NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Snow, sleet, and freezing rain is making its way across the Charlotte metro on Thursday, creating slick conditions on the roadways.
Icy road conditions remain a concern.
Even if frequently trafficked routes are treated in advance, ice and snow can linger on side streets and neighborhood roads, making driving potentially hazardous.
However, staying off the roads isn’t possible for everyone. For those unable to hunker down at home, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has a tool that can help drivers get a sense of road conditions before getting behind the wheel.
Here’s how to check the status of North Carolina roads.
How to check road conditions in North Carolina
Drivers can check local road conditions by using NCDOT’s traffic cameras on drivenc.gov.
Major interstates and routes through the Charlotte metro are visible from hundreds of cameras and can provide some sense of what travel will be like.
NCDOT has provided a special section on their website called ‘February 19-20 Winter Weather‘ where you can see incidents and accidents related to the winter storm.
What have officials done to prepare for snow and ice?
Most maintenance crews in NCDOT highway divisions across the state started Monday spreading a saltwater mixture called brine on state-maintained roads, including interstates, other highways and primary routes, and some secondary roads.
Brine helps prevent ice from bonding to the pavement.
Some maintenance crews in central North Carolina and closer to the coast were readying their chainsaws in case icy accumulation topples some trees onto roads.
The agency has about 2,500 specially trained employees and contract crews and hundreds of trucks that can be equipped with plows and spreaders to pretreat roads and remove snow and ice following a storm.
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Safety tips for driving in snow and ice
When driving in snowy and icy conditions, AAA recommends only traveling when necessary.
- Stay home. Only go out if necessary. Even if you can drive well in bad weather, it’s better to avoid taking unnecessary risks by venturing out.
- 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.
- Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads will just make your wheels spin. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill slowly.
- Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
The post Charlotte area road conditions Thursday: How to check where and when it’s safe enough to drive first appeared on Enegxi News – News As It’s Happening.
