With heavy rain in the forecast for the northwest region tonight into Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is reminding motorists to never drive through flooded roadways and turn on their vehicle's headlights any time their windshield wipers are being used.
PennDOT urges drivers to be alert to water on roadways, obey warning signs and traffic control devices, and never drive through flooding or standing water on roads. Shallow, swiftly flowing water can wash a car from a roadway, as it takes just two feet of fast-moving water to float a car. Also, the roadbed may not be intact under the water.
Anyone who drives around barriers intended to close a road can face increased penalties if emergency responders are called to rescue motorists who disregard traffic control signs.
Pennsylvania law requires headlights to be turned on anytime a vehicle's wipers are needed. Drivers should turn on their full headlights during rain events as the daylight running lights feature on some vehicle does not automatically turn on the taillights.
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District1.
Follow local PennDOT news on Twitter and like the department on Facebook.
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Contact: Jill Harry, 814-678-5035 or jharry@pa.gov