UNDATED, MI — (WKZO AM/FM) — Winter may have arrived a little early in Southwest Michigan.
Some areas have been dealing with snow on and off for the past couple of weeks, while other areas Monday morning was the first white-knuckled commute this season.
A number of slide-offs and crashes have been reported. The above photo comes from South Haven Area Emergency Services who responded to this rollover on M-43 near 16th Avenue in Geneva Township. They say children were on board but luckily, nobody was injured.
AAA has released their winter driving tips:
- Drive slowly. Always adjust your speed down to account for lower traction when driving on snow or ice.
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Apply the gas slowly to regain traction and avoid skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry and take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
- Increase your following distance to five to six seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
- Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
- Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
More tips can be found here.
In addition, MDOT is offering some tips to prepare your vehicle for winter:
- Have your radiator system serviced, replace windshield wipers and refill wiper fluid.
- Replace any worn tires and check air pressure regularly.
- Have your brakes, brake fluid, oil, car battery, heater and exhaust checked to make sure everything is running efficiently.
- Keep an emergency preparedness kit in your vehicle stocked with batteries, battery powered or hand-crank radio, flashlight, windshield scraper, jumper cables, mobile phone charger, shovel, blankets, first aid kit, non-perishable food and bottled water in the event you get stranded or stuck.
More tips can be found online by visiting www.michigan.gov/miready
