This young wintry season has already produced major pileups on I-75 and I-69 and innumerable slide-offs on roads throughout the state.

Luckily — amazingly — there have been few serious injuries thus far, but we must slow down and practice safe driving as the snow begins to pile up.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers some tips:

∫ Most importantly, slow down. You never know in the winter when you might suddenly encounter ice or snow on the roadway, which can send you off course at the worst or make it hard for you to slow down or stop at the least, so give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going and slow down.

∫ Increase your following distance. Because you don’t know how long it’ll take you to slow down or stop, you need to give plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. That’s especially true when you’re following a plow truck. Michigan has a new law forbidding you from following within 200 feet of a plow.

∫ Make sure your car is ready for winter. Make sure your tires have good treads, that your vehicle is in good working condition, and make sure your car can be seen by placing bright markers on the antenna.

∫ Know what to do if you’re involved in a wreck. If you’re involved in a wreck, stay with your vehicle. If you stay in your vehicle to keep warm, avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by making sure your exhaust is clear and only running your car for brief periods, just long enough to warm up. If you’re involved in a highway pileup, it’s safer to stay in your car because you don’t know when another car might strike the pile.

With some basic precautions, we can all get where we’re going safely this winter.

Stay safe out there, Northeast Michigan.