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WILLIAMSBURG, Fla. – As Central Florida and Tampa Bay area drivers are coming out of a record-breaking cold snap, they should monitor their vehicles as temperatures climb.
The Florida Highway Patrol warns that preparation is still vital to avoid road hazards caused by the recent chill.
At FHP’s Troop D station in Williamsburg, six-year trooper Migdalisis Garcia said that cold snaps could deflate your tires, impacting safety on the roads.
What You Need To Know
Cold snaps can cause tires to deflate. Verify the correct levels using the sticker on your driver’s door panel, as low pressure makes tires more vulnerable to damage
Cold air can drop your tire pressure by 1–2 PSI for every 10-degree dip
Drivers must reduce speed to allow for more reaction time. If you run into trouble, pull over to the shoulder and dial *347 for a Florida Highway Patrol Road Ranger
Trooper Garcia began her career with FHP, answering dispatch phones until her passion for helping others led her to be more involved.
“I just felt like I needed to do a little bit more, something to be actually involved, and not just be answering the phone calls. I kind of felt like I never got to know the ending of the stories,” said Garcia.
Getting down on the ground, Garcia showed how to properly check the air pressure for her trooper vehicle’s tire, and how other local drivers can check their car’s recommended air pressure level indicated by a sticker on the side of the driver's door panel.
“You always make sure that all four tires have the correct tire pressure. And if they don’t know what that is, they can check it on the driver’s door panel. There should be a sticker in there, and it tells you what tire pressure your tires should be at,” said Garcia.
The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says drivers should check tire inflation often.
As temperatures drop, so can your tire pressure. Low tire pressure does not give tires better traction in icy conditions; it only makes them more vulnerable to damage.
Ashley Cannaday is an associate professor in the Physics Department at Rollins College in Winter Park.
Cannaday expressed just how easy it is for water to freeze on the road in lower temperatures, and how zero traction for your car’s tires can be dangerous.
“Let’s say your neighbor forgot to turn their sprinkler off overnight. And I know I have a neighbor whose sprinkler is always going on the road and grass for some reason. And then it sits there with how cold we’ve gotten recently. It could freeze and create this thin layer of ice where you get zero traction,” said Cannaday.
Cannaday also mentioned safety measures for drivers coming back on the road after Florida’s temperatures warm up.
"They go through that rapid expansion and compression, when they expand and contract, sometimes that ice that’s on them will melt, the water will get into the asphalt when it expands, and when you get a cold snap again, it turns into ice cracks,” said Cannaday.
“So yeah, that rapid change in temperature back and forth is a big reason why the roads up North are so worn down a lot quicker than down here," she said. "I guess we could expect that in Florida because this is a historical low temperature.”
Garcia said FHP dispatch calls have not increased yet, but they are prepared with extra troopers available to handle the extreme weather. Experts warn that aggressive driving on icy or wet roads can be a recipe for disaster.
“In that condition, it’s important as well for drivers to reduce their speed, because that also gives you more time to react in case you have to brake and stop for something in front of you,” said Garcia.
“Use those resources. You are not alone. And, if you don’t feel safe again, just call STAR 3-4-7 from your cell phone, and a road ranger can be sent to help you out.”
FHP protocols tell drivers having trouble to pull over safely to the shoulder immediately.
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