Winter Driving Tips – Everything You Need to Know About!

Winter Driving Tips You Need To Know Immediately

Extreme weather conditions cause dangerous troubles on the road and to avoid any serious causality drivers have to remain cautious. According to a survey, nearly half a million road accidents happen in extreme winters when it is snowy everywhere and the roads are slippery.

Approximately 2000 deaths are reported every year in lieu of such road crashes. Government authorities have a full protocol to handle such extreme weather conditions and issue complete guidelines and precautionary measures to be taken by the drivers while driving in fog.

And, here in this article, we will share certain winter driving tips that you have to follow while driving on roads during the winter season.

Contents

Winter Driving Tips

Preparing Car for winter:

Surely you would be carrying out regular maintenance of your vehicle annually, but now as the winter is approaching you have to get your car ready for coming storms. Here are few things that you should do to get your car ready for extreme weather.

Check the battery efficiency as the cold weather cause the battery storage capacity to drop significantly. The most important component is the tire, check the tire pressure, they must have deep treads on them.

If you are using an all-season tire then follow that the tread should not drop more than 2/32 of one inch. Secondly, check the wipers and their blades, if requires add wiper fluid suitable for 30 degrees temperature. Check the cooling system is working properly, and don’t forget to keep your fuel tank half full.

It will prevent your fuel lines to get block or freeze. Lastly, make sure that your car’s emergency kit is fully loaded to fight for your sake in case of an emergency!

Regular Winter Driving Tips:

As the winter season approaches here are a few tips to follow during your daily regular travel trips like going to school or offices. First thing first, clean the car thoroughly before starting, especially the lenses of the camera and side-view mirror. Always keep a shovel in your car and other winter gear like food, water, blanket, or extra-warm clothes.

Make sure that the tank is always half full, it will avoid the empty fuel tank issue and help your lines not to get freeze. Your vehicle tires should be inflated properly and have flexible tread.

Moreover, don’t use a cruise in winters as you might need to decelerate or accelerate suddenly on the slippery road. Before leaving, check your emergency brake is working properly, and to warm up a car, never do it inside the garage, even if the doors are open.

Because it will cause a carbon monoxide trap in the trap, use open-air to warm up the engine before leaving.

Snowy Winter Driving Tips:

Check the weather forecast, if it indicates any storm ahead, better not to leave home even if you are a good driver. But still, if you have to leave in any case share your route with someone.

While it’s snowing out, you should drive very slow and cautiously, it will avoid unnecessary traction, especially on signals, as it is difficult to stop suddenly on the icy road.

To avoid skids, you need to accelerate and decelerate very gently. Furthermore, always keep around 5-6 second distance between vehicles, it will buy time and distance if you have to stop suddenly.

For safety, it is better to keep your foot always on the brakes and apply firm pressure on the brake pedal. Don’t put extra pressure on the gas tank and tires when climbing the area up.

It might cause wheels to spin, as climbing up needs inertia, get the inertia initially from the flat road and reduce the speed so that inertia carries you forward.

Long-Distance Winter Driving Trips

Before heading for a long route trip it is very essential to check the weather forecast and stay at home if not necessary. Else always stay connected to someone so that in case of emergency it is easy to locate you.

But if you are caught up in the snow, don’t roam around. Stay inside your car, tie a bright neon color piece of cloth on the antenna that is visible from far. As visibility gets low during snow, use dome nights, especially at night, because these lights utilize the minimum amount of electricity and make you visible to rescuers.

Don’t tire yourself when digging up your car from snow, listen to your body, and stay warm. Use whatever is available in your car, a warm cloth, blanket, mat, or any paper. Moreover, it is salient to conserve fuel, and that can be done if you only keep your heater and engine on.

Rest traveling in the snow is quite tough, as you will have to face many challenges, one of the biggest trouble could lead you to the vehicle break down possibly caused by the carbon monoxide trap in the exhaust pipes, empty fuel tank or your fuel pipes might freeze.

Other Winter Driving Tips:

  • It is advised not to use a cruise in cold weather.
  • Always steer in a skid direction so that you don’t need to put extra effort to be in the lane when traction ends.
  • Keep your headlights on if the visibility is low.
  • The following car distance should be 8-10 seconds.
  • Don’t drive up the hill and don’t put pressure on brakes and fuel tank.
  • Make sure that the vehicle has Anti-braking and traction control systems built in.

Conclusion

Winter snowy weather comes up with its challenges, all the roads are icy, slippery and you can encounter a snowstorm whether it’s expected or not. Well, driving on such slimy roads is a great risk.

To avoid any serious situation you can follow the winter driving tips stated above in-depth, or for a shallow look, you can visit government official websites too. I hope this article will surely guide you in your winter driving.

Rest nature has fate and we can wish a healthy safe drive in these winters for you. Stay safe!

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *