Winter Safety Awareness Week featuring tips to stay safe on the road

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Winter is coming and the Emergency Management Agency has some tips to keep you safe on the road for Winter Safety Awareness Week. Troy Cole is the deputy director for the Muskingum County EMA and his advice revolves around the themes of being aware and staying prepared.

“It’s really the mantra of the EMA, is preparedness,” Cole said. “And, that’s an emergency kit in your vehicle, blanket, maybe some food, some water, things just in case you become stranded. Now this some of the technology, the little battery chargers that can fit in your glove box are phenomenal to help you if just for some reason. Batteries don’t like really hot weather and they don’t like really, really cold weather and plan your route. Drive safely, understand the weather that’s coming in, what’s predicted, listen to your local weather channels to see what they’re saying’s coming at us at any given time.”

Cole additionally has advice for making sure you get from point A to point B in the safest way possible.

“I think the big thing to remember when we’re actually on the road is to increase our distances between vehicles because we all know in the winter, trying to stop gets a little more dicey, takes a little longer, that travel distance a little farther, your braking distance is a little farther,” Cole said. “Pay more attention. I think one of the best things we can ever talk about and you learn it in driving school is to drive defensively. Watch what everybody else is doing and to make sure you drive a lot safter. ”

You can learn more about how to stay safe on the road this winter by visiting WeatherSafety.Ohio.gov.