How To Drive with Caution in Extreme Winter Weather

 Life in New York City and many parts of the East Coast was paralyzed by a powerful winter storm over the last few days. According to a report in The New York Times, at least nine people have died in weather-related traffic accidents along the East Coast. Five of those deaths took place in North Carolina including an accident on the Interstate 77 that left a 4-year-old dead. In Johnston County, North Carolina, a driver careened into oncoming lanes on Interstate 95. In Kentucky, a salt truck crossed into opposing lanes of traffic in Whitley County and rammed head-on into a vehicle killing a man and injuring two others.

In Tennessee, a 19-year-old driver was killed and his passenger was injured when the vehicle in which they were traveling slid off an icy road. Another similar fatal crash was reported in that state where a woman lost control of her vehicle and slid down an embankment and crashed. In Chesapeake, Virginia, one person was reported dead in a winter weather-related car crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with families that lost loved ones in these crashes and those who were injured.
How Dangerous is Winter for Drivers?
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), more than 1,300 people are killed and 116,800 are injured each year in auto accidents caused by snowy or icy roadways in the United States. Each year, 900 people are killed and 76,000 are injured in car accidents that occur during snowfall or sleet. Also, each year, 24 percent of weather-related crashes occur on snowy, slushy or icy roadways and 15 percent occur during snowfall and sleet. FHWA estimates that 70 percent of the nation’s roads are located in snowy regions and approximately 70 percent of the fatalities that occur in the wintertime involve vehicles on these roadways.
Winter Driving Tips
As we head into the dreary and severe part of the winter season, it is important to remember these critical road safety tips:
• Know when you shouldn’t be driving. Winter weather conditions in New York can get treacherous very quickly. Know when it is best to stay home and wait it out. If you are already out in the thick of a winter storm or blizzard and find that your visibility is reduced or that you are losing control of your vehicle, find a safe location where you can pull over and wait out the storm.
• Stay focused at all times. When you are driving in snowy or icy conditions, it is even more important that you devote your attention to the road as well as operating your car. Turn off your cell phone, radio and other distracting devices. Keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
• Slow down. When the roads are slick and icy, stopping distance for vehicles is considerably increased. By slowing down, you will be able to maintain better control of your vehicle and stop when it becomes necessary.
• Maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. Do not drive alongside other vehicles on multi-lane roads. This increases the risk of a moving vehicle to drift over the dividing line.
• Always keep your headlights on so you can see more clearly. Leaving your vehicle’s headlights on also increases your visibility to other drivers. This is particularly important when it is snowing.
• Learn how to drive in wintry weather. When you feel your vehicle is slipping and sliding, resist the urge to brake or overcorrect. Take your foot off the accelerator, shift to neutral and turn the wheel in the direction of the skid as you gently tap the brake.
• Be sure to get your car ready for winter. This means getting snow tires and appropriate windshield wipers. Keep a small shovel, spare battery for your phone, a couple of bottles of water, food and flares just in case you are stuck.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured or if you have lost a loved one as a result of a car accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Our skilled attorneys have an established track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. For over 49 years, we have helped victims and their families get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a man who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/live/winter-storm-jonas/weather-related-traffic-accidents-kill-8/