at the vehicles on the shoulder. Focus on the road and look at the path you want to follow.

Icy road crashes often happen in multiples – if one car slid and crashed, it’s likely others will, too.

If your vehicles can be moved, drive off the freeway – the road shoulder is dangerous, even when roads are dry.

We’ve got safe driving tips, videos, links to traffic and weather websites on our winter driving website.

Head to utahwinterdriving.org for all things winter driving.

Troopers will be working over 10o extra shifts over the holiday weekend.

The goal? To help everyone get where they’re going safely.

They’ll be focusing on speeding, seat belt use, distracted and aggressive driving.

Increased DUI enforcement continues statewide through New Year’s Day.

Troopers and officers from agencies throughout the state will be looking for impaired drivers.

If you plan on drinking, plan on not driving.

If you see a drunk driver, call 911.