Winter-weather driving Experts say to take time to adjust to snow, follow rules of the road

Driving habits must change with the weather.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

As sure as the night follows the day, some motorists don’t seem to understand that the roads become slick and dangerous during winter.

No matter what anybody says and despite the droning of annual warnings, there are those who don’t seem to get it.

As a result, there were 2,698 crashes involving deaths or injuries in Ohio during 2006 when there was snow on the roads or if there were conditions of freezing rain and drizzle, according to the Ohio Department of Highway Safety. Included in the statistics are 18 fatalities.

Why is this?

The experts — driving instructors — offered some answers.

“It takes time to adjust to the snow. We don’t think how slick it is,” said Julie Datish, an instructor at Cortland Driving Academy.

This is especially true of those driving trucks and all-terrain vehicles.

“They are too comfortable in what they think their vehicles can do for them,” Datish said, noting that four-wheel drive vehicles aren’t any better at stopping on slick roads.

Also, people just aren’t giving themselves enough time, she added.

There is also the stupidity factor, Datish said, of those who just don’t get it.

Shawn Boerio, owner of Shawn’s Driving School on Meridian Road in Austintown, believes that drivers have bad habits and don’t change them when winter arrives.

Boerio explained that motorists text-message or talk on their cell phone.

“Your reaction time is shot,” Boerio said of these bad habits.

Boerio agrees with Datish that people are overconfident with their vehicles. He too says that four-wheel-drive vehicles don’t brake any better than do two-wheel systems in icy conditions.

Sgt. Eric Hummer of the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in New Castle, Pa., said he hasn’t been able to figure out why motorist don’t get it.

“They don’t get it about seat belts either,” Hummer said.

But if there is any consolation for the sergeant, he said, it is that the police wouldn’t have jobs if everybody obeyed the law.

Trooper Michael Markey of the Pennsylvania State Police Community Service Unit in Butler, Pa., said that awareness continues to be taught to bring about safe winter driving.

He calls on motorists to know their route, slow down, be aware of low visibility, keep a greater distance of the vehicles in front and above all, “focus on driving.”

In his 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Sgt. Larry Firmi still hasn’t figured out why drivers don’t catch on immediately to icy roads.

Firmi, who is assigned to the patrol’s Southington post, terms it the “magical week.” That’s how long it takes some motorists to get the message that winter is here, and sometimes tragically.

This is especially true for SUV and pickup truck drivers who haven’t quite realized that it takes them longer to stop than it does for other vehicles.

During a recent snowfall, two young women in separate cases pulled over to the side of the road because they were afraid to drive as the snow fell. They called friends and family to pick them up.

“That’s the smart thing to do,” Firmi said, noting that law enforcement officers understand that not all drivers feel comfortable in certain weather conditions.

“They’re not silly. They used their heads,” the sergeant added.

yovich@vindy.com