Several tips for getting behind the wheel
The arrival of snow risks complicating traffic conditions. To do this, here are some tips before getting behind the wheel.
The first piece of advice is basic: you must equip yourself with suitable snow tires. This is what most motorists did before winter.
When you’re behind the wheel, you also have to stay focused. The first reflex is to adapt your speed and above all not to brake on the snow. “You have to be gentle with all the controls: with the brake, with the accelerator, with the steering wheel. The car will be gentle in its reactions too”indicates Benoît Galand, instructor in an automobile control center.
He also recommends anticipating, looking far away so that you can avoid obstacles and not have to slam the wheel, brake or accelerate. “That’s really the key word: anticipate”he said.
“You have to drive very smoothly, adapt your speed”continues the automotive instructor. “When you are on slippery surfaces, you cannot necessarily go very fast. You will feel it very quickly if you touch the brakes and the wheels start to stall. Fortunately, there is a driving aid called the ABS which will still allow you to keep some direction, but you still have to be very gentle with all the controls.he concludes.
1 p.m
In Chastre, the snow removal teams are in the starting blocks
In anticipation of snowfall in the coming hours, municipalities are preparing with one objective: to limit the consequences for traffic. In Chastre, a commune in Walloon Brabant, all the teams have already been ready since early this Wednesday morning.
Blades have been installed on the spreaders, they are ready to go as soon as the first flakes fall. Around 14 tonnes of salt are in stock in Chastre, this should be enough for this evening and night. But the town is still waiting for a delivery of 22 tonnes of additional salt.
It is not the only municipality to have prepared. The commune of Gembloux also has more than 60 tonnes of salt. It notified all the teams via its municipal authorities. Everyone was briefed for the rest of the day.
The city of Namur has 120 tonnes of bulk salt and 56 tonnes of small bags of salt which will be placed on streets which are too small, where the spreaders cannot pass.
Municipal workers are keeping an eye on the situation. They are ready to get into their spreaders. Guard teams also monitor our roads via cameras. And depending on the situation on the roads, they will send the spreaders to avoid any accidents.
12h55
The snow comes in two stages
The IRM has issued a yellow alert this Wednesday, as snow will appear in the afternoon. But this vigilance “will evolve over time”assures our weather presenter Sabrina Jacobs. The arrival of snow should occur in two stages:
1/ By 2 p.m. at the latest, snow will affect the southern region and in particular the province of Luxembourg. It is linked to a depression positioned over Brittany. Initially it will be slush. Then these precipitations will move towards the center and northern regions, which they will affect from 4, 5 or 6 p.m.
Upon contact with colder air in these regions in particular, the melting snow will begin to hold a few centimeters. This will be the case in particular for the north of the province of Hainaut, for Walloon Brabant, but also for the Brussels-Capital region and a large part of the province of Namur, as well as the province of Liège.
For the moment, we remain on yellow alert in these provinces, because the situation is a little special. There is a sort of buffer zone that will be created during the evening and for the night, since this afternoon, temperatures will remain positive everywhere. They will be between 0 and 4 degrees.
And this buffer zone will lead during the evening and night, no longer to snow, but to rain in the southern regions, in particular between the Sillon Sambre-et-Meuse and the south of Belgium with active precipitation up to 30-40 liters per square meter all the same.
2/ Then, secondly, snow is forecast again for tomorrow. This time, from the north of the country and from Flanders, new snowfall will cause an additional accumulation of several centimeters across the entire country.
12h25
Road users urged to remain cautious
The Regional Center for Coordination of Risks and the Transmission of Expertise, the Perex center and the Federal Road Police recommend that all users remain cautious and vigilant if they have to use the road network.
All motorists, including heavy goods vehicle drivers, are invited to adapt their speed, avoid any sudden maneuvers, keep a sufficient safety distance from the vehicle in front, provide the necessary equipment (snow tires), carefully check the condition of their vehicle, do not overtake the spreaders…
12h20
Transition to enhanced road vigilance phase
Due to the snow expected this Wednesday in Belgium, the Road Action Unit (CAR) made up of the Regional Center for Risk Coordination and the Transmission of Expertise (CORTEX), the Perex center and the Federal Highway Police is activated.
Vigilance is reinforced and the situation on the Walloon road network is regularly monitored in order to take all appropriate measures.
All conventional resources in terms of personnel and equipment from the Public Service of Wallonia (SPW) are mobilized to ensure user safety as much as possible and maintain good traffic conditions on regional roads.
The Royal Belgian Meteorological Institute (IRM) issued an alert for slippery conditions this Wednesday, January 8. It starts at 4 p.m. and concerns the whole of Belgium, with the exception of the coast. All provinces are on yellow alert, except the province of Liège which is in orange. It will end tomorrow, Thursday January 9, around 4 p.m.
The IRM also issued a rain alert, taking effect this Wednesday, January 8 from 4 p.m. and until 1 p.m. the next day. “It will rain heavily. Accumulations of 30 to 40 mm are expected in 24 hours”informs the IRM. As a result, the number 1722 was activated for risk of storm or flood.
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