Ice, snow and freezing rain may all conspire in the days ahead to create extremely hazardous traveling conditions in Northwest Oregon. ODOT does not recommend driving in these conditions. Travelers need to use caution and observe a few common sense rules for navigating hazardous weather conditions. Get safely situated. Don’t wait until after a storm hits to get on the road. Get to your destination yourself before conditions turn nasty and unsafe. Travel smart. Consider waiting until a storm passes to get on your bike or in your car. Or work from home all day. Look out for each other. If you must drive, remember people walking or biking are harder to see in a storm. If you’re biking or walking remember that cars don’t stop quickly on snow and ice. Leave early. It’s smart to allow plenty of time to get where you’re going. In severe weather, closures and crashes can cause long delays. Check on any appointments you have before you leave. Offices and businesses may be closing due to the weather conditions. Know before you go. Plan your route. Visit Tripcheck.com in advance to look at ODOT cameras and check conditions. Don’t abandon your vehicle. It prevents us from clearing the road and emergency services from getting to the people who need them. Beware of outages. If a storm knocks out power to traffic signals, treat intersections like an all-way stop. The driver who stops first goes first. Watch for plows. ODOT sand trucks, plows and deicer trucks can’t clear roads clogged with traffic. The more traffic stays off the road, the quicker roads can be treated. Stay at least three car lengths back. Everybody benefits the sooner they can get the road cleared. In severe weather, ODOT deploys all available tools in its winter arsenal, including plows, sanders and deicers, as appropriate. Crews and equipment are being prepositioned to respond. ODOT crews are working 12-hour, round the clock shifts. On Tuesday and Wednesday, crews were spreading de-icer — magnesium chloride with rust inhibitor – on area roads with plows and sanding trucks on standby for use as needed. Mountain passes and other areas that received snow on Tuesday have been plowed. Remember, driving on ice is never a safe choice. The safest thing to do is stay off the road. For the latest information on road conditions, visit www.tripcheck.com
