Kansas Highway Patrol pushing safety ahead of winter storm

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – The Kansas Highway Patrol is pushing safety ahead of this weekend’s winter weather. Drivers need to not only adjust the way they drive, but also check over their vehicle ahead of the storm.

Trooper Don Hughes says the most important thing to remember is distance is your friend. He says drivers should leave a four to five second distance between them and the next car.

“When the vehicle in front of you passes a bridge pillar, a mile post marker or maybe it’s a tree or a mailbox and you count one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, until you get to about four or five and then the front of your car should be passing that marker that you used,” said Hughes.

Hughes says drivers should make sure their vehicle is up to date with maintenance and all fluids are full. He also suggests leaving earlier so drivers have enough time to prepare their vehicle.

I do make stops for, a lot officers do, when someone just scrapes the little bitty square out of their window so they think the have enough distance to see out of it,” said Hughes. “I really encourage people to clean the whole windshield.

AAA posted a checklist of things to consider both inside and outside your car this winter. Click here to check it out.