There’s been many levels of official and unofficial advisories to urge motorists to stay off roads that have seen up to 3″ of snow, and face certain patches of black ice as overnight temperatures return to the teens. The City of Newnan (and possibly Coweta County) have issued a curfew from 5pm tonight until 10am tomorrow, threatening possible fines and jail time for violators per the Newnan Times Herald:
The order exempts those providing essential services, such as fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services and hospital services, military services, and utility emergency repairs.
Also employees of local industries traveling to and from their jobs with appropriate identification, news media employees, building and repair contractors, properly registered, performing activities related to construction, repair, renovation or improvement of buildings and other structures damaged during the disaster or emergency are also exempt.
Those caught violating this ordinance, upon conviction, could face a fine of up to $1,000 or 60 days in jail.
A similar announcement from Coweta County is expected soon.
I expect our libertarian leaning readers will take exception to whether this is an appropriate or even legal exercise of law enforcement. (They’ll then devolve into comments that all roads should be private, taxation is theft, bitcoin is the only true currency, and Ron Paul is a viable candidate in 2020). The point is this: We get a lot of over hyped events. In many areas of the state, a combination of heavy precipitation and temps almost 20 degrees below freezing create a real hazard on roads. 4wd won’t save you on black ice. Take measure of the conditions and decide if your trip is a necessity before attempting it.