Winter Driving Safety Tips

Law/Наш блог/Winter Driving Safety Tips

Winter Driving Safety Tips

29/05/2024

Having your winter tires installed on your car and packing a windshield scraper is a good start to being prepared to drive in the winter, but as the cold weather gets harsher, the driving conditions get worse. With this comes the tendency for some people to overcorrect or not know how to stop properly, or know how to steer when their car starts to skid. To put it simply: many good drivers are not at their best in winter weather. Here is some guidance for making sure you have a safe trip this winter.





Driving Safely in the Snow

Bad weather, poor road conditions and winter storms account for almost half a
million crashes each winter, and more than 2,000 deaths. You should practice defensive driving always, and your best bet is to stay home if you can. If you absolutely must leave where you are and drive in the snow, here are some tips:

  • Always drive slowly – you have low traction on
    snow or ice
  • Decelerate and accelerate slowly – this will
    prevent spinning out or other potential accidents
  • Increase the distance between you and the car
    ahead of you. Several car lengths – at least to five or six seconds

How to Prepare for Winter Driving

Good defensive driving is great, but you should also prepare for the worst. This means keeping your car stocked up with provisions and a robust emergency kit in case of an accident, a breakdown, being stranded, or worse.

  • Keep extra food and water in your car, along
    with warm clothes, a blanket,  a glass
    scraper, a flashlight, medications and anything else you could need if you end
    up stranded in your car
  • Keep your tires properly inflated and make sure
    they have sufficient tread
  • Make sure your car always has at least half a
    tank of fuel
  • Don’t warm your car up in a garage or any other
    enclosed area, as you run the very real and high risk of carbon monoxide
    poisoning – you cannot see or smell carbon monoxide, so you won’t know when
    it’s a problem
  • Don’t use your car’s cruise control function if
    you’re driving somewhere slippery like on snow or ice

Driving Long Distance in the Snow

If you’re going on a trip and have to drive in the snow, make sure your car is functioning. Get it checked out to make sure nothing needs to be replaced. Also, plan ahead by:

  • Checking the weather along the route you’re
    taking, and delay if the weather is going to be bad
  • Let people know when you are leaving and where
    you are going – share your route with trusted people
  • Don’t leave your vehicle if you are stuck in the
    snow, since your vehicle will be your shelter. It can be remarkably easy to
    lose track of your vehicle in a snowstorm
  • If you have to dig your vehicle out of snow,
    don’t keep going if you’re tired – take a break
  • Clear your exhaust pipe if you’re stuck in the
    snow so that exhaust and carbon monoxide don’t enter the car (it will kill you)

blogs

You might like

Five Helpful Facts and Tips About Pedestrian Accidents

The pedestrian fatality rate in Arizona is more than double that of the national average, at 1.61 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people. Most of these are male pedestrians, killed at a rate of almost three times as much as female pedestrians. Keeping pedestrians safe is everyone’s job, but as a pedestrian, you should understand the […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Five Apps for Increased Road Safety

Staying safe on the road is more important as more and more cities become increasingly dependent on automobile transportation. Increasedroad safety is about diligence and attentive driving, but there are also ways to “gamify” or in other ways incentivize safe driving, through smartphone apps. Here are five apps designed to keep you less distracted and […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Winter Bicycle Riding Tips

With cold winds in your face and slick surfaces to navigate, the winter is not the ideal to ride on your typical bicycle. Many of us use a bike as our regular transportation, and some of us have our bikes tricked out for winter riding, as well. In order to make the most of your […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Five Things to Know About Bike Accidents in Arizona

Bicycling may be the way to go for sustainable transportation, but that’s all the more reason why anyone in Arizona should make sure to practice basic bicycle safety. Over 47 million people in the United States ride bicycles, and that number will likely increase as some urban centers move away from fossil fuels and even […]

06/06/2024
Read more

What to Look for When Hiring an Attorney

In Arizona and California, two big car cultures on the grow, you’re statistically more likely to be involved in some sort of motor vehicle accident or have some other legal concerns surrounding your automobile. Other injuries, like dog bites and slip and falls, are all-too common, and can be difficult to navigate with some kind […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in the United States

Whether due to size, or footprint of the motorcycle, or sheer stability, or a combination of these factors, motorcycles are much more likely to be involved in an accident than other automobiles. Certainly, in some cases, this is a visibility issue as well, with many drivers of other automobiles not looking in their blind spots […]

29/05/2024
Read more

How Dangerous Are Motorcycle Accidents?

Motorcyclists are more likely to die in a traffic accident than people inside passenger cars. In fact, they are 28 times more likely, due to a number of factors, including things like potential low visibility from the blind spots of other vehicles around them. Motorcycles are also most likely to be involved in collisions with […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Winter Slip and Fall Accident Tips

Whether your winter is cold and snowy or just plain cold, winter is a time when slipand fall accidents are increasingly likely. Cold, wind, ice and snow are problems on their own and when they combine, it’s a perfect storm of injury possibilities. Typically, these conditions result in bruises and bumps, but there’s always the […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Common Causes of Car Accidents – and Ways to Avoid Them

Car accidents are an increasingly common source of injuries and loss of property and life. Every year, there are estimated to be over six million car accidents, in the US alone. We drive everywhere, and even short distances pose a hazard to drivers, as well as pedestrians and people on bicycles. The loss of property […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Tips for Avoiding Slip & Fall Accidents

Slipping and falling is hilarious in the movies and on TV, but when you enter the real world, slipsand falls are some of the most dangerous causes of personal injuries one can experience outside of a vehicle accident. Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere and for many reasons – a simple spill, a loose […]

29/05/2024
Read more

контактная форма

Свяжитесь с нами

By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from RS Law Offices. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. View our Privacy Policy.