Erie Winter
Driving Tips
By Brenda Bennett, CDI, CDRS, President, Transportation Solutions
There is nothing worse as a parent than when your child drives to school and a snowstorm hits during the day. Your stomach is in knots because your child has no experience driving in snow. Here are some steps to keep everyone safe.
1. Stay off of I-90 in bad weather! However, stay on the main roads as much as possible. They are plowed and salted first.
2. Make sure everyone has good tires on their vehicles. If you slide every time you hit the brakes, it is usually the tires. I am a big fan of winter tires— they truly make a difference.
3. Add cat litter to the trunk of the vehicle. The extra weight will help with front-wheel-drive vehicles and sliding / skidding, especially around corners. Cat litter also helps if you get stuck— you can put it around your tires for traction.
4. Be sure to have a shovel, gloves and jumper cables in your trunk.
5. Every year, when the first snow hits, I drive to an empty parking lot and firmly apply the brakes to get a feel for how my brakes are going to react. This helps get the nerves out of my system right off the bat.
Don’ t try to walk in a severe storm. It’ s easy to lose sight of your vehicle in blowing snow and become lost.
• Don’ t over-exert yourself if you try to push or dig your vehicle out of the snow.
• Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna or place a cloth at the top of a rolled-up window to signal distress. At night, keep the dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity and will make it easier for rescuers to find you.
• Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’ t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.
• Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold. This could include floor mats, newspapers or paper maps.
• If possible run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill and to conserve gasoline.
Tips for driving in the snow:
• Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’ t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow
Continued on next page >
Millcreek | Winter 2016 | icmags. com 59