Winter Driving Tips for Icy Roads

As temperatures drop, driving becomes a little more challenging. Extra precautions must be taken to safely operate your vehicle on snow filled or icy roads. Here are some winter driving tips for icy roads, to help keep you safe this winter.

Slow Down

You’ve probably heard this many times! The best tip we can give is to simply slow down! Slower speeds will allow you to better react to road hazards and will prevent serious spinouts.

Avoid Cruise Control

Although cruise control may be helpful for long drives, it’s not a great idea for icy conditions. Most people don’t watch the road as carefully when a car is on cruise control. Those milliseconds could be critical when driving on icy roads. Icy conditions require your full attention and ability to quickly react.

Check Your Tire Pressure

Accidents from low tire pressure are more common than you may think. Low pressure can cause a blowout or make your tires more susceptible to damage. This can happen while you are driving and cause you to lose control of your vehicle. So, check your tire pressure as temperatures fall! This is an extremely important winter driving tip.

Know How to React to a Slip

If your car skids on a patch of ice, do you know what to do? Experts recommend the following:

• Apply only one action, brake or turn, at a time. Too many inputs can make your situation worse.
• Make gradual movements to the steering wheel. Quickly turning the wheel will contribute to a full spinout.
• Turn in the direction you wish to go.

Wear Your Seat Belt

Seat belts truly do save lives. Anything can happen in an instant. For the safety of yourself and your passengers, always wear a seat belt when driving.

Summary of Winter Driving Tips for Icy Roads

Icy roads are certainly not optimal driving conditions. You must be extra alert and cautious during this time of year. Start by giving the road your full attention. Make sure your vehicle is safe for winter driving, and take extra measures to ensure your own safety. It’s not pleasant to experience issues on the road when the temperatures are this cold. By heeding our winter driving tips for icy roads, we hope that you will drive more safely this winter.