With the snowy and icy winter weather comes numerous challenges for you and your car. Cold weather tests the limits of your car’s mechanical abilities. Icy roads test you as a driver. It pays off to be ready for the worst winter road scenarios. Severe weather can be both frightening and dangerous for automobile travel. These tips will get you ready for snow and sleet-covered roads.
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry.
- Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning-nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
- The normal pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
- Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock breaks or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
- Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
- Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can.
