Editorial

Best practices when the snow flies

Posted

As a result of our recent hit-and-miss dealings with Mother Nature, we need to accept the fact that we can never take her for granted. Despite the latest and greatest in meteorological science, weather forecasts can still change — or be off by 50 miles or so — whether they’re for hurricanes or snowstorms.

The most logical prediction, however, with winter just half over, is that there’s more snow to come, and we should continue erring on the side of safety — first, by heeding the advice of professionals and resisting the urge to do only what we think is best for us.

Every time it snows, village and town governments implore residents not to shovel snow into the street — yet many still do. What the my-driveway-comes-first folks need to learn is that they complicate the cleanup for the men and women who plow our streets, costing local governments more in overtime, which contributes to higher taxes for all of us.

Help our firefighters out, too, while you’re at it. After it snows, if there’s a fire hydrant near you, shovel a 3-foot perimeter around it, which will make it easily accessible in the event of a fire. The last thing firefighters should have to do in a life-or-death emergency is spend precious seconds searching for a hydrant.

Check in on older residents, to make sure they’re OK and to shovel their sidewalks, at least, and their driveways if need be.

We’ve all been white-knuckled at the wheel at some point over the past couple of weeks, and AAA’s list of winter driving tips includes some you may have discovered on your own, and others you should be aware of as well:

Never warm up your vehicle in a garage, where carbon monoxide can be deadly. Check your tires’ tread depth, and make sure they’re properly inflated to ensure the best traction possible. Don’t mix radial tires with other tire types, because that can have an adverse effect on suspension systems, transmission and tread wear. And keep at least half a tank of gas in your vehicles at all times in case of emergency.

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