The Highway Hotline has provided updates on road conditions, closures, construction, ferries, and border crossings for over 50 years. (File photo/ battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

NEW WINTER DRIVING LINGO

Sask’s Highway Hotline – New winter driving lingo

Sep 25, 2024 | 3:20 PM

Saskatchewan’s Highway Hotline has introduced new terminology to describe winter driving conditions, providing more straightforward and consistent messages for drivers travelling across western Canada.

The Highway Hotline has provided updates on road conditions, closures, construction, ferries, and border crossings for over 50 years.

“These changes will help drivers make an informed decision while having better consistency with our neighbouring provinces and national standards,” Highways Minister Lori Carr said in a release.

(photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

According to a release, the new primary conditions include:

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• Bare – Road appears black, means all wheels of a passenger vehicle are on a bare surface.
• Partly Covered – Road appears yellow, means two wheels of a passenger vehicle are on a snow or ice-covered surface.
• Covered – Road appears pink, means all wheels of the vehicle are on snow or ice.
• Travel Not Recommended – Road appears blue, means that visibility is less than 250 metres and could become impassable.
• Closed – Road appears red, means the highway is impassable.

Besides the new lingo, the colour white was removed due to poor visibility on digital maps and will now be represented by a dotted line. Furthermore, in the winter driving season, road conditions are updated at least four times a day or whenever known changes impact drivers.

As per the release, Starting in February 2024, users can track the progress of snow plows and ice treatment in real-time to make informed decisions about safety.

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cjnb-news@pattisonmedia.com