Winter Driving Safety Tips

Basic safety tips for driving in winter weather

Knowing some winter driving safety tips can help you out a lot. It's always good to be prepared during the harsh winter weather season.



So what are some of the basic safety tips for winter driving? Here are several winter driving safety tips::

- Keep up to date on weather conditions. This is one of the best ways to be prepared. If you can even just watch the weather report for a few minutes each day, you can know ahead of time if a major storm is coming your way. Once you know one is on the way, you can plan ahead and make the proper preparations.

- Check your wiper blades. This is important if you are going to be out and about. Having a clear windshield during heavy or even light snow is key to being able to drive safely. Visibility is already bad enough when it snows, so you don't want to make it worse with bad wiper blades.

- Keep your car stocked. Keeping your car stocked with maybe a six or twelve pack of water along with non perishable food can be key if you ever get stuck in a storm. You will also want to keep things like a flashlight, batteries, a blanket, jumper cables, candles with matches, a cb radio or cellphone, road flares, a scraping device for your windows, and tow rope. All of these things can be helpful if you get stuck. This is probably one of the most important winter driving safety tips.

- Have enough anti-freeze/coolant. This is simple enough and you can go to a mechanic to make sure you have the proper levels needed.

- Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Properly inflated tires are important for traction. Seeing a mechanic for proper inflation would be a good idea too.

- Always keep your gas tank at least half full I am notorious for not following this rule, but it's good to do as keeping it half full reduces moisture problems within the fuel system of the car.

- Brake gently on icy roads. Breaking too hard will cause you to skid even more. If the wheels lock up, then ease up on the braking.

- Drive slower. It's always a good idea to drive slower in snowy conditions. Obviously you don't want to go TOO slow, but the widely accepted rule is to go about 50% slower than you normally would in good driving conditions.

- If you get stuck, use a shovel. One of the ways you can get your car "unstuck" from snow is to have a small shovel handy to move some of the snow out of the way. Another way to get your car out is to move your wheels from side to side to move some of the snow. Also using sand, gravel, or kitty litter under the tires can help for traction. Once you do one or a combination of these things, try gently accelerating to move your car out.

- Use a brightly colored cloth attached to your antenna. If you get stuck, doing this will help people see you on the side of the road and increase your chances of being helped.

- Don't over exert yourself. It's fine to try to dig snow from around your car if you're stuck, but you don't want to overdo it.

These winter driving safety tips should definitely help you stay ahead of the game when it comes to winter weather.

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