Month: December 2015

Safe Snow Driving — Tips for Winter Driving in Ice, Snow and Slippery Road Conditions

‘tis the season for an update to our snow driving tips. We welcome all the new residents who have moved to Colorado over the past year, many from warmer climates. Here is a little help for those nasty snow commutes:

AWD or 4WD is very helpful, but it does little when you have bad tires. Good tread depth (newer tires) is extremely important, and if you drive in snow a lot you should consider snow tires. The tread pattern is different, they a little taller to cut through the snow better and it is a different rubber compound that works well in cold weather. Just make sure to take them off your car in the spring as they are not designed for warm weather and will wear out excessively fast if driven in warm weather.IMG_20151105_085954_035

Avoiding a spin is obviously the best policy, but if you find yourself sliding, it’s not all over. Try to stay calm. You’ve probably heard that you should steer into the skid, a simpler way to explain that is to straighten out your wheels — unwind the steering wheel. The more turned your wheels are, the less traction you have. When your wheels are pointing straight, you put 100% of the tire’s foot print on the road. As you turn — that leaning feeling — you give up more and more of that traction and are more likely to loose control.

Don’t overestimate new technologies. Having things like traction control, AWD or 4WD does not mean you can go 60mph on a snowy or icy road with a get home safe guarantee. With AWD or 4WD you havIMG_20141226_132319_121e an easier time getting up an icy hill, but you don’t stop any faster than a 2 wheel drive car.
If you are parking outside, clear off the snow so you have proper visibility. You may be able to see through the little hole you made in the windshield, but if you need to make an evasive maneuver, you’ll be blind if you haven’t cleared all your windows. If you haven’t cleared the snow off your roof, the first time you brake it may all slide down onto your wipers, which can break the wipers or wiper motor. When scraping the windshield make sure the wipers aren’t frozen to the windshield, that can burn out your wiper motor if it is trying to hard to free them. Often going under them with the scraper will do it, alternatively you can put a piece of card board between the wiper and the glass when you park.IMG_20131204_090706_660

If you drive outside populated areas it may pay off to have some emergency supplies in the car such as a shovel, sand or kitty litter, a blanket, even a snack.

We wish you safe traveling. Click  here  for last year’s article with more snow driving tips.

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