MPI has noticed a number of car accidents have been happening related to the road conditions.
Brian Smiley says it’s very important that drivers keep their eyes on the road.
“With respect to seeing black ice, icy conditions, drifting snow, those are all weather conditions that can affect driving. We know that roads have been unusually slick at this time of year and there have been collisions as a result of drivers not slowing down, driving to the road conditions. It’s a reminder to motorists out there in the Dauphin, Parkland area, speed limits are set under ideal road conditions, I think we would all agree ice, snow, and blowing snow are far from ideal. So again, take your time, slow down, get to your destination safely.”
Smiley says to stay a safe distance behind the car in front of you.
“Well when you’re doing some highway speeds, it’s just best to be at roughly 5 to 6 seconds behind a vehicle, and when you’re in downtown Dauphin, you’re going to probably want to be at least 3 or 4 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you. We have a lot of fender benders at red lights, at controlled intersections, again that’s because the vehicle following behind is travelling a little to quick, they’re not able to stop and they bump into the vehicle in front of them. So for all our friends in Dauphin, Parkland, we want to avoid that.”
For those that don’t have winter tires, Smiley says you still can get some.
“Well for people who are interested in winter tires, there is a low-interest winter tire program out there. There are 700 participating retailers, I know there’s a number in the Dauphin region. So for people who are interested in the program they can go to the participating retailer, it’ll be fully explained to them, or they can go on the MPI website, winter tire program, and all the information is on there.”
If you’d like to learn more about the winter tire program, click here.
