With Snow on Horizon, Storm Safety Tips

With snow approaching Long Island, including Glen Cove, drivers are urged to take precautions. 

The New York State Office of Emergency Management offers these tips:

• Never follow a snowplow too closely or attempt to pass one. Remember that the highway ahead of the plow is usually snow-covered.
• Adjust speed for road conditions and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles.
• Schedule extra time for winter travel and be patient during ice and snow removal operations.
• Assume that bridge surfaces are slippery, as they freeze more quickly than road surfaces.
• Watch for black ice, which can be difficult to see but makes conditions slippery when pavement temperatures are below freezing.
• Have a cell phone handy, if possible, but do not text while driving; distracted driving is illegal and becomes even more dangerous during storm events.
• Never venture from your vehicle if snowbound.
• Equip your car with emergency supplies including sand, shovel, flares, booster cables, rope, ice scraper, portable radio, flashlight, blankets and extra warm clothes.
• Inform a responsible person of your destination, intended route, and estimated time of arrival.
• Keep calm and do not panic in case of a vehicle breakdown, accident, or if you become snowbound.

Listen to media reports, including Patch, to track the pending storm.

Do you take any special precautions you can share? Turn your car so the wheels with drive are at the edge of the driveway? Put salt down early? Tell us in the comments section.