AAA says travel safe tonight with winter weather in the Tri-State

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Friday night through Saturday morning is a First Alert Weather Day due to winter weather moving back in the FOX19 NOW viewing area. As snow falls, road conditions will become hazardous.

Despite road temperatures above freezing, snow will stick and melt initially. As temperatures fall, black ice will begin to develop.

Kara Hitchens, Public Affairs Manager with AAA says, “You could very easily hit an icy patch and spin out on the roads, and that’s a dangerous situation.”

Black ice will have motorists slow down or even at a complete stop on some local roads. It is imperative to slow down and not hit the brakes too hard.

According to a study done by Broughton School of Motoring, if you’re traveling 50 mph on a dry, flat road, it will take you approximately 125 feet to go to a complete stop. When the same road is icy, the stopping distance can be ten times as long. This means the stopping distance on icy roads if you’re traveling at 50 mph is 1,250 feet - which is roughly a quarter of a mile.

Hitchens urges that, “You want to be fully in control of your vehicle. You want to be able to brake and accelerate when you need to, not in cruise control.”

If you are sliding on the roads with snow or ice, stay inside your vehicle. AAA says it is the best and safest option, because there is a very good chance that a driver behind you may hit the same patch of ice and slide off the road as well.

You also want to have an emergency kit, which can be found here.

For the latest weather conditions and forecast updates, download the FOX19 First Alert Weather app!

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