OUR VIEW: Take care in the snow, drive safely

With fall temperatures dropping in the mid-teens, it is apparent winter is just around the corner for Utah State University students and Cache Valley residents.

Besides frigid weather, winter in Cache Valley, and Northern Utah in general, means one thing – snow, and the inherent hazards driving in snow causes.

With this in mind, those who are new to the university and valley need to recognize that driving in the snow is a lot different than driving under normal circumstances.

The general rule for driving safely in normal weather conditions is the two-second rule. In a nutshell, the two-second rule involves selecting an object off to the side of the road, such as a sign or overpass and making sure there is a two-second interval between the vehicle ahead and the student passing that object.

While driving in snow, and on icy roads, the distance between vehicles should be at least four seconds.

Unfortunately, people who are new to the valley are not the only ones who need to be told how to drive in bad weather conditions. This was obvious on Oct. 30 – the valley’s first major snow storm of the fall season. There were 19 car accidents reported in Logan and a fatal one in the Tremonton area.

With the weather report calling for more snow the next couple of days, it is imperative that people remember to be careful. After all, getting to a location a few minutes later is better than making an unexpected trip to the hospital.