it is important to maintain a safe vehicle anytime of the year, but winter it is important to ensure your vehicle is ready. Wisconsin DOT makes the following recommendations:
- Keep the fuel tank at least half-full to prevent fuel lines from freezing and provide extra fuel if you get stranded; make sure electric vehicles are fully charged.
- Check the battery's condition, anti-freeze, lights, and cooling system.
- Replace worn windshield wipers and fill up washer fluid.
- Have an emergency kit in every vehicle; include essentials like a blanket, flashlight, cell phone charger, and shovel.
It is equally important to ensure you have allowed yourself extra time to properly clean snow and ice off of your vehicle before you head onto the roadway. We often observe vehicles with a small area scraped clear on the windshield just in front of the driver’s seat. This is dangerous and greatly limits the visibility of the driver of other vehicles, pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
If you find yourself involved in a crash, please be aware that often times crashes are occurring throughout the Village and there may be a delay in police response. Crashes involving injury, blocked lanes of traffic or traffic signals with exposed wires will take priority over property damage only crashes. It is important to remember that any crash involving injury to a person, $1,000.00 or more of damage to any person’s vehicle or property; or damage of $200.00 or more to government-owned property must be reported (SS 346.70(1)). Property only crashes that do not meet the mandatory reporting can be handled by a simple driver exchange of information as well as driver reported on-line through WI DOT. These options do not require a law enforcement response. When in doubt please call for a police response.