LUBBOCK, Texas — Freezing temperatures and precipitation made for a dangerous morning and afternoon commute. Road conditions were expected to worsen Monday night and over the next few days, prompting the Lubbock Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety to warn drivers of how dangerous this weather can be.
Sergeant Johnny Bures with the Texas Department of Public Safety said it’s easy to get complacent with roadway conditions and recommends taking it slow behind the wheel.
“It’s really easy to feel really confident, especially if you don’t feel that you’ve been sliding or losing control,” Burres said. “The biggest thing is just slow down and give yourself enough time and distance to stop and just plan ahead.”
Sgt. Bures said if you happen to run into ice, refrain from braking or accelerating and slowly turn into the direction you’re sliding.
“Definitely any time that you hit any kind of patch device, you definitely want to let off the accelerator, don’t slam on the brakes,” Bures said.” “The easiest thing to do is tell folks to just kind of steer in the direction that you want the car to travel gradually to get back up on the roadway and to help straighten down and be ready for it to start straightening out.”
Corporal Antonio Leal said roadway conditions can be deceiving from far away, making it easy to underestimate just how dangerous the roads are.
Corporal Leal also agreed giving yourself time to react to anything will save you from a lot of dangerous situations.
“We want you to slow down in the event that you have to accelerate or brake, we want you to do that slowly,” Leal said. “You’re going to want to increase the distance between you and other vehicles on the road just in case you have to stop.”
“In the event there are hazardous road conditions, it may be in the form of black ice that isn’t easily recognizable from the inside of your vehicle,” Leal said. “So always drive with caution and be aware that that could be a hazardous road condition.”
LBK emergency alert system sign up: City of Lubbock – Sign up for LBK Alert
DPS road conditions map: DriveTexas
