State Police Respond to Over 1,500 Calls For Assistance Since Storm Began

State Police said they have received over 1,600 calls for assistance from across the state between when snow started Sunday and 4 p.m. Monday.

“It’s slippery,” Greg Caponegro from Southington said.

“Oh my goodness, very slippery,” agreed Margaret Prado from Wethersfield. “You have to be very careful. A lot of people either go way too fast or they’re going way too slow.”

Even those who are no strangers to New England winter weather are having a tough time on the roads with this wintry mix.

“My driveway is pretty icy,” said Eileen Bloch who lives in Newington.

“It’s very unpredictable,” Ray Soto from Newington said.

“The roads are extremely slick given that there was some snow falling and rainfall and the low temperatures that’s causing it to ice over,” explained Connecticut State Trooper Josue Dorelus.

Trooper Dorelus says drivers are having a hard time staying in their lanes and spinning out—ending up in the shoulder or medians on busy roads.

“Exercise a little bit of patience while you’re on the roadway,” Trooper Dorelus advised, “just because it’s 55 miles an hour in certain areas or 65 miles an hour in certain areas doesn’t mean you have to go that fast.”

Trooper Dorelus also said to avoid the left lane while driving on the highway if you can.

“Motorists tend to drive a little bit faster when they’re in that left lane so we want to encourage individuals to just avoid that left lane if at all possible,” he said.

And remember, leaving snow on the top of your car or commercial vehicle could lead to an accident and cost you.

“Because of the low temperatures, snow might get caked on their vehicles and start to ice over and that might be a bit dangerous while driving,” Trooper Dorelus explained. “If that ice were to fly off for whatever reason, we wouldn’t want it causing serious damage to another person’s vehicle or injury as a result of an accident.”

If you live in rural areas of the state or your commute is mostly on sideroads, be aware that those roads may not have been pretreated or plowed and exercise extra caution.