Driving laws stricter during wintertime
- posted: 04 Dec. 2007
- scrollspecial@byui.edu
The Rexburg Police Department is doing its part to keep students safe this winter. In addition to keeping criminals off the streets of Rexburg, local police forces are making sure students are driving safely in Rexburg’s winter conditions.
Icy conditions and inexperienced drivers create a considerable amount of risk for driving in the winter. Some out-of-state students have had little or no winter driving experience.
Spinning the tires to accelerate and locking the brakes are among the most common mistakes drivers make.
“We have this mentality, if it won’t go, we give it more gas,” said Capt. Randy Lewis of the Rexburg Police Department. “The main thing is, don’t panic.”
The best thing to do, he said, is drive with people who are used to slick roads.
Lack of vehicle maintenance also causes winter accidents.
“It’s unbelievable what you run into,” Lewis said. Bald tires, poorly scraped windows and vehicles in improper working order are some of the most common problems that the police see from students. He explained that, most often, females have more trouble driving attentively, while men are more likely to break the law intentionally.
The BYU-Idaho Division of the Rexburg Police Department and BYU-I Security do their part to help keep students safe. Daredevil winter bikers and skaters are issued tickets for riding too fast on campus, putting other students at risk.
“In the wintertime, when the conditions get icy, they’ve got to slow down a lot,” said Jonathan Jensen, a sophomore studying sociology and a BYU-I security guard.
The police also write tickets for careless drivers who break the law and put others at risk. Following too closely, speeding and failure to be reasonable and prudent are common moving violations.
If the conditions are too icy, officers can even pull drivers over for going the speed limit.
“Part of our job is writing tickets We don’t like to, but we have to do it,” Lewis said.
Lewis invites all students to come to the station if they need help with winter driving.
“We are more than willing to look at their cars and give them advice about good driving habits,” Lewis said. 
