Fall is here; you can feel it in the air! The Autumn season ushers in football games, trips to the local pumpkin patch, trick-or-treaters, wildlife crossings, and the time changes at 2 a.m. Nov. 3rd. ?This beautiful season also presents us with different road conditions we haven’t seen in a year or more.
Driving in the fall means having to pay attention to a number of safety hazards on the road that you are not likely to experience during the warmer months.
Here are a few common hazards and tips for a safer fall season:
- Fog, frost, and mist are common fall driving hazards. Visibility decreases, and roads become slick, leading to serious accidents. When it is foggy, be sure to use your vehicle’s fog lights alongside low-beam headlights, never turn on your brights, and slow down. Also, be careful of ice patches on the roads, as heavy precipitation can freeze if temperatures drop low enough.
- Night Driving – It might seem that most people do much of their driving during daylight hours. However, in the fall, driving in the dark becomes more common. Most traffic deaths occur at night, so it is essential to stay alert, use your headlights, slow down, and watch for pedestrians, bicyclists, and animals while driving at night.
- Wildlife crossings are another common road hazard that occurs in fall and similarly in spring. Animals frequently have to crossroads, but the most likely time to hit an animal is during the months of October and November. Deer often mate during this time, and other animals are foraging for winter. Dusk is especially dangerous for animals and drivers alike. It is also less likely you will see an animal trying to cross the road because it gets darker faster and stays darker longer in the fall. Be sure to watch the roadsides carefully. Slow down at night, sundown, and early morning. Also, look for deer crossing signs; sometimes, they alert you to a heavy deer population before the deer do.
- Tires will lose air pressure as the rubber expands and air molecules contract with dropping temperatures. Check your tire pressure regularly. Fall also brings plenty of rain, which can lead to hydroplaning – especially if your tire tread is worn down – so make sure your tires are in good shape.
- Rain – Stopping, steering, and general maneuvering is harder when it is wet out. Oil and grime buildup mixed with fresh rain (usually when it has been dry for a while) can make roads slick.
- The glare from the sun increases when fall rolls around because the sun is closer to the horizon – even though we have fewer hours of sunlight. Be sure to keep your windshield clean and keep sunglasses on hand.
- Debris piles up in the fall. Leaves, branches, and other debris gather in the streets making it more difficult to stop, encouraging bicyclists to ride outside the lanes, cars to make hasty swerves, and pedestrians to walk where they shouldn’t. Even children playing in leaf piles near the road, and never drive into a pile of leaves for fear of what lies beneath or within - Stay vigilant.
- Finally, our precious little ones on all hallows eve. Costumes – Candy - Spooky stories - Ghoulish games, Just some of the many reasons kids look forward to Halloween every year. ?We look forward to seeing our kids or Grandkids adorably dressed up as anything they can imagine. Halloween might be scary for many reasons but is very scary for reasons other than you think. On average, twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween than on any other day of the year. With a few tips and tricks, kids can stay safe while out walking. Parents, please prepare your children to walk safely. Family, friends, and co-workers to be particularly alert this Halloween.
As you embrace the beauty of the fall season, take extra care to stay safe—whether it's on the roads, preparing for cooler weather, or simply enjoying the outdoors—so you can fully enjoy all that autumn has to offer.
