Winter Driving Safety

Winter Driving Safety: Get to Your Snow-Capped Destination Safely!

As many of you know, winter driving safety is very important, and many people who live in warmer climates can really put themselves into a bad situation if they are traveling to areas of with snow, hail or severe thunderstorms. To see where you stand when it comes to winter driving safety, here’s a brief winter driving safety quiz to see if you are really ready to drive in winter driving conditions.
Winter Driving Safety Quiz

1. A good way to remove the ice off a windshield is to _____ .
a. pour hot water on it.
b. use an ice scraper.
c. wipe it off with my hand.

2. When a car goes into a skid it is best to _____ .
    a. slam on the brakes as hard as you can.
    b. turn the front of the car in the direction I wish the front of the vehicle to go.
    c. turn the opposite way that I wish the car to go.

3. Should you overinflate your car tires for maximum traction?
    a.  Yes, that’s a great idea!
    b. No, that is a terrible idea.

4. While driving though snow, it is best to drive _____ .
    a. slower than usual, but not too slow.
    b. very slow to keep the car from skidding.
  c. normal speed to keep up with the flow of traffic.

Winter driving safety quiz answers:
Question 1 – The answer is b.) use an ice scraper. You never want to pour hot water on the windshield, because eventually the hot water will cool and refreeze on the windshield. Also, you don’t want to use your hands, because the ice will really hurt your hands.
Question 2 – The answer is b.) turn the front of the car in the direction I wish the front of the vehicle to go. You never want to slam on the brakes as hard as you can because your car’s brakes can lock and you will spin out of control. Also, you don’t want to turn the car in the opposite direction of where you want to go because, well, you don’t wish to go that way.
Question 3 – The answer is b.) No, that is a terrible idea. If you overinflate your tires, it is just as bad as under inflating them, you won’t get proper traction and that can cause your car to go into a spin.
Question 4 – The answer is b.) slower than usual, but not too slow. If you drive too slowly, your car needs momentum to keep moving through snow on grades. And you don’t want to drive too fast, because this could cause you to go into a spin or lose control of the car altogether.
Winter Driving Safety Part 2: Winter Driving Chains
An important factor in ensuring proper winter driving safety is knowing how to properly use winter driving chains. Winter driving chains are to be affixed to the drive wheels of the vehicle and winter driving chains work to give a driver superior traction when driving through snow and ice. Winter driving chains are great for winter driving safety and are required by law to drive through certain areas during inclement weather conditions.

Here are just a few winter driving safety winter driving chains tips:
• At the very least, when needed, the drive wheels are the ones that should be chained since they perform most of the movement of the car and the majority of the braking. It is even better to put winter driving chains on all four tires.
• If you are driving on bare pavement, or even patches of snow and pavement, it isn’t wise to drive using winter driving chains. Bare pavement or even a thin coating of ice on bare pavement can wear out a set of winter driving chains in a short period of time.
• Always drive slower when using winter driving chains. This isn’t so much because of the damage they can do to the tires (although the chains can certainly damage the rubber and the radial fibers and metal if they are steel belted) it is because at 55 miles an hour, if a couple of the cross strands snap, the chains can wrap around the axel.

Winter driving safety requires a driver to make the proper decisions both while driving and before getting behind the wheel by taking proper pre-trip precautions. If both of these winter storms safety goals are addressed, you’ll have the best chance to get you and your family to the fun winter destinations you’re looking to enjoy. For more winter storms safety tips, watch a winter storms safety video which can have some great ways for you to drive safely in winter storms.