7 Tips For Driving In The Twin Cities During Winter

How many of us actually fasten your seatbelt when we’re driving? Approximately 5000 people die on the road each year in the United States from highway collisions and 22 million people are injured. Aside from the obvious safety measure you should take when you’re in a vehicle, there are some other driving tips you can follow to keep you and your loved one safe.

Defensive driving safety tips are something all drivers especially beginners, should heed. Always pay attention to what is going on around you. The car ahead of you may indeed be two car lengths away, but I always assume the other driver will make a mistake. Even if it’s your right-of-way, don’t expect that oncoming car to yield to you! Most people would barrel through an intersection without slowing down if given half a chance.

Wintry days require people to drive slowly and put generous distance, proximally three times more than usual, between your vehicle and the one ahead to allow your self plenty of time to stop. Never stop on the brakes as this can cause your wheels to lock in your car to skid. Please follow the seven safety driving tips below.

  1.  Good lights: Your headlights and tillage should be clear of snow. This will help other drivers to see you. Get a new set of headlight lenses if years are old or sand pitted. Make sure both headlights work and replace broken tail and running lights.
  2. Visibility: Make sure you can see well. Clean the outside and inside of your windows thoroughly. Replace any old windshield wiper blades. Apply a water shedding material on the outside of all windows. This includes the mirrors. Your windshield washers should work well and be filled with anti-icing fluid.
  3. Tire check: Use snow tires. Adequate snow traction requires at least 6:32-inch deep tread. Summer tires have little or no grip in snow. All season tires don’t always have good snow traction either. If the roads where you live are regularly covered with snow, get snow tires.
  4. Check for Black Ice: If the road looks slick, it probably is, but black eyes can make it slick without it looking that way. Also called “glare ice”, drivers often don’t see it at all. Feel for black ice instead with a smooth brake application or by turning the wheel slightly. Does the road feel slick? Then slow down.
  5. Make turns slowly: Many motors have lost control of their cars along icy curves. Slow down. Speeding on slippery curves is one of the top 25 causes of car accidents. Make sure to drive the posted speed limit. Avoid an accident by driving cautiously.
  6. Reduce speed on snowy roads: Remember your vehicle can’t slow down or stop rapidly on snowy roads. Turning performance is also decreased. On snow covered roads there is significantly less friction between the road and your tires. Make sure to slow down if the road is snow back.
  7. Avoid icy uphill driving: Try to not drive up steep hills when it’s icy. If you can’t avoid it, go up the hill slowly in second gear. Steer around obstacles and use feather breaking to keep your momentum. Don’t stop until you’ve cleared the top of the hill.

We should all be more cautious driving in the snow. Fear of driving in the snow is healthy if it makes us drive more safely. As a way of protecting ourselves and our fellow drivers. If you or someone you know has been in an accident then contact us: http://www.solichiropractic.com  OR Call 763-560-0750.