The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has issued a warning to road users ahead of difficult driving conditions over the next few days.<\/p>\n
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The advice comes on foot of three weather warnings issued by Met \u00c9ireann earlier today, Wednesday, March 11.<\/p>\n
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The warnings will effect 11 counties altogether: a Status Orange wind warning for Co. Donegal; a Status Yellow snow\/ice warning for Co. Donegal; and a Status Yellow wind warning for counties Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Louth, Meath, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, and Clare.<\/p>\n
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The latter of these warnings will also apply to Co. Donegal when the Status Orange warning is not in effect.<\/p>\n
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Motorists traveling in these counties at the affected times are being advised to check the local traffic and weather conditions in the area before setting out on a journey.<\/p>\n
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For motorists driving in wet or windy conditions, the RSA gives the following advice:<\/p>\n
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Control of a vehicle may be affected by crosswinds, particularly high-sided vehicles and motorcycles;<\/p>\n
Beware of objects blown onto the road, and expect road conditions to change quickly;<\/p>\n
Watch out for fallen or falling debris, and vehicles veering across the road;<\/p>\n
Drivers should allow extra space between themselves and vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and motorcyclists, as they may be blown off-course;<\/p>\n
Drivers need to slow-down in wet weather conditions, especially on high-speed roads such as dual carriageways and motorways, where there is an increased danger of aquaplaning;<\/p>\n
Choose another route if the road ahead is flooded \u2013 do not drive through a flood. Floods could be deeper than they appear, and trees and branches in the water may not be visible;<\/p>\n
Drivers should always follow recommended routes and obey signs closing roads to traffic;<\/p>\n
After going through water, drive slowly with your foot on the brake pedal for a short distance, which helps to dry the brakes;<\/p>\n
Drive with dipped headlights at all times.<\/p>\n
The RSA has also outlined advice for cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.<\/p>\n
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This includes: wearing bright clothing with reflective armbands or a belt, as visibility for drivers will be reduced; taking special care when crossing the road or cycling in high winds; walking on footpaths where possible; and keeping an eye out for falling debris, especially in urban areas.<\/p>\n
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In terms of dealing with snow and ice, drivers are advised to:<\/p>\n
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Clear windows and mirrors with a screen scraper and de-icer \u2013 not hot water as this can crack the glass;<\/p>\n
Remove snow from your vehicle, as it can slide onto the windows during braking and restrict your view;<\/p>\n
Slow down; use all controls delicately, and leave extra distance between yourself and the vehicle in front. Avoid oversteering, harsh braking and harsh acceleration. Use the highest gear possible. Select a low gear when traveling downhill;<\/p>\n
Do not use the tail lights of the car in front as a guide. In heavy snow, use your fog lights, turn down the radio and let down the window slightly, so traffic can be heard;<\/p>\n
Use dipped headlights at all times, and fog lights in heavy snow;<\/p>\n
Watch out for vulnerable road users and allow extra space to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.<\/p>\n
Pedestrians are advised to: wear bright clothing, or ideally a high-visibility jacket<\/i><\/b><\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or reflective armband<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>s and belt; wear appropriate footwear; and not underestimate the danger of ice, using extreme caution when walking in icy areas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, the advice to motorcyclists for taking to the road in snowy and icy conditions is to not compromise their safety by going on a journey when they could cancel it or use alternative transport.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Motorcyclists should also: wear a high-visibility vest<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>; ensure lights are working properly, and avoid wearing a dark visor in bad light conditions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also, other road users may not expect motorcyclists, which could compromise safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has issued a warning to road users ahead of difficult driving conditions over the next few days. \n Blogs on reflective clothing and reflective material. Be seen, be safer. <\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[123],"tags":[70,115,120],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3471,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions\/3471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safereflective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}