ADS Logistics Supply Chain Management Blog

Winter Weather Driving Tips

  

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The first snow storms of the year hit the Midwest hard this past weekend, causing nearly 400 motor vehicle accidents. The storms mark the beginning of what is usually a rough winter season, in terms of road conditions, for the 12 states. After the storms the totals were tallied by the National Weather Service.

With the first major snowstorm in our rearview mirror, it’s time to get serious about practicing safe winter driving habits. Here are some tips to help you prepare for winter weather and avoid accidents during the winter season:

• Get a grip. To have adequate snow traction, a tire requires at least 6/32-inch deep tread, according to The Tire Rack. 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. Use snow tires to get the best grip on the road and avoid Jack-Knifing.
• Make sure you can see. Replace windshield wiper blades. Clean the inside of your windows thoroughly. Apply a water-shedding material to the outside of all windows, including the mirrors. Make sure your windshield washer system works and is full of an anti-icing fluid.
• 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.
• 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. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 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.

What you do to prepare your vehicle for snowy conditions is just as important as what you do in those conditions. The tips are more to make you a safer driver and to decrease your risk of an accident. It is a lot easier to prevent an accident before you’re on the road than while you’re on the road.