Due to the winter storm impacting the region, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is temporarily reducing the speed limit on several area roadways in the east central region.

PennDOT is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel, but those who must head out will see speeds reduced to 45 mph on the following highways:

• Interstate 78 in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

• Interstate 80 in Carbon and Monroe counties.

• Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County.

• Interstate 380 in Monroe County.

• US 22 in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

• Route 33 in Monroe and Northampton counties.

On roadways with speed restrictions, commercial vehicles not affected by restrictions on these or other roadways must move to the right lane.

Although PennDOT crews have been treating roadways, the department’s primary goal is to keep roads passable, and they will not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear.

While PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,200 traffic cameras.

Motorists should always allow plenty of space when driving near plow trucks. Also, for their own safety and the safety of plow operators, motorists should never attempt to pass a truck while it is plowing or spreading winter materials.

PennDOT reminds motorists to pack an emergency kit for their vehicles. A basic kit should include non-perishable food, water, blanket, small shovel and warm clothes. When preparing an emergency kit, motorists should account for special needs of passengers such as baby food, pet supplies or medications and pack accordingly.

More information about how to prepare for any type of emergency, including free downloadable checklists of items to keep in your home, car, and at work, and specific information for people with access and functional needs or pets, is available on the Ready PA webpage.

For more winter driving tips and information on how PennDOT treats winter storms, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/winter.

Send snow photos to tneditor@tnonline.com. Be sure to identify people in the photo, tell us who took the photo and where it was taken.