December 17, 2003

East Lansing - With the holiday season in full swing and the official start of winter on Dec. 21, the Michigan State Police is reminding citizens to visit the Winter Travel Advisory web site to check road conditions before they travel. The web site is located at: http://www.ohsp.state.mi.us/rw/home.htm

The public may view current road conditions for any area of the state from this web site. Road conditions are listed for freeways and state truck lines, which are the first to be cleared during bad winter weather. Road conditions are categorized as clear, wet, icy, snow covered, slushy, overpass icy, drifting snow, lanes reduced, blowing snow, or roads closed. While road conditions for rural and county roads are not on the web site, it would be unusual for road conditions on these roads to be better than those listed for the area freeways.

The Michigan State Police Winter Travel Advisory is updated twice a day from information provided by law enforcement and public safety personnel working throughout Michigan. The advisory is posted online from November to March each year. The public can also access weather and road conditions by calling the Michigan State Police Travel Hotline at 1-800-381-8477. State Police ask that you utilize either the web site or the Travel Hotline rather than calling your local State Police post.

As a reminder, driving too fast for road conditions is the number one cause of traffic crashes during the winter season. The Michigan State Police encourages holiday travelers to check the Winter Travel Advisory web site for information and use their own best judgement when traveling this winter. If weather conditions appear too severe for travel, they most likely are.

Read more press releases from the Michigan State Police.