Ready for winter roads? ITD and ISP organize free winter driving courses

With winter comes rain, snow and icy road conditions. The Idaho Transportation Department and Idaho State Police are hosting free winter driving courses to prepare drivers for the snow season.

( Below is the transcript of the broadcast story)

“It’s a great opportunity for drivers who may not have much winter driving experience to learn what winter driving is all about,” said Matt Kreizenbeck, District 3 Community Outreach Coordinator for ITD.

He tells me that this is the first time they are offering winter driving courses in District 3. The course covers topics such as driving around snow plows, snow plow use and what ITD does to keep roads clear in winter conditions.

“We have our plow at the front of the plow. This is 12 feet wide, which is about the width of a lane on the highway. And then here we have our wing plow that is up to 10 feet wide, so our plows can be 22 feet wide,” Kreizenbeck said.

He tells me the safest place is well behind the plow.

“It’s a bad idea to overtake the plow on the right. This is out here and depending on the outside conditions it can sometimes be difficult to see this wing,” says Kreizenbeck.

“One of our districts up in D-1, Coeur d’Alene, has had this course for a while. And just by watching them, we can improve our drivers’ (skills) on the road,” said Trooper Jace Schirrmacher of the Idaho State Police.

He says this course allows him to teach the public the ins and outs of winter driving.

“It will be quite an interactive class. “Fortunately, with the Idaho State Police, we brought a number of dashcam videos that help show our own accidents that we have been involved in or accidents that we have investigated,” Schirrmacher said.

He tells me that many accidents are caused by black ice, poor visibility and following too closely with other vehicles.

“It’s a big deal to hit barriers, to slip. “The Flying Wye is a good example of one of our local problems that continues to cause headaches,” says Schirrmacher. “New riders, old riders, it’s a great way to get everyone involved and get everyone on the same page about what we want, what you’re going to do and how to drive properly in these conditions.”