Winter Driving Tips

[My Gym]

I am putting together a list of Winter driving tips for a young man that moved from south Texas to Nebraska. I am looking for the wisdom from this group. He drives a newer rear wheel drive Ford truck with automatic.

Here are a few of mine:

Roads are usually slickest at stop lights and stop signs, approach carefully and avoid coming to a complete stop.

If it is so slick that you cannot stand up or the snow is deeper than your bumper. STAY HOME!

Keep your gas tank full. It adds more weight to rear tires and more gas to keep you warm if you get stuck.

Always carry a shovel to dig yourself out.

Lets hear your input.

 

[RNeumann]

I carry a tug/snatch strap and jumper cables. I also keep a set of warm clothes and gloves.

As far as driving- it’s like driving a boat. Plenty of power and speed but little steering and no brakes.

 

[Sigarms]

1 - Always give your car/truck time to get nice and warm before going out on the road. Not only carry a shovel, but carry an extra set of warm clothes, and also a good tow rope, even if you're only driving a car.

2 - It's the not going that gets you in trouble, it's always the stopping. Hitting your breaks even with 4 wheel drive doesn't do you any good on a slick snow covered road. Don't drive fast, even if you have 4 wheen drive. Remember, you'll find as many 4x4's in the ditch as well as cars in bad weather.

3- ALWAYS slow down BEFORE you hit a bridge in bad weather. Even if there isn't ice on a road, there can be ice on a bridge due to the air under the road. Never hit your breaks while driving on a bridge if you don't have to when it's wet and under 40 degrees.

4 - ALWAYS drive slow on pack snow when approaching a curve in the road. Even in 4 wheel drive, when driving on pack snow, the inertia of the truck can take you off the road if you aren't driving in a straight line (the bigger the curve, the more likely the chances you vehicle will slide if on packed snow).

5 - If you have white outs in your area, either stop driving when you hit a white out or just keep going slow in a straight line. Either way, not everyone will give you the same answer. Hit a white out while driving and just hope for the best on whatever choice you make. You won't believe you can't see anything when you hit one, but believe me, you can't see NOTHING when you hit one when driving.

6 - After a year, move back to Texas

 

[LD1]

If you get alot of snow in that area, and that is his only vehicle....best thing he can do is get a 4wd.

Beyond that.....if his truck has abs....that's good. If not...pump brakes to maintain control.

Add weight. 400-600# of cat litter or sand in bags in the bed will do wonders. And if you do get stuck, open a bag and spread some down.

Go slow. Slow easy starts...slow easy stops. No sudden lane changes.

When roads are bad, and slush between tire tracks, (speaking of divided highways)....pick a lane and stay in it.

Have good tires. Studded winter tires are best...but there are some good all season tires out there. No bald tires, or blocky tread that has no sipes. Sipes are a good thing. As is open shoulders to clear out.

Also good to find an abandoned large parking lot. Go play. Practice loosing control and corrections. Learn the limits of the vehicle and limits of driver skill.

 

[CobyRupert]

- it痴 like driving a boat. Plenty of power and speed but little steering and no brakes.

:thumbsup:
Rule #1: It's counterintuitive, but putting on the brakes is usually the worst thing to do.

Locking up brakes on snow and ice is useless. You're just leaving what direction you travel up to to gravity and momentums fate. Better off using what little friction your tires have to steer.
Most anti-lock brakes on ice and snow are horrible. There are times, despite what I said above, that I'd rather be skidding to a stop rather than have no braking at all because the anti-locks are releasing. Vehicles aren't smart enough to know the difference.

Pumping the brakes works in both cases, because you may be able to steer clear, or pump to reset the anti-lock detection function long enough to actually have some braking before it kicks in again.

Steer into skids and stay off the brakes!
Hit the gas if its front wheel drive and she'll pull out of the skid.
Rear wheel drive, let off on the gas to straighten it out.


Weight=traction. Rear wheel drive trucks are the WORST in snow. Studded tires are the best.
Static friction is greater than kinetic friction. (i.e. a tire not spinning/skidding has more traction than one that isn't)

 

[oosik]

SLOW DOWN

 

[Agvg]

ABS works very vell on ice and snow, cant think of any situation that I could do it better, and it have savnede my *** many times...

 

[kcflhrc]

Call for an Uber

 

[Agvg]

Proper winter tires are a must, where I live you might loose your driver licens and get a very high fine if you drives with summer tires in the snow.

 

[cat fever]

Buy a snowmobile.

 

[Agvg]

ESP is very nice thing to have, very good alt keeping your car under control.

 

[cat fever]

If you get alot of snow in that area, and that is his only vehicle....best thing he can do is get a 4wd.

Beyond that.....if his truck has abs....that's good. If not...pump brakes to maintain control.

Add weight. 400-600# of cat litter or sand in bags in the bed will do wonders. And if you do get stuck, open a bag and spread some down.

Go slow. Slow easy starts...slow easy stops. No sudden lane changes.

When roads are bad, and slush between tire tracks, (speaking of divided highways)....pick a lane and stay in it.

Have good tires. Studded winter tires are best...but there are some good all season tires out there. No bald tires, or blocky tread that has no sipes. Sipes are a good thing. As is open shoulders to clear out.

Also good to find an abandoned large parking lot. Go play. Practice loosing control and corrections. Learn the limits of the vehicle and limits of driver skill.

I have been actively practicing your last step since I could drive.
However, it is very good advice for a new snow driver.
Step 3 I would use salt bags, then if needed you can throw some out to get unstuck.

 

[square1]

Understand countersteering and practice it.

 

[RalphVa]

When rear end goes left, steer left. When rear end goes right, steer right.

Would help to have 4wd and stick shift. Automatics are bad in snow/ice. If he got a stick shift, learn to double clutch it for very smooth downshifts. They can save you when slowing down in the snow. Cannot smoothly downshift an auto.

Put 4 to 6 bags of sand in the back, like others have suggested. Pickups are back for driving in snow or ice without weight in the rear.

Big vehicles are this are absolutely scary in snow or ice. They'll seemingly have good traction and then suddenly break into a skid. Drove our church van, an F350 "Econoline". It would do this. I absolutely would not drive it in any inclement weather after having it suddenly let go on me one time. Might help to buy some Depends for when it happens.

Ralph

 

[Oaktree]

If you get alot of snow in that area, and that is his only vehicle....best thing he can do is get a 4wd.

Add weight. 400-600# of cat litter or sand in bags in the bed will do wonders. And if you do get stuck, open a bag and spread some down.

Go slow. Slow easy starts...slow easy stops. No sudden lane changes.

When roads are bad, and slush between tire tracks, (speaking of divided highways)....pick a lane and stay in it.

Have good tires. Studded winter tires are best...but there are some good all season tires out there. No bald tires, or blocky tread that has no sipes. Sipes are a good thing. As is open shoulders to clear out.

Also good to find an abandoned large parking lot. Go play. Practice loosing control and corrections. Learn the limits of the vehicle and limits of driver skill.

All good advice, especially about getting a 4WD. RWD trucks suck in the snow even with someone experienced in winter driving, with one who's never driven in snow it's a recipe for an accident. Not familiar with winters in Nebraska, but there's a reason people drive 4/AWD vehicles in snow country.

Would help to have 4wd and stick shift. Automatics are bad in snow/ice. If he got a stick shift, learn to double clutch it for very smooth downshifts. They can save you when slowing down in the snow. Cannot smoothly downshift an auto.

I would imagine especially so with newer vehicles with electronically controled ATs where there's no easy way to downshift, period.

Buy a snowmobile.

That too. :thumbsup:

 

[bunyip]

We are required to carry chains where there is deep snow, also carry a long whip with a flag on the top so you can find your car if you get snowed in, I learned that one the hard way after spending two hours digging out the wrong car.
If you get caught in a drift and are covered turn the engine off, using the engine for the heater can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
And, (we actually saw this, wish I had the video camera at the time) when you fit chains, make sure they are on the drive wheels, the one we saw was two young girls fitting chains to a Ford Laser on the back wheels (Ford Laser is a/was a rebadged Mazda 323).
With the auto, on mine I can push the stick sideways in drive and drive it like a manual, forward for up a gear, back for down and it displays on the dash.

 

[My Gym]

I have been impressed with the feedback so far. The only suggestion I question is carrying is carrying salt.

It is very helpful for sidewalks and driveways. It melts and breaks ice and snow pack, but takes way too long
to work for driving. It crushes and makes for a slicker surface with melted water. Gravel and coarse sand is
much better for traction. Also it corrodes metal and carrying it around for months in a vehicle is not a good idea.
Salt absorbes moisture becomes a brick in time.

Thanks Keep up the input.

Shift the transmission to neutral on slick down hill slopes. In drive, the heavier front end will lock up and the rear
wheels will still keep pushing.

 

[redman135]

Practice fitting the snow chains BEFORE you need them.

Tow rope: where are the towing eyes?
:does the hook on the tow rope actually fit in the towing eye? You may need to get a load rated shackle large enough to fit the tow hook, and small enough to fit the towing eye.

 

[jbrumberg]

Sand is much superior to clay based cat litter. Cat litter can get slippery when wet. I've had good luck with black oil sunflower seed. Sand is the best for weight and traction.

 

[kidr]

No matter how good a winter driver you are, you're only as good as the drivers around you. Stay away from other vehicles as much as possible.