Safe winter traveling in North Dakota- Dialing 511

Dial 511 during winter before traveling in North Dakota

Dialing 511--a habit of some wintertime travelers is not necessarily one for all, but it should be. The truth of the matter is: If more drivers in North Dakota were paranoid about road conditions during the wintertime, more drivers would safely travel from Point A to Point B. What happens, though, is many people drive out in a mentally lazy fashion. What we mean is that people assume that their four-wheel drive vehicles, or even their winter tires, or their own driving abilities are going to be enough to keep them safe. Of course this is not always the case. For instance, a plane may have proper on-board equipment to avoid a storm, but we're all familiar with what can happen when it gets caught in one. We have seen professional drivers wreck. We have seen bridges collapse due to poor engineering. All of these events happen because "accidents happen." Sure, sometimes major mistakes are due to carelessness, but on other occasions they're simply due to circumstances. Indeed, "accidents happen," but when preparing to take a roadtrip, perhaps "Discretion is the better part of valor." Perhaps dialing 511 is not a bad idea at all to see what the roadways in North Dakota are looking like during the wintertime, and even during the other seasons. 

Keep up with more news on the surrounding highway area by visiting Williston's NDDOT page.