Here at Rohrer Bus, we care about the safety of EVERYBODY on the roads, school vehicle drivers and all motorists alike! With the weather getting colder (and a high possibility of us getting the first snowfall of the season next week), we’d like to share these simple, yet incredibly valuable, tips to help you drive more safely in snowy weather!
Think Before You Drive
If you don’t need to drive, just stay home! While certain situations require you to get in your car while it’s snowing, like driving home from work, other plans, like going to a restaurant, can be rescheduled when driving conditions are safer.
Know How To Maintain Visibility
It can be extremely hard to see while driving during a snowstorm. It is easy for snow to coat your windshield, so before you start driving, make sure your windshield wipers are in working order, and your car is topped up on anti-freeze windshield wiper fluid. Also, be sure to turn on your headlights to increase your visibility and help other drivers see you better. Do not, however, use your high beams as they actually make it harder to see the road and can blind other approaching drivers.
Increase Your Following Distance
The rule of thumb for following another vehicle is to stay 3-4 seconds behind them. However, when it’s snowing, you should aim to stay at least 8-10 seconds behind the car in front of you. Like we mentioned before, visibility is compromised while it’s snowing, and the driver in front of you may have to react suddenly to any conditions that they had a hard time seeing. Increasing your following distance allows you more time to respond to any unexpected behavior from other motorists and decreases your chance of colliding with them.
Slow Down
Applying gas slowly is the best method to accelerate in snowy conditions; stepping hard on the gas will only cause your wheels to spin and you to lose traction. Any maneuver, such as turning, stopping, or speeding up, will take longer to do on snow-covered roads than on dry pavement. It’s more important to stay safe than to stay on schedule!
Don’t Use Cruise Control
Cruise Control is great most of the time, but not so much when it’s snowing. When driving in the snow, you have to be alert and in control at all times, something which Cruise Control inadvertently doesn’t allow. Cruise Control should only be used when conditions permit driving at a steady speed, which snowy driving does not; if your wheels lose traction on icy or wet roads and start to spin, the Cruise Control could keep you accelerating. This can cause you to skid and potentially even crash.
Know How to Use Your Brakes
Knowing how to brake on snowy roads is a bit more complicated than braking in any other condition. First of all, it’s important to know what kind of brakes your car has so you know how it’ll behave on snowy roads! Most modern vehicles come with Antilock Brake System, which is when the car automatically pumps its brakes to prevent locking up its wheels. When using ABS, you have to keep firm, continuous pressure on the pedal. However, if your car does not have ABS, you may have to manually pump your brakes to prevent locking up and skidding on ice. Secondly, no matter what kind of brakes you have, it’s important to never slam on them when stopping on snowy roads. Slamming the brakes can send you into a skid, which is never good news. Instead, try taking your foot off the accelerator well before you need to come to a stop, and only braking to come to a complete stop at the end. The less you have to brake, the less chance you have of sliding into the car in front of you or through an intersection.
Thanks for reading! As always, if you learned anything new/surprising or have any questions, leave a comment down below. Please pass on this information so we can help as many people as possible stay safe both this upcoming week and throughout the entire cold season!
