UPS and UHP want drivers to slow down, keep their distance during winter road conditions
Feb 3, 2022, 12:38 PM | Updated: Jun 13, 2022, 3:50 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — One day after the Utah Highway Patrol responded to dozens of crashes on slick roads, the agency along with UPS warned drivers to slow down and give themselves enough space on the roads during winter conditions.
No matter where your destination is, you are never too far away to get too close to big commercial vehicles, like UPS trucks. Especially in snow and ice.
Can you get a chain on a tire that fast?
Representatives from @UPS and @UTHighwayPatrol race to get chains on tires as they get the message out about safe driving in winter conditions. They want to be sure drivers give commercial vehicles extra space. Story on @KSL5TV at noon. pic.twitter.com/3TeNw1LnFE
— Sean Moody (@SeanMoodyNews) February 3, 2022
“We drive a big vehicle that can do some damage if they get out of control,” said Ben Ostler, cochair of the UPS Bonneville Center. “So, it’s extremely important for our drivers to do everything that they can to maintain safety at all times.”
“I think that the public sometimes forgets the size and the weight that these commercial motor vehicles are doing,” said UHP Cpl. Justin Cloward. “We need to remember that we need to give these guys a lot more room.”
Speeding has been a big concern for UHP since citations shot up in 2020 — and that’s only heightened in slick conditions. UHP responded to several crashes after Wednesday’s lake-effect storm passed through.
Cloward joined the UPS at a media event on Thursday to warn drivers to slow down.
“Take the time to slow down because there’s someone at home who needs you back home,” said Ostler, who has been driving with UPS for 27 years.
He said he has had several close calls but never a crash over the years.
“We’re big and it takes us a lot more time, a lot more room to maneuver around,” Ostler said. “To stop, to speed up.”
