Tips for driving in the snow

First let me say when the weather is bad you should not be on the road. The roads are not safe and the road crew must be able to clear the roads of snow and in most cases they focus on the main roads first before they focus on the side streets. The reason is they want to make a path for emergency vehicles so they can respond to life threating issues. So again if at all possible please stay off the roads not for only your safety but the safety of the snow cleaning road crews as well. However in cases of emergency you may be forced to leave your home because of an emergency in which case you may have to drive in snowy conditions. So this post is only for driving in the snow because in cases of an emergency you may have to leave your home.

There is some prep work you must complete before any report of s snow storm you can call it what you winterizing your vehicle. You should make sure all is in working order your brakes, lights and all fluid level should be full. You should have a full tank of gas prior to the snow storm. Your tire pressure should be at factory recommended standards. Heavy trucks and front wheel drive vehicles will work better in the snow then rear wheel drive vehicles. The weight of the engine allows front wheel drive vehicle to gain better traction.  When you have completed this then you are ready to drive in the snow only if you have too.

By chance should you decide to drive in the snow you must drive slowly. I would say more slowly than you are use too. Please be aware everything takes longer in snow in ice conditions stopping and turning are much more difficult because you have less control of the vehicle. You have to give yourself enough room to maneuver so allow at least eight to ten seconds distance between cars.  You must be familiar with your brakes the best way to stop is by keeping your heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm pressure. Do not apply a full stop if at all possible when at a traffic light you should allow the vehicle to roll slowly enough until the traffic light changes.

You should plan your route from one point to another. When driving try and stay on flat surface roads as you would need a certain amount of acceleration to travel up and down hills and stopping could be a problem on a snow filled road.

Again I can’t stress this enough please stay off the roads this is advice in case you are forced to leave your shelter. The road must be clear for snow clean up to take place

I hope this was helpful please leave a comment

Mark Carbajal