1st, put on the winter tires and that is on all 4 wheels. As far as driving is concerned, there is a lot more night driving in the winter so make sure the inside of the windshield is clean and keep the headlight lenses clean. New wiper blades and/or put on the winter wiper blades (encased in rubber to maintain effectiveness when regular blades “freeze up”), and keep the gas tank 1/2 full or more.
Attitude adjustment when driving; all puddles can be black ice. You really don’t know where the shoulder of road ends and the drainage ditch begins. Get used to the idea of driving without seeing the center line on the road. Most important as soon as any precipitation starts slow down and increase following distances about 4X normal.
I’m not sure the new technology on cars and SUV’s really helps much. Most people might believe in and rely on these systems too much. I’d rather not have my ABS brakes kick in, if they do that means I didn’t leave enough room to stop. If your antiskid control kicks in you are going way too fast for conditions. Traction control seems much to abrupt on my cars, it means I am being too heavy on gas.
The secret to winter driving is to be gentle; that is gentle on the gas, gentle on the steering imputs, and gentle on the brakes. The goal is to get whereever and not end up in the ditch. How long it takes to get there is no longer important. Just keep moving even at 40 mph you’ll get there eventually.
The folks that buzz along at 70+ mph with any kind of winter precipitation are asking for trouble and often they find it in the ditch.