Driving On Snow and Ice: 10 Safety Tips
Expert Advice to Prevent a Car Crash, by Mac Demere,
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| Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images |
The best tip for winter driving: Sometimes it's best to stay home,
or at least remain where you are until snow plows and sanding crews have done
their work. If you crash on a snowy or icy road, you'll certainly be late — or
worse. But since you can't always call in to work claiming a "snow
day," it's better to learn how to correctly deal with driving in the snow.
I've battled snow- and ice-covered highways in
two-dozen states behind the wheel of both passenger vehicles and 18-wheelers.
I've performed hundreds of tire tests on snow-covered roads, attended
snow-driving schools and done precision (translation: "barely in control")
driving in the snow for videos and still photos. From this experience, here are
some snow driving tips the average driver can follow to reduce the chances of a
crash.
1.
Get a grip. To have adequate snow traction, a tire
requires at least 6/32-inch deep tread, according to The Tire Rack. (New
passenger-car tires usually have 10/32-inch of tread.) Ultrahigh-performance
"summer" tires have little or no grip in snow. Even
"all-season" tires don't necessarily have great snow traction: Some
do, some don't. If you live where the roads are regularly covered with snow,
use snow tires (sometimes called "winter tires" by tire makers). They
have a "snowflake on the mountain" symbol on the sidewall, meaning
they meet a tire-industry standard for snow traction.
2.
Make sure you can see. Replace windshield
wiper blades. Clean the inside of your windows thoroughly. Apply a
water-shedding material (such as Rain-X) to the outside of all windows,
including the mirrors. Make sure your windshield washer system works and is
full of an anti-icing fluid. Drain older fluid by running the washers until new
fluid appears: Switching fluid colors makes this easy.
3.
Run the air-conditioner. In order to remove
condensation and frost from the interior of windows, engage your air-conditioner
and select the fresh air option: its fine to set the temperature on
"hot." Many cars automatically do this when you choose the defrost
setting.
4.
Check your lights. Use your headlights
so that others will see you and, we hope, not pull out in front of you. Make
sure your headlights and taillights are clear of snow. If you have an older car
with sand-pitted headlights, get a new set of lenses. To prevent future pitting,
cover the new lens with a clear tape like that used to protect the leading edge
of helicopter rotor blades and racecar wings. It's available from auto-racing
supply sites.
5.
Give yourself a brake. Learn how to get
maximum efficiency from your brakes before an emergency. It's easy to properly
use antilock brakes: Stomp, stay and steer. Stomp on the pedal as if you were
trying to snap it off. Stay hard on the pedal. Steer around the obstacle. (A
warning: A little bit of steering goes a very long way in an emergency. See Tip
8.) If you drive on icy roads or roads that are covered with snow, modify your
ABS technique: After you "Stomp" and the ABS begins cycling — you
will feel pulses in the pedal or hear the system working — ease up slightly on
the pedal until the pulsing happens only once a second. For vehicles without
ABS, you'll have to rely on the old-fashioned system: You. For non-ABS on a
mixed-surface road, push the brake pedal hard until the wheels stop rolling,
then immediately release the brake enough to allow the wheels to begin turning
again. Repeat this sequence rapidly. This is not the same as
"pumping the brake." Your goal is to have the tires producing maximum
grip regardless of whether the surface is snow, ice or damp pavement.
6.
Watch carefully for "black ice." If
the road looks slick, it probably is. This is especially true with one of
winter's worst hazards: "black ice." Also called "glare
ice," this is nearly transparent ice that often looks like a harmless
puddle or is overlooked entirely. Test the traction with a smooth brake
application or slight turn of the wheel.
7.
Remember the tough spots. Race drivers must
memorize the nuances of every track, so they can alter their path for changing
track conditions. You must remember where icy roads tend to occur. Bridges and
intersections are common places. Also: wherever water runs across the road. I
know people who lost control on ice caused by homeowners draining above-ground
pools and by an automatic lawn sprinkler that sprayed water onto a street in
freezing temperatures.
8.
Too much steering is bad. If a slick section in
a turn causes your front tires to lose grip, the common — but incorrect —
reaction is to continue turning the steering wheel. That's like writing checks
on an overdrawn account: It won't improve the situation and may make things
worse. If the icy conditions end and the front tires regain grip, your car will
dart whichever way the wheels are pointed. That may be into oncoming traffic or
a telephone pole. Something very similar happens if you steer too much while
braking with ABS. Sadly, there are situations where nothing will prevent a
crash, but turning the steering too much never helps.
9.
Avoid rear-tire slides. First, choose a car
with electronic stability control. Fortunately, ESC will be mandatory on all
2012 models. Next, make sure your rear tires have at least as much tread as
your front tires. Finally, if you buy winter tires, get four.
10.
Technology offers no miracles. All-wheel drive and
electronic stability control can get you into trouble by offering a false sense
of security. AWD can only help a vehicle accelerate or keep moving: It can't
help you go around a snow-covered turn, much less stop at an icy intersection.
ESC can prevent a spinout, but it can't clear ice from the roads or give your
tires more traction. Don't let these lull you into overestimating the available
traction.
Regardless of your driving
skill or vehicle preparation, there are some winter conditions that can't be
conquered. But these tips may help prevent snowy and icy roads from ruining
your day.
Additional Resources
Virginia Department of Travel (VDOT) has put together this useful PDF file and, a worthwhile download
AAA has arranged these helpful driving tips
Ice Storms can cause power failures at traffic signals, take this advice from the Fairfax County Police and be safe.
