It’s a wet Monday Morning in Hampton Roads and Roanoke, by 6:30 AM this morning the Downtown Tunnel was blocked and the Highrise Bridge had one lane blocked due to accidents.

The increased travel time due to wet roads is causing many drivers to become frustrated and make poor driving decisions.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, nearly 25 percent of vehicle crashes in the USA happen during a weather event.

• 74% occur on wet pavement and 46% occur during rainfall, with similar conditions like today.
• Only 12% occur on icy pavement and only 14% occur on snowy or slushy pavement. In Roanoke, this can be a regular occurrence during winter months.
• Rainy wet roads on average contribute to more than 5 times as many accidents nationwide as wintry, icy roads.

Have you thought about leaving the house a little bit earlier this morning?

Drivers must take extreme caution when driving on wet roads. Follow these simple rules and remember to arrive alive.

• Don’t rush and no speeding.
• Turn on your headlights, not your parking lights. In VA the law requires anyone driving with windshield wipers must have their headlights on,
• Stay a safe distance from the cars in front of you. Be especially cautious when merging outside the Downtown Tunnel to the 264 interchange heading to Virginia Beach, the rain makes the Berkley Bridge slippery.