Speed limit and vehicle restrictions will be in place starting early Tuesday morning amid upcoming winter weather in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced the vehicle restrictions Monday, “ahead of freezing precipitation forecast across Pennsylvania.”
PennDOT said it is implementing “Tier 1 restrictions” under the commonwealth’s weather event vehicle restriction plan.
Tier 1 means the following vehicles are not permitted on affected roadways:
- Tractors without trailers
- Tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded enclosed trailers, open trailers or tank trailers
- Tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded tandem trailers
- Enclosed unloaded or lightly loaded cargo delivery trucks/box trucks that meet the definition of a CMV
- Passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, etc.) towing trailers
- Recreational vehicles/motorhomes
- School buses, commercial buses and motor coaches without available chains or another approved Alternate Traction Device on board
- Motorcycles
These vehicle restrictions will be in effect beginning at 3 a.m. Tuesday for the entire length of I-99 and from I-79 to Exit 173 on I-80, PennDOT said.
Starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday, the vehicle restrictions will be in effect on more roadways, including:
- I-80 from Exit 173 to the New Jersey border
- I-81 from I-78 to the New York border
- I-84 entire length
- I-180 from I-80 to U.S. 220
- I-380 entire length
- U.S. 322 from I-99 to I-81
On these roadways for all vehicles, speed limits will be restricted to 45 miles per hour “when conditions warrant,” according to PennDOT. And commercial vehicles not affected by the restrictions must drive in the right lane.
“Drivers are advised to watch weather forecasts, avoid unnecessary travel if possible and to exercise caution when driving,” PennDOT said.
Preliminary data from last winter in Pennsylvania shows that there were 8,329 crashes, 29 fatalities and 2,959 injuries on snowy, slushy or ice-covered roadways, according to PennDOT. Of the fatalities, 11 weren’t wearing a seat belt and 17 were in crashes where a driver was going too fast for conditions and drove out of their lane, the release said.
If avoiding or delaying travel is not possible, PennDOT advised drivers to slow down gradually and drive at a speed that suits conditions, don’t pass a vehicle moving slowly or speed up to get away from a vehicle following too closely, turn on headlights, stay in their lane and increase following distance, stay alert and look as far ahead as possible, be patient and do not drive distracted, use their defroster and wipers, and keep windows and mirrors free of snow and ice.
Drivers should turn on their hazard lights if caught in a snow squall, PennDOT said, and during whiteouts, drivers should come to a complete stop only when they can safely pull off the roadway.
“Do not stop in the flow of traffic since this could cause a chain-reaction collision,” according to PennDOT.
Emergency kits should be kept in vehicles as well, PennDOT said. Suggestions of what can be included in an emergency kit can be found here.
PennDOT said in the Monday announcement that in areas without salt residue from previous storms, it might pretreat with salt brine, which is a mix of water and salt.
“Salt brine isn’t appropriate for every storm, but when it’s used it helps prevent precipitation from bonding to the road and gives the department a jump start on removing ice and snow,” PennDOT said.
Pennsylvanians should visit 511PA.com or the 511PA smartphone app for the most up-to-date information on weather impacts and vehicle restrictions. Drivers can sign up for personalized alerts on the website.