How to Drive a Car Safely in the Snow

When you're used to life in an area that sees heavy snowfall, it's easy to find yourself feeling confident when driving in the snow. Yet every winter, thousands of drivers end up in snow-related car accidents. Whether driving in the snow is an entirely new experience for you or you've been doing it for years, it's always a good idea to read up on a few good tips for safe winter driving, even if it's just as a refresher.

Change Your Mindset

Driving in the snow is very different from driving on a clean, clear road. Snow creates roads that are wet, icy, and slushy. These conditions can cause cars to slide and, as a result, crash into something or someone. This is why you need to change your mindset whenever you drive in the snow. The biggest thing to consider is how much slower you need to drive in the winter, from warming up your car to pushing on the gas pedal and even moving your steering wheel. So, you should always give yourself extra time whenever you head out.

Accelerate and Decelerate Slowly

It takes a lot more time than normal to get going and to slow down when driving on icy or slushy roads. If you want to avoid skids, make sure you apply the gas slowly to accelerate and take your foot off the gas a lot slower when you need to decelerate, too. In fact, you should drive a lot slower in general when the roads are covered in snow. That means you need to take turns slower as well. Stop Sooner A red stop sign with a snowy backdrop. Stopping takes a lot longer in the snow than it does on dry pavement, so make sure to start your stop a lot sooner than you normally would when coming up to a red light or stop sign, or even when signalling to make a turn. If you drive a modern car and feel your brake pedal shuddering, that is the anti-lock braking system doing its job, so don't panic or take your foot off the brake. Don't Stop Fully If you can avoid making a complete stop, like when making a turn, it will be easier to keep going than to have to start moving again.