Here's a few handy winter driving tips, what with the brutal weather we're having...
Winter conditions call for different driving tactics. Ice and Snow, Take it Slow - slower speed, slower acceleration, slower steering, and slower braking. Give yourself extra time to reach your destination safely. It's not worth putting yourself and others in a dangerous situation just to save time. The best advice for driving in bad winter weather is not to drive at all, if you can avoid it. But if you do need to drive:
- Drive with your headlights on.
- Winter road conditions often result in longer stopping distances. Drivers should allow additional room between their vehicles and others.
- Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
- Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
- Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
- Avoid abrupt actions while steering, braking or accelerating to lessen the chances of losing control of the vehicle. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
- Look farther ahead in traffic. Actions by other drivers will alert you to problems and give you extra time to react.
- Don't get overconfident with four-wheel drive. It won't help you stop any faster.
- Trucks take longer to stop. Don't cut in front of them.
- Stopping on snow and ice without skidding requires extra time and distance. If you have anti-lock brakes, press the pedal down firmly and hold it. If you don't have anti-lock brakes, gently pump the pedal and brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake. Either way, give yourself plenty of room to stop.
If your rear wheels skid...
- Take your foot off the accelerator.
- Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they're sliding right, steer right.
- If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
- If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
- If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.
If your front wheels skid...
- Take your foot off the accelerator and shift to neutral, but don't try to steer immediately.
- As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put it back in gear and accelerate gently.
If you get stuck...
- Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
- Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
- Use a light touch on the accelerator, to ease your car out.
- Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
- Pour sand, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.