{"id":8589,"date":"2025-11-12T12:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/prepare-for-winter-driving-conditions-now-rcmp-officer-and-provincial-public-works-minister-say\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T12:35:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:35:05","slug":"prepare-for-winter-driving-conditions-now-rcmp-officer-and-provincial-public-works-minister-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/prepare-for-winter-driving-conditions-now-rcmp-officer-and-provincial-public-works-minister-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare for winter driving conditions now, RCMP officer and provincial Public Works minister say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"prepare-for-winter-driving-conditions-now,-rcmp-officer-and-provincial-public-works-minister-say\"<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Prepare for winter driving conditions now, RCMP officer and provincial Public Works minister say<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Article content\u201cPosted speed limits are (there) for ideal conditions, not icy ones,\u201d he said. \u201cIncrease your following distance and avoid sudden movements.\u201dArticle contentMcLaughlin also wants to remind motorists that during the winter, that habit of letting drivers on side streets proceed can be a nice gesture, but it can also unexpectedly cause trouble when roads turn icy.Article content\u201cSome drivers will literally stop on their morning commute to allow one of these drivers on side streets to come in,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what happens is they\u2019ll stop, and on a two-lane icy highway, you suddenly get rear-ended and, in a lot of cases, you get two or three cars that (get into collisions) because they\u2019re not giving that time and distance that they need.\u201dArticle content An example of motorist pulled over by police for driving without properly clearing snow off the vehicle. \u201cI\u2019ve seen in my career all across Canada where people will scrape off their windshields, scrape off the back window, drive, hit the brakes, and the three feet of snow that\u2019s on top of the vehicle come sweeping down right over top of them, causing all kinds of problems,\u201d says Cpl. Gary McLaughlin of the RCMP North-East Traffic Services-Cape Breton division. Photo by MRC DES COLLINES POLICE FILEArticle contentSTART NOW WITH PREPARATIONSArticle contentLast Thursday, snow dropped on such areas as Port Hawkesbury and Mount Thom on the mainland, while parts of Cape Breton experienced a mix of rain and flurries as temperatures dipped to near the freezing mark (Celsius, or near 32 F).Article contentArticle contentMcLaughlin and Tilley said that alone should be a reminder to start now with preparations for winter driving.Article content\u201cIt\u2019s common sense, but it\u2019s also people needing that reminder,\u201d Tilley said.Article content\u201cWe just had a beautiful summer season. Now we\u2019re heading into a winter season. We\u2019ve already seen some snow in certain areas of the province, and it\u2019s about changing (drivers\u2019) mindsets to move toward that winter preparedness, and getting folks back in that mindset that winter\u2019s coming.\u201dArticle content Fred Tilley, minister of Public Works: \u201cI think the speed limits are in the right spots for where they need to be.\u201d Photo by IAN NATHANSON\/CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentNO PLANS TO REDUCE SPEED LIMITSArticle contentTilley said for now, there appear to be no immediate intentions to reduce posted speed limits along Route 4 between Howie Centre in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Lynche River in Richmond County \u2014 this despite residents attending last Thursday\u2019s meeting in Big Pond raising issue with motorists speeding along the provincially owned trunk route.Article contentArticle content\u201cI think the speed limits are in the right spots for where they need to be,\u201d he said. \u201cWherever you set the speed limit, there are going to be individuals that drive over that speed limit.Article content\u201cSo I think it\u2019s more about enforcement. It\u2019s more about people ensuring that they\u2019re sticking to the rules of the road and driving sensibly and using common sense on our roads and highways.\u201dArticle contentArticle contentPREPARING FOR WINTER DRIVINGArticle contentTo prepare for unpredictable winter weather, vehicles should have winter tires, cold-temperature antifreeze and an emergency kit.Article contentOther winter driving tips include: \u2022 Wearing seatbelts (seatbelts are required by law all year round) \u2022 Slowing down and leaving additional space between vehicles; it takes more time and distance to brake in winter conditions \u2022 Keeping the gas tank at least half full \u2022 Clearing snow off the vehicle \u2022 Planning ahead and allowing extra time for possible delaysArticle content<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prepare for winter driving conditions now, RCMP officer and provincial Public Works minister say Article content\u201cPosted speed limits are (there) for ideal conditions, not icy ones,\u201d he said. \u201cIncrease your following distance and avoid sudden movements.\u201dArticle contentMcLaughlin also wants to remind motorists that during the winter, that habit of letting drivers on side streets proceed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":8590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,590,1],"tags":[116,589],"class_list":["post-8589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-newfoundland-and-labrador","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}