• Always drive on good, properly inflated issouri is a state of four seasons tires. and each season has its own unique road conditions. Missouri driving • Know and obey all traffic laws. cannot be categorized entirely into spring, summer, autumn, or winter. Nature some- • Be ready to adjust your speed to be ap- times mixes our four seasons together, and propriate for constantly changing driving this can cause problems when we travel. conditions. This brochure has been prepared to give you some tips on how to handle our Finally, let’s all work together, so fewer many varied driving conditions. people will become traffic crash statistics on Missouri’s highways. Spring Buckle Up Missouri! • Never drive when you have been drink- ing alcoholic beverages. Summer • Never ride with someone who has been drinking. • If medication directions indicate you should not drive after taking it, don’t do Feel free to call the it. Road Condition Report Hotline at: Produced by: Public Information and Education Division • Have a good attitude when you drive. Be Published by: Autumn patient with others. 1-888-275-6636 Missouri State Highway Patrol 1510 East Elm Street • Give driving your full attention. Behind Or, check the Patrol’s Jefferson City, MO 65101 the wheel is no place to read, put on 573-751-3313 makeup, or talk on the cell phone. web site at: V/TDD 573-751-3313 email: [email protected] • How about those eyes? Don’t be vain. If www.mshp.dps.mo.gov www.mshp.dps.mo.gov Winter you need glasses, wear them. • Keep your car windows clean inside and out. An Internationally Accredited Agency SHP-725 D 12/2015 Though beautiful, spring is the Summer is a great time of year, Winter in Missouri can be very season to trick you. Don’t let your but more traffic crashes occur dur- Autumn is the season Missouri harsh and dangerous, but the dis- weather guard down. Let’s not get too ing this season than any other. That’s puts on its prettiest face. We’re tired of comforts and difficulties it brings confident, because ... because more people are traveling and the summer heat, so it’s good to have can be minimized if we do some In spring we have widely varied have a false sense that roads are at a change. But, we have to stay on top careful planning and use common temperatures. A bridge floor or road- their best. Let’s try to make summer of Missouri’s ever-changing road and sense. way can become frost covered quickly, our best driving season by keeping a weather conditions. Allow yourself extra traveling and melting snow draining across a few things in mind. Those beautiful leaves will fall, so time as winter demands we slow road can soon be ice. Remember: There is a slippery watch for them as they pile up on the down. Remember to give your car a Fog likes spring and its fickle tem- film on the road when it starts raining. road. They create a slick spot when chance to warm up before you begin peratures. The rule is slow down and Slow down! When it rains your head- they get wet. your journey. Clear all its windows of get those headlights on. lights are required by law to be on The farmers are trying to get their that pesky frost, snow, and ice. Heavy rains come with spring, with your wipers. crops out of the fields. Continue to be Remember to use your head- so does hydroplaning, soft shoul- Kids are out of school for the sum- patient when their machinery is on the lights on those long, cold, gray days ders, and flash flooding. Never drive mer. Watch out for them. They some- road. of winter. Better to be seen than through fast moving waters and al- times use poor judgment as pedestri- Due to changing temperatures, be- hurt. ways heed signs that warn of flooding. ans and bicyclists. ware of frost on bridge floors. Keep a box of emergency equip- Spring is the beginning of the Motorcycles are out this time of The kids are back in school. Re- ment in the trunk of your car to be farming season. Big tractors and year, so keep a sharp eye out for them. member, on a two-lane roadway if a used if you become stranded on a wide equipment will start traveling They are easy to overlook. school bus is stopped displaying warn- cold, lonely, deserted road. Some of the roads. Slow down and give them Don’t spoil your vacation by not ing signals and is either loading or un- the equipment should include flares, plenty of room. being prepared. Make sure you and loading children, you must stop when blankets, flashlight, gloves, tools, Tornadoes occur with fluctuat- your vehicle are ready for the miles both meeting and following the bus. and anything else that might help ing temperatures. Pay attention to ahead. Know your route. Secure lug- However, it is only necessary to stop on you in an emergency. weather bulletins. Spring is a time gage properly. Take frequent breaks a four-lane highway when following the Always keep your fuel tank at of renewal. Missouri winter is hard to stay alert and safe. bus. least half full. on man, beast, and our mechanical The scenery is great, but don’t Deer are plentiful in Missouri Never use cruise control when friends. Give your car the attention it forget to watch the road. and one can run suddenly in front of roads are slick. deserves. Missouri builds and repairs its your car. Many times it is best to steer Is your car ready for winter? Remember, in Missouri, you must roads in the summertime, so pay close straight and slow down instead of remove your studded snow tires be- attention to, and heed, construction swerving right or left to avoid a colli- Here’s a good checklist: anti- fore April 1. signs and workmen. sion. freeze, wiper blades, hoses, belts, Give ‘em a brake! It’s time to get the car ready for battery, heater, exhaust, defrost- winter. That cold and snowy season will er, windshield washer, tires, etc. soon be here. Where’s the ice scraper? November 1 is the date you can put on your studded snow tires in Missouri..