Winter Weather Planning

As Georgia prepares for potential winter weather later this week — including the possibility of snow, sleet, and freezing rain in parts of the state — the Georgia Trucking Association (GTA) and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) is sharing important safety and travel information to help carriers plan ahead and keep drivers safe.

Forecasted conditions could create hazardous travel along several state highways and interstates. GTA is working closely with our partners at Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) and GDOT to ensure our members have timely, practical information as conditions develop.

Georgia Weigh Stations will be available to provide safe harbor parking during the winter weather, should drivers need a safe place to stop.

Gov. Kemp Declares State of Emergency

Today, Gov. Kemp signed an emergency declaration in advance of the Winter Weather coming to the area over the weekend.

It is highly recommended to maintain a copy of the declaration that the carrier is operating under in the vehicle and a bill of lading to help support their response. This will assist carriers/drivers with any questions or issues in the various states they may be traversing to respond to this emergency.

CVSA Emergency Declaration Portal

CVSA provides an active listing of all active emergency declarations across the country. It is updated throughout the day, and during active weather events, we suggest you check regularly to stay up to date.

Use GDOT’s 511 Roadway Dashboard

GDOT’s 511 system provides real-time updates on:

• Road and travel conditions
• Weather impacts
• Traffic incidents and closures

Be aware of Atlanta-area restrictions

As always, certain commercial motor vehicles are restricted from operating inside the I-285 perimeter. These restrictions are intended to improve safety and reduce congestion. Carriers should ensure drivers understand whether their vehicles are permitted to operate in this area.

Key Regulatory Reminder

Under Title 49 CFR § 392.14, federal and state law require extreme caution when operating a commercial motor vehicle in hazardous conditions such as snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke — especially when visibility or traction is reduced.

What this means for carriers and drivers:

• Speed must be reduced when hazardous conditions exist.
• If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, CMV operations must be discontinued.
• Operations may only resume once the vehicle can be safely operated.
• If stopping immediately would create a greater hazard, the vehicle may proceed to the nearest safe location.

Important clarification from FMCSA:

The driver is ultimately responsible for determining when conditions are too dangerous to continue operating the vehicle. This decision authority rests with the driver in the interest of safety.

Tire Chain Guidance

OCGA § 32-6-5 allows the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to close or limit access to any portion of the road during a “Declared State of Emergency” due to inclement weather conditions. When such conditions exist, GDOT shall erect or post signage of adequate size indicating that a portion of the state highway system has been closed or access has been limited.

Once access to a roadway has been limited due to inclement winter weather conditions, notice shall be given to motorists through posted signage that motor vehicles must be equipped with tire chains, four-wheel drive with adequate tires for existing conditions, or snow tires with a manufacturer's all-weather rating in order to proceed on such

section of roadway.

Operators of commercial vehicles (other than buses) with four or more drive wheels traveling on a road declared as limited access due to inclement winter weather conditions shall affix tire chains to at least four of the drive wheel tires.

Bus operators shall affix tire chains to at least two of the drive wheel tires before proceeding on a road with limited access due to inclement winter weather conditions.

Tire chains are defined by OCGA § 32-6-5 as metal chains which consist of two circular metal loops, positioned on each side of a tire, connected by not less than nine evenly spaced chains across the tire tread or any other traction devices capable of providing traction equal to or exceeding that of such metal chains under similar conditions.

A driver of a motor vehicle who causes an accident or blocks the flow of traffic while failing to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of OCGA § 32-6-5, when access is limited on the state highway system due to a declaredstate of emergency for inclement weather conditions, shall be fined up to $1,000.00.