A rather blustery drive

As Winnie the Pooh said, “It undoubtably looks like a rather blustery day.” As that silly old bear stated so many years ago, it still rings true. We have seen a lot of blustery days this year with some gusts reaching as high as 116 MPH.

Wind can affect your travels in many ways. The one that comes to most people’s minds is how it can and often does topple big rigs pulling trailers. Even though you may not be driving a semi, you do need to be aware of them in a wind storm.

If you are feeling wind gusts while driving, it could mean that a particularly strong one can hit the semi and tip it over. You need to be careful with them while following or passing them. Watch to see if you see the semi having trouble maintaining its lane. It could mean something more dangerous is in the near future. Spend as little time around them as possible in case a gust hits it while you are near.

This goes the same if you are pulling a trailer. Lighter trailers, especially empty ones are more prone to dragging the tow vehicle off the road with it when hit by a gust of wind. Also, make sure your load is secure, especially in wind storms. Items that you normally wouldn’t think will blow off your trailer may indeed fly off and possibly hit a vehicle or go into the roadway and cause another vehicle to crash.

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