Now that I’m retired, winter driving means rolling over and going back to sleep.I did spend 37 years commuting in terrain that looked like the Alps, with interesting variations of weather, black ice, snow, slush,freezing rain, and most importantly, nitwit drivers who leared to drive at the clown car driving school. Everything listed here as to winter equuipment (tires) ad good judgement/driving techniques is all you need for winter driving. My caution is to look out for the folks in large SUVs with 4WD,traction control,ABS,etc. They seem to drive as if they are immortal and bad weather doesn’t apply to them. Once outside my place of employment in freezing rain, I watched a Mercedes-Benz with ABS slide down a hill with the brakes clicking away as it crashed into a bus. I guess the dealer didn’t tell the owner that ice is slippery. Oldmotorist
I’ve been driving around in snow and ice since before I was legally allowed to drive, and I’ve always understood that staying out of the ditch means driving slowly and anticipating your next move. I have driven a few vehicles in the snow and ice that had nice things like ABS and 4x4, but never allowed that to interfere with my driving style, which sometimes irritates other drivers who were seemingly thinking, “you have four wheel drive! Go faster!” All the four wheel drive, ABS, TCS and other features will never make the snow and ice less slippery. In ten years of driving, I have only been stuck in a ditch once. I was trying to turn around to go back to town because I figured out a blizzard had closed the highway I intended to use. I couldn’t see the highway, and my Nazi boss insisted I come to work that day anyway. I tried to pull into a driveway to turn around, and missed the driveway and ended up in the ditch next to the driveway. A kind gentleman in a Suburban pulled me out.
Count my vote as for good judgement and tires.
It seems like when lousy weather hits here most of the accidents they show on the local news involve late model vehicles with ABS, traction control, and a dozen other safety features. Apparently these features help to promote the mindset that the driver is good to go no matter what the conditions are.
Personally, I do 15 MPH on the highway if the conditions are bad enough and anyone who doesn’t like it can go another direction or pass if they want to.
I agree.
I remember when snow/winter tire change over on rims were common around “here”. The mindset now among many is that abs, trac control, awd and to some extent, the fallacy that fwd itself replaces that need. People stopped using winter tires with fwd because they were told they had to replace all 4 and were looking for an excuse not to. That’s where the lack of winter preparedness begins. The name “all season tires” should be out lawed. Unless it has the snow flake/mtn emblem, it’s a summer tire IMO.
I believe in the effectiveness of all of these aids, but without the right tires, it’s like tinkling in the wind and there’s little traction control or awd can do when a summer tread is clogged with snow. An awd car with traction control and winter tires is the safest way to travel. Same car with all seasons and an invincible attitude in winter is an accident begging to happen.
The only time I EVER got into trouble in snow and ice was while driving my 1st 4wd vehicle during an ice storm in the pacific northwest. It was an early '90s Chevy small sport truck.
I thought to myself, “Self, I’ve got 4wd and this is the first time it might be useful”. This brief flash of insight seemed to be brilliant but was soon to be my undoing. I made a left turn, at low speed, off of a road that was banked to my right. The next thing I knew I was doing uncontrolled 360s down the street until I gently came to rest against the curb. This was long before all the modern, computer controlled, traction systems. No harm done other than to my now frayed nerves.
The lesson I learned was to keep it in 2wd until I need 4wd. If I get into trouble in 2wd I can switch to 4wd and get out. If I get into trouble in 4wd, it’s time to call a tow truck.
lol…im with you. I counted 27 cars in the ditch one day by Anchorage Ak. some on there side n some upside down. People get 4x4s with studded tires n think they got it covered…dummies drive to fast
Yes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! A few years ago when we were hiking in the Rocky Mountains near a glacier, we met a Dutch family touring North America. They had rented a 4 WD Ford Explorer, and wanted to DRIVE ON THE GLACIER!!! Ford at that time advertised the Explorer as a “go anywhere vehicle”, I believe.
We tactfully reminded them that it was illegal, that glaciers had cracks large enough to consume the Explorer, and that the Parks Department conducted guided tours of the glacier in a Snow Cat and the guides knew how to avoid those cracks.
I do not ever want to say I am a good driver. The minute a person starts thinking he is a good driver, he gets sloppy. At least that is my observation. But, in 50 years of driving, I’ve never had a car in the ditch. Luck or sense, hard to tell.
When I learned to drive around 1960, my dad’s farm had a really bad lane. The rule was if you couldn’t make it up that horrid hill, you didn’t get to drive on the highway. We had to learn driving in bad conditions to get to drive at all.
Yes, I did all the spins and we called them doughnuts, making the car go around in a circle. Try everything in a big parking lot. As someone said, it’s as if your big toe feels it.
Although I will say I am not as confident on my 2002 Sienna as I was on those old RWD cars. I don’t know its limits, because I haven’t tested them. We now live south of the snow zone so there is no need.
So true! You can always tell which vehicles are 4WD. They’re the first ones you see in the ditch when it snows.
Haul road to me means Coldfoot and Prudhoe Bay. We took a trip there once, came back by bus spent the night at Coldfoot.
Some useful advice. Slow down before the turn, not during it, especially for front wheel drive cars. Slow down before the downshift unless you have rear wheel drive. Driving on the sloping shoulder before a turn is out too, unless you have rear wheel drive which will straighten itself out if you let off the gas. Front wheel drives will go right into the ditch if you let off the gas.
Some more winter driving tips:
Try to slow down by downshifting and using the engine to absorb your momentum instead of braking all the time. When you brake on snow & ice the wheels can lock up and you lose the traction helping you make a turn. When you slow down using the engine the wheels keep turning and you’re less likely to slide forward in a straight line instead of making the turn you intended to make.
That said, you’re still going to have to brake to stop the car, so brake early when coming up to an intersection or another car. I’ve lost count of the number of times that braking to stop the car early has saved me from sliding into someone else’s trunk because of black ice under a layer of snow.
Finally, know when discretion is the better part of valor. No matter how good your driving skills are and how well you maintain your car, it won’t help when a fool in a 4x4 slides into your car because they don’t know how to drive in the conditions. In my last car accident I wasn’t even moving and a 4x4 slid sideways into me. If you have to be out on a bad day, I understand – it happens. If you don’t have to be out, then don’t go out.
In the winter you should drive in the caribbean. No snow or ice to worry about just the odd stray goat.
This is ALWAYS contentious, but when going down a very slippery hill, putting your car in neutral (or disengaging the clutch) helps TREMENDOUSLY! We have very steep hills in Ithaca, New York, so I’ve had lots of practice doing it for the past 35 years. For those that claim it doesn’t work or is dangerous, please note if you’ve ever tried it.
Stu
Practice really is the answer. I learned to drive in Minnesota in the winter. My behind the wheel instructor took me to a large parking lot and put me through doughnuts and skids, he had me park on icy hills and get out of snowbanks (ooh, just realized that sounds kind of pervy, but it really was all driving related). That said, I am a terrific winter weather driver, but I don’t have to like it. Therefore, I usually make my husband drive in awful conditions because he’s just as good as I am and I don’t look good in white knuckles. Although, of necessity, I recently drove back from Mankato in intermittent white out conditions–had to get my son back to school, he’d been home for a month (I do like my empty nest).
Also, I’d like to remind all those hotshots out there that a four wheel drive vehicle does NOT stop faster on ice than a two wheel drive.
Be sure your spare is kept inflated. They loose air pressure just sitting there. (Good idea year round but especially true in the winter when the air pressure decreases due to low temperatures).
I’ve read most of the comments, and most of them are valid. All the tips the Brothers listed are good. That said, the most important one, in my mind is the one about knowing your car! All the rest are useless without that one. Very definitely take the car out to an empty lot (watch out for curb blocks!) and see how it handles in snow.
If it scares you too much to let the car get a little out of control in a safe place, why would you drive on the streets in the same conditions?
Finally, a tip I missed in the the comments: Ashes. Plain, ordinary fireplace ashes are some of the best traction enhancers I’ve found. A path of ashes laid in front of each driving wheel will guarantee absolute traction on ANY surface, even (especially) bare ice. They can be messy, so carry them in a plastic bag INSIDE a bucket.
Not good! Slowing down with the engine puts all the braking force on just two tires. Granted, they’re the ones with the most traction, but still…
You have four tires and four brakes. Use them all…gently. Anti-lock brakes work by pulsing the braking action; releasing the brakes then reapplying it when a wheel skids. You can do the same with your foot. Pulse the brake before, and especially ‘when’ you feel any of your wheels lock up. You won’t do it as good as the automation in those cars, but it’s infinitely better than skidding.
Or stay off the roads and let the crazies wreck THEIR cars…
know your car ,has to be the best advice. i have two cars, a porsche 944 and a vw golf automatic. one is great in the snow (vw) the other is absolutely rubbish (944). normal tyres fitted , just a bit of brain used whilst driving ,(read vic elfords book on performance driving) and a trip once every other year to a skidpan to keep my driving skills up.