Tips for Driving Safe This Winter

Driving in any season can be very hazardous to your health if it is not taken seriously, by you or the people around you. A car is a huge piece of metal being hurled down the street towards an unsuspecting public and if the driver does not know what they are doing, it can be dangerous.  This is not even talking about cars with broken parts like the steering rack or steering box making control of the vehicles direction impossible. No, no we are talking about drivers who don’t know how to control a vehicle properly. Many people know the basic principles of controlling a vehicle on a day to day basis, but in winter this can change drastically in a matter of min.

The first major obstacle to tackle in winter driving is the temperature, with cold temperatures comes cold tires. While too many this may not seem like a big deal but remember that rubber becomes “more sticky” as it heats up. In other words with cold temperatures comes less grip. This means handling is decreased and reaction time for the vehicle is longer. What this means to the driver is that a normal situation can become dangerous.

The second major factor is weather and ignorance of what it can do. Many people think that the brake system on their car or truck is there and it will slow them down no matter what.  This is simply not true pushing the pedal harder will not stop you faster in fact in many cases of extreme weather it will do the opposite. When the brakes are engaged the tire creates more resistance to the contact patch and sliding will occur. When the vehicle begins to slide the brakes must be released and reapplied to try and create grip.

There is a scary and dangerous thought amongst drivers of vehicles with traction control, that the system will save them in the snow. People go as far as driving at full speed on icy roads just because they have TCS in their car. Traction control is designed to find traction where there is some but it cannot control the car if there is not traction.

Driving in the snow and ice is all about common sense. Slow it down and remember that safety is the responsibility of the drive. Not only your safety but the safety of everyone around you as well, your vehicle in the end is only as good as the person behind the wheel. 

Winter and Your Car…They Don’t Get Along. Winterize Your Car.

Each year most of us are faced with the chilling conditions of a very cold winter, digging deep into our closet and bringing out those winter coats. The thing about winter is…your car gets cold too. The power steering rack or power steering gearbox get cold and fluid is harder to pump. In many ways your car is just like you, it breaths, it eats, and it feels cold.

A car may not shiver when the temp but it has other signs that make it obvious when it is not ready for the low temperatures. Winter readying a vehicle may take a few min but it can reward you with not being stuck on the side of the road. To get a vehicle ready for winter there are a few simple steps to follow.

The first step is to make sure that your car has the correct amount of coolant, while this may seem strange coolant or “anit-freeze” has a lower freezing point than water. This means that even when it is freezing outside the car can still move the belt driven water pump and thus it will start. Next check the tires of your car, while winter or “snow” tires are good it is just a good idea to make sure you have a good amount of tread on your tires. Shallow tread depth means no traction in snow and even less on ice.

More modern cars have many underbody pieces that are added to the underside of a car to give it more of an aerodynamic shape in the air but if any of them are lose and hanging they become a catch for any snow on the road. To keep this from happening just use a zip tie and get the piece back where it is supposed to be. Make sure to check the wipers on your vehicle as well, if there are cracked or brittle they cannot provide the visibility needed during extreme weather. 

Make sure to have a winter survival kit in the car. This can literally save your life if the roads get packed with snow or ice and travel is impossible. You never know where you will be when bad weather strikes so be ready. A weather kit should have a warm blanket, flares, gravel (for traction), jack, spare tire, fix a flat, and flash light. Being stuck on ice and no way to get out till the morning can be a bad situation so be ready and plan for the worst. Plan for the worst and get the best result, we all hope we never have to use these things but it is nice to know we are ready in the case of bad weather.