Winter comes whether we want it to or not, and even though it’s always safer to stay home during a winter storm, sometimes you have to head out. If you do need to drive in a snowstorm, you can make your ride safer by preparing ahead of time and driving the correct way for the conditions. Here are some tips for safe winter driving.
Prepare Your Vehicle
Before winter starts, it’s important to get your vehicle ready for the snow and cold. Check your tire tread if you have all-season tires to make sure it’s in good condition, or even better, put snow tires on your car. Snow tires have a specially designed tread to give you better traction in the snow, and they’re much better to have if you drive in winter conditions. You should also check your windshield wiper fluid, make sure you have a blanket in the car along with a flashlight, and an extra battery for your phone.
Slow Down
The first rule of driving in winter weather is to drop your speed. You can’t safely drive the same speeds on a snowy road that you can on a dry or even a wet road. Accelerate slowly to keep your tires from spinning, and leave plenty of space between you and the cars around you so there’s plenty of time to stop. Remember, everything takes longer on snow-covered roads.
Don’t Lock Your Brakes
When you need to slow down, make sure you don’t press down hard on the brakes and lock them up. If your vehicle is an older model, you’ll need to slowly pump the brakes to avoid locking them up. If you have a newer vehicle with anti-lock brakes, press the brake pedal down slowly and firmly. The brakes will pump on their own.
Perform Only One Action
When the roads are slippery, you’ll stay safer if you only ask the car to do one thing at a time. This means that when you need to turn, don’t apply the brakes, or when you need to speed up or slow down, do it when going straight. Apply the brakes before you turn, and then press back down on the accelerator after you’ve straightened the car back out again.
Watch out for Other Drivers
Even if you slow down, take necessary precautions, and drive responsibly in snowy conditions, you can’t count on other drivers around you driving as safely as you. Drive extra defensively, and leave plenty of space around you so you can make any corrections if other drivers make mistakes. Don’t let drivers behind you make you feel like you have to go faster. If they’re too close, pull over and let them pass.
When driving in winter conditions, it’s always better to slow down and get to your destination late instead of not at all. Don’t let four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive give you a false sense of security, and keep your distance from other drivers.
Image “Snowy Road” by h3h, used under CC BY 2.0
Connect with us
