Time To Brush Up On Winter Driving Habits

By Paul Thomas
Channel 3 News Reporter

WILLOUGHBY HILLS -- From Brunswick to Mayfield Heights, cities across Northeast Ohio put snow parking bans into effect Friday to let snowplow drivers clear the streets.

Persistent snow bands covered roads and highways as fast as road crews could treat them with rock salt.

You don't have to tell tow truck driver Rusty Bissell that winter has arrived. He has seen driving conditions change from clear roads to white-out conditions in a matter of minutes.

"I've been on call since, like, Christmas Eve," Bissell said, after he righted an overturned SUV next to Interstate 90 Friday.

"I haven't had any time to sleep. I've been running ragged."

Snowplow driver George Helwagen, of Concord Township, geared up Friday night for what he expected could be a long weekend of pushing the snow.

"I'm expecting anywhere from four to twelve inches of snow," Helwagen said. "We're going to be out for a while. (Drivers) have got to be really careful."