There is one simple tip for driving in snowy or icy winter conditions. If you don’t have to go out, then don’t. Snow and ice can be treacherous to drive on, so if you can avoid dealing with it altogether, then that is the best option.

If you are one of the majority of people who have to work or need to travel, even through this type of adverse weather, then the following tips should help you get safely to where you are going.

1) Try not to venture out until the gritters have been out. They largely do their work in the early hours of the morning, but your road might be last on the list of roads they have to cover. If you can, wait until they have gritted and your journey should be a lot less dangerous.

2) Allow yourself extra time to get where you’re going. You don’t want to add the extra element of impatience to affect your driving and increase the risk of losing control of your vehicle.

3) Use the internet to quickly brush up on snow driving techniques. There are ways to maximize your control of your car even in the worst conditions. There may be a section relating to this in your vehicle owners manual. Tips that will be specific to your make and model.

4) Always decrease your speed. Stopping distances are going to be greatly increased when driving on such a slippery road surface. It can take up to 200% more distance to stop on ice or snow. Meaning 30 metres becomes 90 metres.

5) Use your brakes as gently as possible as doing so will stop you locking your wheels and skidding out of control.

6) Even it is daytime, try putting on your sidelights to assist other motorists’ visibility of you. Before leaving, make sure your lights are clean as well as your windscreen.

7) Keeping yourself in lower gears will increase your control of your car. It will also give you another means with which to slow your vehicle down or at least limit your speed. Once you have lost control, it may be too late to avoid an accident, so do what
you can to keep it.

8) Take extra care on hills, bridges and minor roads that may not have been gritted.

9) Whatever you do, don’t try and overtake. People are driving slowly for a reason and overtaking in this type of scenario can definitely be deemed as wreck-less.

10) If you have a 4×4, don’t assume that this will protect you from hazards that normal vehicles have to watch out for. You must still employ the same caution and remember that your car is not the only element on the road and you must take account of the restrictions others are faced with in snow.

11) If you find your front wheels skidding, take your feet off both brake and accelerator. Pressing either may make things worse. Also, don’t steer immediately. Wait for the traction to return and then steer in the direction of the skid i.e. if the back of your vehicle is sliding right, then steer right. Apply a little gas when you feel traction return and it should then put you back on track.

12) The type of breaks you have will determine how and when you apply them. If you have ABS, then you can apply steady pressure, but if you have normal breaks you must pump your breaks for best effect.

13) If you get your wheels stuck in the snow, then spinning your wheels will have little or no effect. Shoveling the snow away from the wheels and putting some sort of sand or even cat litter should do the trick. Anything that your wheels can get a grip on.

All the things listed above should give you the best chance of minimizing the effect of snowy conditions to your driving. There are no hard and fast rules when driving in the snow as even the most prepared or most experienced driver can come a cropper if not enough care is taken.

You must respect the snow as failure to do so can result in death or injury. As they say, it’s better to get where you are going late than not at all.

 

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