ODOT readying vehicles for winter – you should too

CANFIELD

Last winter was one of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s “busiest,” with an average snowfall of 40 inches in Mahoning County, officials said. Now they’re gearing up for the 2018 season.

Maintenance workers at the department’s Canfield garage on Wednesday continued final, 150-point inspections on the 24 plow trucks housed there before they hit the roads.

“We want to make sure that when that snow flies, there’s no major issues with the trucks that we didn’t know about,” said Brent Kovacs, ODOT spokesman.

He said the department is also urging motorists to take more care when sharing the road with plow trucks, which will usually be driving below the posted speed limit. Ohio motorists struck 64 plow trucks last year, he said.

Kovacs said motorists should also do their own pre-winter inspections, topping off windshield wiper fluid, checking or replacing batteries, testing vehicle door windows and replacing dead bulbs.

Read more winter preps in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.