Winter Driving: Tips and Precautions

Although sometimes it is recommended t not to use your vehicle, you do not always have the possibility of moving by other means of transport. There are many people who need their car to get around daily, so it is worth knowing the state of our roads very well and knowing how to proceed depending on the weather conditions that you may encounter.

Below you can find some tips for winter driving, which will help you deal with these extreme weather conditions in the most appropriate way possible and be able to carry out a safe drive that minimizes the possible dangers that this may cause.

Although winter is harsh, not every day they present the same meteorological estimate. Carrying out a trip, especially if you are going to travel by road, will be safer if you know in advance the weather conditions that you are going to encounter. This will allow you to adapt and even choose to postpone our circulation in case of announcing a strong storm, if necessary.

The state of the roads will also be a factor to consider. The accumulation of ice sheets in some sections can make us change our route, and / or have some really recommended objects so that the ice does not pose an impediment, such as chains or scrapers. So, check the news or the traffic website to gather information on the roads.

Ice is the main element that you must deal with when you have no choice but to drive our vehicle on days of heavy frost.

If you live in very cold areas, surely you have found, on more than one occasion, that a layer of ice covers our vehicle, which can make it difficult to see through our windshield. In this case, you can easily remove it by performing the following actions:

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  You can use a scraper or ice scraper to remove the layer adhered to our windshield.
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  Before starting the circulation, you can turn on the heating to raise the temperature and make the ice melt. You can also activate the antifreeze function.
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  In case of being a recurring problem, you can purchase a tarp to protect our vehicle when it is parked, avoiding repeating these actions every day.

Once the ice has disappeared from our windshield, you will have enough visibility to start driving. However, you must also pay attention to the way of driving and the special visibility elements that you must activate.

The safest way to drive on ice is to do it at a slow speed and using long gears. In case of skating on a layer of ice, you must hold the steering wheel until the car brakes on its own, without applying the brake.

Regarding the lights, you should avoid turning on the long ones and using the fog lights.

If the rain surprises us on our trip, you must take the appropriate precautions. Extreme attention, increasing the safety distance and anticipating braking can be very helpful. In addition, you will have to deal with the aquaplaning effect, produced by a lack of adherence due to an excessive accumulation of water on the roads, avoiding braking and controlling the steering wheel perfectly.

Given the possibility of finding snow on our way, you must be prepared to make our trip a totally safe ride. For this, you can choose to provide our vehicle with special tires, or failing that, have at our disposal a set of chains, with which you are familiar. Only in this way can you achieve safe driving on white-tinted roads.

Before starting the trip, you must ensure that your vehicle is perfectly prepared for it. It is advisable to carry out a review to ensure the good condition of your vehicle.

You must also verify that your vehicle has everything necessary to avoid any danger. You will try to travel with your mobile phone fully operational and charged, and with the tranquillity that this type of situation demands.

With these simple winter driving tips, you can minimize the dangers of winter driving and make driving safe and efficient.

Have a safe trip!