The storm is fast approaching! Please heed the warnings and stay off the roads starting early this afternoon.
Overall, most winter storm
deaths result from vehicle or other transportation accidents caused by ice and
snow. Residents should avoid driving when conditions include sleet,
freezing rain or drizzle, snow, or dense fog. These are serious
conditions that are often underestimated, and they make driving – and even
walking outside – very hazardous.
It is safer for everyone if you stay
put – and not travel during inclement weather – whether you are at home, work or
school.
By staying off the roads during the worst of the weather, local
departments of transportation are more easily able to access roads that need
treatment, snow plows can more freely clear roads and get to areas needing
plowing and public safety officials can respond more quickly to residents in
need of emergency services.
It may require employees to take a couple of
hours of personal leave during the winter, but leaving early enough to avoid bad
weather and traffic gridlock caused by slippery road conditions is worth the
investment. Thinking strategically about your travel and where you really need
to be will require some planning and thought.
“Get Where You Need to be Before the Weather Gets
Bad”
Do NOT Travel During Winter Storms
- Curtail “elective” travel; avoid unnecessary travel. If it is not a life
safety issue, stay off the roads.
- If you don’t have to travel… don’t! The safest place during a winter storm
is indoors. About 70 percent of deaths related to ice and snow occur in
automobiles.
- Stay at the office an extra hour, or leave early, to avoid travel during a
winter storm.
- If residents stay off the roads during a storm, transportation workers and
public safety officials are better able to clear roadways and respond to
emergency needs quicker.
Weather Changes
Quickly
- Be prepared for the worst. Be ready to spend an extra hour at the office, or
leave an hour or two early, to avoid a more time consuming commute home during
the height of a storm.
- Have an emergency supply kit in your office and car.
Listen to Local Officials
- If local officials advise residents to stay off the roads – then stay off
the roads.
- Public safety and emergency management officials, along with National
Weather Service meteorologists, base travel advisories and guidance on weather
forecasts. Heed their advice!
- Businesses that follow closing/delay policies from local jurisdictions or
the federal Office of Personnel Management need to monitor those sources and
release employees when advised.
Monitor the
Weather
- Listen to local Radio/TV weather forecasts; monitor social media.
- Sign up for text alerts from your local government.
- Sign up for weather alerts from NOAA/National Weather Service, including RSS
feeds of your forecast and weather watches/warnings.
- Purchase a NOAA weather radio for your home and office. NOAA Weather Radio
is the prime alerting and critical information delivery system of the National
Weather Service (NWS). NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts warnings, watches,
forecasts, and other hazard information 24 hours a
day.
Know the Emergency Plans for your Children’s
School
- If your child is safe at school, why risk a traffic accident during the
worst weather to reach him/her, and then put all of you in danger? Let the
school system implement their emergency plan, stay off the road and let
transportation crews clear the roadways.
About the National Capital Region (NCR)
The National Capital Region (NCR) is not an
operational entity because emergency response is a local function. Because the
NCR is a collection of sovereign jurisdictions, including cities, counties,
states and the District of
Columbia, this website and the efforts of the region's
communicators and public information officers will focus on regional
collaboration between the region’s homeland security partners to achieve a “safe
and secure National Capital Region.”
