Winter Driving Safety Tips
If you are a young, inexperienced male driver, pay attention. The best way to survive a Winter driving accident is to be prepared and to be aware. Luck will pay a certain dividend at times, but I've always found the better prepared I am the luckier I get!First, learn about the elements you will be driving in. Learn how your car will respond in a given situation. Determine what the best bailout option will be for survival. Sometimes the accident is at hand and there is no avoiding it. You have but a split second to react. Your choice will be simple. Do I want to survive this? How well you've prepared prior to the accident will often determine it's outcome. Knowing your vehicle, the dynamics of an accident and how to bail out properly can make all the difference in the world. Avoid taking a hit head on at all costs. This doubles the impact. A slight swerve left or right can deflect enough of the energy as to save your life and possibly the life of someone else.A sure fired bail out plan with a 100% chance of an accident, but a high probability of survival may be a difficult choice, but it is better to run away and live to fight another day. So, if you have the option of swerving into a tree versus a head on collision, choose the tree. I always recommend choosing the best odds of survival. You can fix or replace metal, but a life you cannot replace.It's winter and the ice and snows are on their way. You are a young male driver and can drive like nobody’s business, or so you think. You are the perfect candidate for your first accident. I know I was and I did total my first car that first winter. I had no idea how to handle my car in the ice and snow.Let's face it guys, our insurance rates are higher than the gals for a reason. When we get our license we all think our last name is Earnhardt, and the road is our own personal race track. Defensive driving? Huh, what's that?Driving on a slippery road surface is not something you want to practice on the street. You'll most likely get a ticket or cause an accident. So, where do you practice? I opted for the vacant parking lot. Back in the day we had ‘Blue Laws,' that kept most businesses from opening on Sundays. There was a huge shopping center close to my home that was perfect for practicing skids and stopping on those icy, snowy, road surfaces. That's where I learned.At that time vehicles weren’t equipped with ABS brakes. In order to keep the brakes from locking up and sending your vehicle into a skid you had to pump them frequently. This helped control the vehicle and keep it going straight. If your vehicle is equipped with ABS brakes I would still recommend trying this technique. It will give you a feel for how to best control the vehicle should you need to stop quickly on an ice, or snow covered road.Next you should practice skidding and recovery. The goal is to get you car facing in the right direction should you go into a skid. Usually a combination of turning you wheel into the skid and using small bursts of acceleration and braking will help accomplish this.Lastly, I would practice doing donuts and peeling out. Not just because it's a blast to do, but by doing this you will see how your vehicle handles in these situations. And remember, proper tires are very important for keeping your car on the road and intact.We all know that reducing your speed when the weather is bad is imperative, but what about the other guy? Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where the other guy doesn't do what you would expect. He or she may try to stop much sooner than anticipated and you find yourself quickly approaching their rear end. Stopping may not be the best solution. Sometimes going faster can help you to avoid that accident, but you had better know how to handle your vehicle should the occasion arise. Spending a few hours on that vacant lot can replace 10 years of driving experience.There is no substitution for experience and a seat belt. Just remember, race car drivers always wear them. It’s hard to drive a car from the passenger’s seat. If you’re not firmly planted in the drivers seat when something bad comes your way, and most likely that will happen at some point in your life, your chances for survival decrease ten-fold. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.The weather outside is frightful; let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
