University of Northern Iowa’s Public Safety Department urges students to be careful driving in winter conditions, as snow and ice is on its way this winter.

Lt. Joe Tyler of UNI Public Safety knows firsthand the problems winter brings for faculty, staff and students on and around campus.

According Tyler, the peak of accidents and reports occur during the winter months, specifically right after the first major snow storm.

“Be a defensive driver and be careful,” Tyler said.

“Drive the conditions of the road;” just because the speed limit is set at a particular number does not mean the weather and the quality of the roads will allow individuals to drive at that speed safely, Tyler said. 

Tyler said thankfully personal injury accidents are few and far between.  

The speed limit of the roads around campus is 25 mph; these roads can have many pedestrians. This causes most drivers to slow down to some degree and drive a little more cautiously, Tyler said.

According to Tyler, common problems that cause poor driving and accidents include failing to defrost windows, being in a hurry and not allowing enough time to adjust for road conditions, following too closely to other vehicles, texting and driving too fast.  

Despite the weather and road conditions, the driver of a vehicle is expected to maintain control at all times.  Driving too fast causes delayed slowing of the vehicle.  This is very common for SUVs in particular, according to Tyler.  

Drivers of SUVs tend to drive faster because their vehicles handle the snow better than smaller ones. However, SUVs cannot slow down any faster than any other vehicle and so they are more susceptible to accidents, Tyler said.  

Common winter driving accidents include hit and runs, sliding past turns, sliding through stop signs and bouncing off curbs. All of these can result in penalties to the driver, Tyler said.  

Even if the weather did contribute to the accident, drivers could be cited with failure to control the vehicle and charged up to hundreds of dollars of fines depending on the offense.  

“Any time you are behind the wheel of a vehicle, that’s your responsibility and you should always be in control of your vehicle,” Tyler said.