With snow on the ground and more to come before winter is over, some people are getting used to driving with the cold, white flakes on the road again.

Many times when there’s snow or ice on the roads, people can underestimate how little it takes to lose control of their vehicles when driving. Panora Police Chief Matt Reising advises to plan for more time when driving in winter conditions..

“It isn’t anything experienced drivers don’t already know, but we seem to keep needing to be reminded – myself included, but we always need to give ourselves more time. We’re used to not driving in these conditions for summer months, so we need to take it slow and figure out what the roads are like. I mean, time is probably one of the biggest things, because if we’re scheduling our time as if the roads weren’t snow or ice covered, then we’re going to be driving unsafely potentially. So we just need to give ourselves more time, look ahead, what we’re doing, (and) be prepared if we do go off on the road. That’s probably the best advice I can give.”

Reising adds that since towns have slower speed limits, there aren’t as many accidents caused by slick conditions, but if something does happen while in city limits, call the local police department or emergency services for assistance. For Guthrie County residents and visitors traveling between towns, he suggests calling the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, which is listed below.

641-747-2214