Ohio Highway Patrol cautions drivers ahead of weekend weather conditions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- As central Ohio prepares for some dangerous winter road conditions again, Ohio State Highway Patrol has some important reminders.

Drivers are probably used to hearing the list: be prepared, drive slow, leave space. Some might even be thinking they are fine thanks to their four-wheel drive. But Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) said a lot of the accidents they see in the winter weather are cars with four-wheel drive, and that’s just the start.

"Just because you think you can do it doesn't mean that you should do it," OSHP Lt. Christian Niemeyer said. 

Niemeyer has spent the week responding to accidents.

"We respond to a lot of slide-offs off the roadway where people are driving a little unsafe for the conditions," Niemeyer said. 

Some were on Monday, during the storm, but the majority were actually after the snow stopped.

"As the week goes by and the roadways clear a little more, you're still going to have those slick spots on the roadways. And people tend to become a little more complacent, a little more comfortable with the road conditions," Niemeyer said. 

That’s when it can all go wrong.

"The last couple of days, we've actually been a little busier with crashes because the sun will melt the snow on the roadway, might create some slick spots that people aren't necessarily paying attention to," Niemeyer said. 

He encourages drivers to make sure to give themselves extra time, clean off their cars so snow doesn’t blow back on anyone else and make sure windshield wiper fluid is filled up. 

Niemeyer shared a story about what happens if you don’t prepare: on Thursday he saw a driver who he thought was drunk. The car was in a ditch, sliding around.

It turned out the defroster wasn’t working and the driver couldn’t see. That’s how he ended up off the road and served as an important reminder to always be prepared.