Government of Ontario| Skip Navigation Menu | Ministry of Transportation
Government of Ontario Central Site.Contact us for questions and comments.Search the Ministry of Transportation Web site.Site map for the ministry Web site.Version française de cette page.
Location: Ministry Home > Traveller's Information > Road Conditions > Description of Road Conditions and Visibility

Description of Road Conditions and Visibility

Road Conditions


Road is bare

Illustration of bare road
Road surfaces can be dry or wet, but are clear of snow or ice.

Road is snow covered

Illustration of snow covered road
Road surfaces are completely snow covered with no bare sections from one end to the other.

Road is icy

Illustration of icy road
Road surfaces are ice covered or snow packed due to either sleet or wet snow causing road surfaces to be slippery.

Road is partially snow covered

Illustration of partially snow covered road
Road surfaces have snow-covered or snow-packed sections. For example, there may be drifted sections of snow covering lanes or the road centre is bare.

Road is snow packed

Illustration of snow packed road
Road surfaces are completely snow packed with no bare sections from one end to the other.

Road is closed

Illustration of closed road
Road is closed because road surfaces are impossible to travel along due to either continuous snow fall preventing snow removal or lane closures due to a collision.

Visibility


Visibility is good

Illustration of good visibility
Visibility is good when you can see up to the horizon.

Visibility is nil

Illustration of nil visibility
Visibility is nil when your range of vision is less than 50 metres.

Visibility is fair to poor

Illustration of fair to poor visibility
Visibility is fair to poor when your range of vision is reduced to 500 metres or less.




Last Modified: October 5, 2004