Exploration gives experiences and every winter it is a great time to explore new places and experience more and more. However, if you decide to visit some place which have a different climate condition dissimilar to your place’s climate then for sure it’s time for new experiences. For example if one visit a place where snow falls and it doesn’t snow at your place then surely you will have new experiences of driving in snow and many more such experiences will be there. Driving in snow for the first time is little surprising because it requires more efforts than regular handling. Here, you will learn crucial tips that are prerequisite for driving in snow.
Tips one should do before visiting snow :
Keep necessary tools in the car:
Some necessary tools like shovel to clear the snow from your path, well built ice scraper and good amount of salt has to be on your list before visiting snowy place. And one should be prepared for worst scenarios so, for that condition one must carry good amount of necessary edible stuff (high energy stuff like dry fruits etc. ) that can last long for many days and also pair of good gloves , flashlights and also water should be on your check list before going to an icy or snowy place.
Check car essentials before going to snowy place :
This is one of the most important thing one should always do before going to any place. Checking car’s tires condition, windshield, wiper’s working, spare tire in the hood, condition of the spare tire, crucial car documents, oil inside car and also get one extra battery along with you if you are having an electric car and other necessary thing must be in check before visiting a snowy place. Get your car snow ready keep snow chains and snow socks in car and learn about how to put them on tires and practice them at least once before visiting snow. Both snow chains and snow socks are used for enhancing the grip of tires on snow as these help tires to restrict skids and have good grasp over road surface.
Get your engine sometime to get acclimatized to cold weather :
Many times we not let our engine turn to take it’s time or heat up even for two minutes or more we just quickly turn the keys and press the pedals. Though it is not that much required now days not technically at least however, one must give time to their engine irrespective of how advance the vehicle is. Two things happen when you give life to your engine by turning the key, first thing is every part of the car will gets it’s energy which will boost the performance of your car. Second thing is that the internal atmosphere of the car will become warmer which will keep you cozy inside the car in the winter season.
Be prepared for the weather :
Learn in advance about the weather of the place, learn what weather is forecasted at the place, find out if it is going to precipitate or not, check whether the temperature is near freezing point i.e. zero degree Celsius and keep yourself ready beforehand. And if you are visiting snow for the first time and have no experience of driving in snow then you have to be more cautious before going in snow. Be prepared ahead of time and learn about all the essential details about the place and thereafter get yourself prepared according to it. Get ready beforehand for the worst scenarios, if you will not be prepared for the bad situation it might turn out to be a very disadvantageous situation because the weather of a cold place will surprise you surely trust me, it can be beautiful sunny day in one minute and a cold windy day the other and can very easily transcend to a snowfall in very less time. Just nature telling that everything can happen so be prepared for every kind of situation.
Check tires of your car :
This is one of the most essential thing whenever you are going to drive in snow, tires are the only part of the car which have direct contact with the ground and tires can be your very good friend if you will take care of them and they can also turn out to be your worst enemy if you will not take care of them. Good tires condition will give you more mileage, enhance the fuel efficiency and give you smooth experience even on bumpy roads and on the other hand if your tires are not in good condition then you can observe the less mileage of your car and bad condition of tires attracts less fuel efficiency, it will not give you smooth ride on bumpy roads and your car will have less mileage . Tires are one of the crucial part of a car and they play very important role if you want good grip while driving in snow. The treads in snow tires is much more deep when compared to the all season tires, and this deep treads provide very good grip when driving on snowy or icy roads.
Keep essentials for difficult situation if you get stuck in snow :
Think about the worst situation that can happen while driving in snow and write all the things on paper, get everything now and pack them with you. Different people need different things for their survival but the must things which you can top of your list is food, first aid kid, extra pair of thermals , good gloves pair, socks pair and plenty of water has to be in your car.
Many times it is very important to be prepared and same is in case of driving in snow. Driving in snow is sometimes is easy thing however, in contrast to this opinion one can understand that driving in snow can many times can also turn out to be a very difficult situation or even many fatalities happen because of skidding of off guarded drivers in snow . so, for that situation one have to be prepared.
Here, we are providing you with the tips which you must consider while driving in snow:
driving for the first time in snow :
Keep your speed in check when driving on snow roads:
The number one thing which one must keep in mind is keeping their speed in check. Skidding of wheels on snow or ice is the most feared catastrophe which can also turn out to be lethal for the passengers. Always try to keep the car in first or second gear if it is a manual car while going uphill or going downhill try to operate car on small gears so that you have more control over your vehicle. Now, what to do if the car is automatic then try to maintain the speed of the vehicle near 45kmh, lesser the speed lesser the chances of skidding of car on snow or icy roads. Keeping your speed in check will give you an extra edge over your vehicle and it will be more under your control. So, whenever driving in snow keep an eye on your speed because with slow speed you will be able to take necessary steps if your vehicle skids and this thing can spare you big things.
Keep distance from other cars while driving in snow :
Precautions are better than cure so true even when it comes to having adverse situation like skidding of vehicle on snow or icy roads. Keeping distance on snow roads from your front vehicle and rear vehicle will be a very advantageous thing for you since skidding of cars while driving in snow is a very unanticipated event many times and if some driver loose control over their car then the coming cars will get bumped into the car and a big disaster can happen there at the spot in just couple of minutes. So try keeping distance from both the vehicle which is in front of you and also from the one which is behind you.
Things to do while skidding of car while driving in snow:
If your wheels skid as a consequence of high speed while changing lanes or taking a curve and during taking turns all these actions can put you in a difficult situation. The first thing you should do is don’t panic and don’t press brakes. Pressing hard breaks trigger the skid more rather preventing it. You can do two thing that can help you achieve stability over your vehicle slow down your car to lower gears and the second thing which you can do is don’t accelerate in panic.
Oversteering, most skids are caused because of the oversteering, in oversteering the rear wheels loose control and get out of the sync with the front wheels and on the other hand in understeering, front wheels skids and because of this the vehicle skids.
Don’t accelerate to avoid difficult situation :
We hurriedly always try to escape the adverse situation but this is not how things work. whenever your car skid don’t try to accelerate the car in hasten otherwise the wheels will try to encounter your action and you will get more into the bad situation. Try keeping yourself at peace first and then down the gear of your car and thereafter aim to the place where you want to go don’t focus on the direction where your wheels are heading rather aim to the place where you want to reach.
Get good pair of sunglasses for snow :
During day time you need good pair of sunglasses in the view of the fact that you can experience what is called as temporary snow blindness while driving on snow and this happens generally near snow and at beaches. Due to the overexposure to the snow our body absorbs more UV radiation that is present in good amount near the places like at beach and also at snowy place.
Use fog lights for driving in snow :
Fog lights, these are one of the necessity on cold days when everything is covered with fog and one cannot see far on roads. Fog lights are present below the main headlights in many cars. Fog lights are majorly considered of great use on cold places when other vehicles are not visible because of the fog which covers everything. Fog lights increases the visibility of the road, illuminates the path as fog is present above from ground and as fog lights are present at the lower portion in cars they works amazingly to enhance the visibility and also fog lights make your vehicle visible to other automobile drivers on road.
Also read : Are fog lights legal in India ?
Also read : Which fog light is better halogen or LED ?
Also read : Are fog lights really necessary?
Think about other drivers as well :
No one takes responsibility of other drivers so you have to be in charge of your life and also of your vehicle while driving. Keeping all the things above described under consideration and acknowledging that these all are very crucial things you need to practice while driving on snow roads.
Keep your car distant from other automobiles on road, keep speed in check and also keep your fog lights on only when there is fog outside as light from the fog lights can fall directly on the eyes of the oncoming drivers which can make them blind to the road for few seconds so sometimes we have to beware of our things as well so that they don’t do any damage to other people.
Safety tips if car skids in snow or ice :
Whenever imminent icy roads are there you need to slow down a bit. Many fatal accidents arises on days when their is very less snow on roads or less icy roads. High speed is the number one cause of accidents at snowy place. One of the most essential thing which one should have on their vehicle is the winter tires, these tires are far more preferred over all season tires as these have more deep treads which provide more better grip on the icy roads.
Be more cautious during turns and bends and while changing lane: During turn and bends keep your speed slow as at these spots one looses control the most. Slight carelessness can even cost lives of people.
Is driving in snow tough ?
According to me nothing is tough if you can learn the right lessons then for sure you are gonna have a good ride on the snow road. Obviously, we cannot anticipate what is going to happen however, we can do the necessary doable steps like keeping the speed in check (as our tires have very less grip on icy or snowy roads because of this tires can easily skid ) and also learning all the essentials before going on the snowy or icy roads then for sure you can have a very amazing experience on your list.
Just be more cautious of your driving and also pack essentials for the worst case scenarios as well, as unpredictable things like avalanches and heavy precipitation may happen at snowy place so one have to keep these things in mind and have to be ready for all these conditions.
What to do if scared to drive in snow ?
Catastrophic situation can arise many times when driving in snow and many times people have seen fatalities because of icy or snowy roads and these distresses have made many people scared to go out to drive in snow. Natural avalanches and also the heavy snowfall can take life of some in them or many times it stagnate the life of a person so for this reason many people gets so anxious to drive in snow. Here are the thing which you can do get out of the fear of driving in snow with the following points:
- The more you practice the better you get at something so, the more practice you do by driving on snow roads or icy roads the more better you will be on the wheels, the more grasp you will have on your vehicle’s action. This way you can get over your fear of snow.
- Getting ready in advance for worst situation will also keep you calm as we all know that driving in snow is many times a tricky thing.
- One of the most useful thing which you can do is to keep this thing in mind while driving in snow for the first time is that you have to do the less braking, less speeding, less acceleration it is the mahamantra one must remember to safely drive in snow.
- Get good winter tires or snow tires but why? Because they give you strong grip on road while you drive in snow. And as skidding is the biggest fear when one drive in snow so having good tires under your car will make less skidding.
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