TxDOT’s tips for driving in severe weather conditions – stay at home if you can

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- With more heavy rain and thunderstorms coming through the Borderland, officials are urging everyone to stay safe while driving in severe weather.

The main advice: stay home if you don't need to be outside.

ABC-7 spoke with TxDOT El Paso District's Public Information Officer Lauren Macias-Cervantes.

Other tips she shared for the public are the following:

• If you do need to be out on the roadways, check road and weather conditions beforehand.
• Check your vehicle before heading to the roads to check if it is ready for the drive.
• Check tire condition, working wipers, gas tank, all fluids, jumper cables and have an emergency kit just in case.
• Bring additional supplies such as food, water, blankets and towels, among others.
• If conditions are not ideal, delay your trip.
• Bring more supplies if you are traveling with a kid or with a pet.

"Once you're ready to go out on the road, make sure that you leave with plenty of time, have your seatbelt on, don't speed and slow down, especially in wet conditions," Macias-Cervantes said. "To allow for anything that you may have to react to, perhaps you know there's a vehicle that gets in your way or some, you know, something that you need to avoid, like water or a pothole on the roadway; so it's very important to have that increased following distance in front of you."

TxDOT also asks you to check weather and road conditions in its more than 200 live traffic cameras; you can check them here.

"Very important to always have your lights on and slow down in these conditions," Macias-Cervantes added. "Avoid any flooded roadways; you want to make sure that you're not going through a roadway that has a huge ponding area and again, delay your travel if you can and take that alternate route."

If you need help on the road, you can call TxDOT's Highway Emergency Response Operator (HERO) assistance program at 915-790-HERO. It is not a 24/7 service, but they do work every day of the week until 9 p.m.

"Another very important tip is to avoid being on cruise control, driving in cruise control during the rain, because that could increase your chances of hydroplaning and losing control," Macias-Cervantes also said. "If you do come across an intersection that doesn't have a functioning traffic light, go ahead and treat it as a four-way stop."

TxDOT urges all community members: if you do see the department's barrels or barricades blocking a flooded roadway, do not move them for your safety, because that road is not safe to drive through.

"Always check those conditions; it doesn't matter if you're heading to work," Macias-Cervantes added. "Leave with plenty of time and check on your vehicle; a lot of the vehicles that our HERO units assist are a result of people not maintaining that maintenance on their vehicles, not checking their tires, not getting those changes and not checking those necessities for vehicle trouble."

When there are severe weather conditions in the borderland, TxDOT El Paso District Office works with two different National Weather Service offices, as the El Paso District covers from El Paso through Presidio, Texas. They also work with the Midland, Texas area and with partners in New Mexico.

"I think the most important thing to remember is that when there is inclement weather, if you don't need to be out on the roadway, then go ahead and stay home. If you do need to go out, monitor those weather conditions and make sure that your vehicle is ready to go. Check those road conditions with our live cameras. Leave with plenty of time; drive to conditions, plan that the trip is going to take you a little bit longer and know an alternate route just in case you encounter any flooding or any crashes."

For additional information, you can click here.