Virginia State Police Advises Motorists To Avoid Unnecessary Travel   Richmond, VA (Jan. 4, 2018) - As temperatures are now on the steady decline and winds are kicking up, State Police are still advising motorists to delay any unnecessary travel into the evening and overnight hours…especially in the Hampton Roads, Tidewater, Eastern Shore, Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, Southside Virginia and the Metro-Richmond regions. Drifting snow continues to be a serious hazard in the impacted areas, as well as slick, slushy roadways – which will refreeze overnight. Fortunately, there are still no reported traffic deaths and the majority of the crashes continue to only involve only damage to vehicles and no injuries. State police in the impacted field divisions – Richmond and Chesapeake - will extend shifts as necessary through Thursday afternoon and evening to ensure the availability of personnel to continue to respond to incidents. Combined, State Troopers assigned to these two divisions responded to 902 calls for service, to include 356 traffic crashes and 409 disabled/stuck vehicles. "We want to remind Virginians to please call 511 or go to www.511virginia.org for road conditions and not 911 or #77. We need to keep emergency lines open for emergency calls. "We are still asking Virginians to delay their travel until later today. But, if you MUST travel…then please take the following safety precautions: · Clear off ALL snow and ice from your vehicle – windows, roof, trunk and lights · Add extra time to reach travel destination · Slow speed for road conditions · Increase driving distances between vehicles for increased stopping distance · Buckle up and don’t drive distracted · MOVE OVER for all stopped emergency vehicles, highway vehicles and tow trucks."

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