Indiana Toll Road provides tips on safe car travel ahead of the holiday season
From today through New Year's -- millions of Americans are driving to celebrate with friends and family.
A report from AAA says car travel is expected to be the second highest on record after 2019, with nearly 104 million motorists nationwide driving to their holiday destinations.
“We can predict traffic patterns based on historical data looking at past holiday weekends or travel days and know what to expect that allows us to staff properly. And then we look at those national averages. What is what is AAA projecting traveled to look like? So, all those are factors to determine what resources do we need to deploy, whether it's added patrols, make sure our partners at the Indiana State Police have enough patrols out. And then what kind of lane availability at the toll lanes do we need to have,” Indiana Toll Road CEO Rick Fedder says.
This year, there isn’t any snow expected for the holiday season compared to last year’s holiday travel, as Fedder says from a road safety standpoint, this is good as travel won’t be disrupted by winter weather.
However, he did advise being cautious while driving as he provided some advice on how to remain safe on the road.
He says drive to the road’s speed limits and adjust the speed according to the road’s conditions. Don't rely on using cruise control in congested traffic as one may need to slow down more quickly than cruise control can handle. Even though snow is not expected, he advises keeping some emergency supplies in the car, like water and blankets, as extreme cold temperatures are still possible.
Fedder says the most important thing is to allow yourself enough time to get to your destination safely.
The toll road says this year there is extra resources on deck including more safety patrols, toll roll plaza employees and snow trucks, although there's no snow in the forecast for this holiday weekend. Fedder says to keep the roads safer, they are making their salt brine in-house for the first time this year.
“It's just another tool in the toolbox to help us fight winter and just to keep everybody a bit safer while they're driving,” Fedder said.
If you plan on traveling on the Indiana Toll Roll Plaza, Fedder asks you to closely follow the signage to either EZ pass lanes or cash or credit lanes. Be prepared to sort to those lanes early to avoid last-minute lane switches and to have your pass or money on hand to speed up the process.
Additionally, drivers shouldn't have to worry about any construction projects with lane restrictions, making travel smoother.
“It’s a busy travel holiday weekend for us, but nothing we couldn't handle. And certainly, we're able to deliver the level of service that we that we want to tour motorists,” Fedder said.