Community Corner

State Highway Administration Urges Drivers to Stay off Roads

If you need to drive, slow down, use caution, and leave extra distance between your car and the driver ahead of you.

The best advice for drivers today is to stay off the roads, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. For those who need to drive, SHA is urging motorists to slow down, use caution and increase the distance between your car and the driver ahead of you.

“Don’t be misled by the bare pavement you may see as you wake up this morning. Conditions will change rapidly and we’re urging drivers to stay off the roads and leave the driving to our crews,” SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters said in a news release. “Although crews are primarily treating roads with salt, we fully anticipate plowing roads as snow begins to accumulate.  If you encounter our crews, remember to leave plenty of following distance and never try to pass plows.”

More than 2,000 SHA crews were on state roads this morning, plowing and treating driving surfaces with salt.

Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Heavy and wet snow could lead to treacherous driving conditions, including downed limbs and dark intersections. SHA is urging drivers to use extreme caution at dark intersections and to treat them as four-way stops.

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is also readying its storm response. Residents can check storm operations for county roads at the county’s online snow map.

Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For real-time road conditions on state highways, dial 511 or visit www.MD511.org.  

More tips on driving in winter weather is available at AAA Mid-Atlantic’s  website. You can also consider Metro as an alternative— though bus service may be affected as conditions deteriorate.


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