Fall Weather

As the weather gets cooler and the leaves drop from the trees, it's important to keep these safety tips in mind.

Check and update your emergency kit before winter approaches.
Start your day by checking the weather forecast before you leave home so you’ll know what to expect during the day.
Never park your car or truck over a pile of leaves. The heat from the vehicle's catalytic converter or exhaust system can ignite the leaves below.
Remove fuel from lawn mowers before storing them for winter.
Prune back trees and rake up leaves and debris. If you live in an open area with a lot of natural vegetation, consider creating a defensible fire zone around your home. Prune the bottom branches from trees and remove shrubs and trees within 20 feet of your home.

If you must drive in foggy conditions, keep the following safety tips in mind:

Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.
Make your vehicle visible to others both ahead of you and behind you by using your low beam headlights since this means your taillights will also be on. Use fog lights if you have them.
Never use your high-beam lights. Using high beam lights cause glare, making it more difficult for you to see what’s ahead of you on the road.
Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or change in the traffic pattern.
To ensure you are staying in the proper lane, follow the lines on the road with your eyes.
In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business and stop.
If there is no parking lot or driveway to pull into, pull your vehicle off to the side of the road as far as possible. Once you come to a stop, turn off all lights except for your hazard flashing lights. Be sure to take your foot off the brake pedal so that your tail lights are not illuminated so that other drivers don’t mistakenly run into you.