Bensalem-based TMA Bucks is providing guidelines for safe driving as winter arrives on Saturday.
Dino Ciliberti, Patch Staff
BUCKS COUNTY, PA —With the first day of winter arriving Saturday, Bucks County's transportation agency wants residents and drivers to get through the holiday season safely.
With winter bringing the challenges of snow, ice, and freezing temperatures, Bensalem-based TMA Bucks is offering a comprehensive set of winter driving safety tips for commuters.
"Winter weather can create hazardous driving conditions with little warning, so it’s essential to prepare yourself and your vehicle for icy and snowy conditions," said David Walter, TMA Bucks' deputy director. "We encourage all commuters to make safety their top priority by following these tips for a secure and stress-free winter travel season."
TMA Bucks first suggests that a mechanic should check the brakes, batteries, hoses, and belts on your vehicles to make sure they are safe for travel.
TMA Bucks also recommends packing a winter emergency kit to keep in vehicles.
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The kit should include items such as a flashlight and batteries, jumper cables, an ice scraper, a small shovel, gloves, blanket, and anything else needed to accommodate family traveling as well.
TMA Bucks Community Traffic Safety Program manager Carly Wible stressed making smart decisions during bad weather.
"If snow or ice is in the forecast and you don’t have to be on the road, stay home. Work remotely if possible, so PennDOT and local road crews can treat and clear roads for essential workers like first responders and emergency personnel. If you must drive in winter weather, make sure you’re prepared and follow important safety tips to stay safe,” Wible said.
Walter said that most municipalities enforce snow emergency policies.
These are some guidelines drivers should follow for the winter:
"It is important to remember not all highways in Bucks County are state highways and several are municipally-owned and are treated and plowed by the borough or township and not PennDOT,” Wible said. “You need to keep in mind it might take them a bit longer to get these roads cleared so please be patient. Bucks County also has several rural, two-lane highways, so please be understanding of this and allow PennDOT or municipal crews the necessary time to reach these roads.”
While PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
If your school, daycare, or organization in Bucks County would like to schedule free programming on highway safety topics please contact our program manager Carly Wible at [email protected] or 267-895-5186.
TMA Bucks is a 501 (c) 4 non-profit transportation management association designed to promote and coordinate travel demand management strategies to reduce peak-hour traffic congestion and serve as a clearinghouse for transportation policies and programs throughout Bucks County.
TMA Bucks also manages the Bucks County Community Traffic Safety Program in partnership with the County of Bucks and the TMA Bucks Foundation. The TMA is membership-supported and businesses can learn more about the benefits of membership at tmabucks.com.
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