HELLENIC POLICE FORCE HEADQUARTERS
Athens, 25/01/2006,
PRESS RELEASE
Due to the adverse weather conditions, the Hellenic Police Force advices the citizens to be extremely cautious in outdoor spaces.
Advice to pedestrians:
- Be very careful when you walk, especially during the night or early in the morning, since it is highly probable that the streets will be frozen.
- Make sure that you wear proper shoes before leaving your house.
- Try to use public transport.
- Avoid walking on the frosty parts of roads and pavements.
Advice to drivers:
- Equip your vehicle with special gear (non-skid tire chains).
- Always use the non-skid tire chains, whenever special conditions prevail (frozen road etc).
- Always wear your seat belt.
- Learn the latest news about the weather and the situation on the road network, before starting your journey.
- Check the smooth operation of the systems of your vehicle.
- Make sure you have enough gas.
- Reduce speed and leave enough distance from the vehicle before you, in order to be able to stop in safety.
- Do not hit hard on the breaks, since you then risk to deviate from your course. Adopt the same attitude when you need to accelerate or take a turn.
- Keep the lights of your vehicle turned on, so as to be easily perceived in areas with reduced visibility.
- Always keep clean the windscreen wipers as well as the head-lights and tail-lights of your vehicle.
- Drive in a low speed so that you can maintain control on your vehicle.
- Pay special attention when you cross bridges, intersections and remote areas.
- If you drive on a country road, try to avoid snowy earth-roads.
- Bear in mind that you might need more time so as to reach a complete halt with your vehicle, when you drive on an icy road.
– If your vehicle becomes immobilized:
- Do not try to hit on the accelerator to get out of there, since you then risk that the wheels of your vehicle get more stuck altogether, especially in places with a lot of snow.
- Move the wheels to the left and to the right a few times to remove enough snow from the area around them.
- Immediately inform the police.
- Remain inside your vehicle and turn the engine on for 10 minutes every hour so as to keep the exhaustion pipe free of snow.
In any case, both pedestrians and drivers need not only to comply with the instructions and orders of the police agents but also to keep calm. This state of mind is their best ally in such cases.
