Winter Driving Tips

• Maintain a safe following distance behind snow plows. If you are following a plow too closely, your windshield could be shattered by loose material such as a stray chunk of salt or ice. Also, every truck has blind spots which reduce side and rear visibility.
• Try to avoid passing snow plows. Although plows are slow-moving vehicles, it is much safer to follow them than to pass them. If you decide to pass, please pass with extreme caution.
• If you are stranded along a roadway, ODOT plow drivers can contact the highway patrol to assist you, but, because of liability reasons, they are not permitted to pull your vehicle out of a ditch or snowdrift.
• Please remember to put your headlights on low beam when approaching a snow plow from either the front or the rear. Bright headlights can make it very difficult for plow drivers to see the roadway ahead of them.
• Residents who live along state or U.S. routes are advised not to shovel snow from driveways into the roadway. The snow creates a driving hazard.
• Please remember to reduce your speed during snowy and icy conditions and to be especially cautious on hills and curves and at intersections.
• Drive with extreme care on bridges and overpasses. Because cool air flows freely under these structures, they tend to freeze more quickly than roadways.
• Watch for black ice, which is a thin, transparent layer of ice on the roadway that is extremely slippery and hard to spot.
• During snowy and icy conditions, leave early for your destination and listen to a local radio station for road condition updates.
• Exercise extra caution when driving on turn lanes and crossovers. These areas tend to be plowed last and may be covered in deep snow.
• Clear all snow and ice from windows, mirrors and lights before leaving home. Check fuel and fluid levels, and equip your vehicle with emergency supplies such as flares, blankets, chains, a shovel, a flashlight, jumper cables, sand, gloves, a hat and boots.

During the winter weather months, current road condition information may be obtained by visiting the Ohio Transportation Information System (OTIS) on the ODOT Web site at www.dot.state.oh.us or by calling the Ohio State Highway Patrol at 1-888-2OH-ROAD (888-264-7623). For more information about motorists' driving safety and laws, visit the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Web site at www.state.oh.us/odps and visit the Bureau of Motor Vehicles page.