Officials Explain Why Driving Bans Are Necessary in Western New York

As the winter storm that hit Western New York rages on, government officials at all levels from New York have issued various States of Emergencies, along with other declarations. One thing that is often part of those declarations is the potential for driving and travel bans.

That exact thing has been in place all over the region as the state shut down part of the New York State Thruway, along with county and city officials issuing driving bans. Government officials state the primary reason they issue travel bans is for the safety of the community. The fewer people you have on roads during an emergency weather event, the fewer stranded motorists you have that need to be rescued. As we learned during the Blizzard of 2022, if the weather is extremely difficult to navigate, it becomes extremely difficult to rescue people who are stranded.

However, no matter what the reason, many people all over the area have complained about officials implementing driving and travel bans around the area. Even when it's there are whiteout conditions that make it nearly impossible to drive, there are still people all over the area who insist on putting their lives, and the lives of others, in danger.

Erie Count Executive Mark Poloncarz was out on the streets with workers from the county Department of Public Works inspecting the roads and noticed on his social media that many roads were nearly impassable with near zero visibility.

Snow has been falling at a rate of a few inches per hour in some areas, when you couple that with the wind, its easy to see how difficult it would be to see while driving.