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Driving safely in snowy or icy road conditions
By Hamada Agha
Driving by itself requires lots of concentration, and driving in frigid cold temperatures requires experience and some smarts. When you talk to people about driving on snowy days, they tell you to drive slow, but driving too slow can be just as dangerous as driving too fast. One has to remember that one is sharing the same road with so many different mentally prepared drivers. Some are experienced, some are teenagers, some are too cautious and some are too crazy to be on the road. So you have to think about these drivers and always assume they are next to you, and you have to drive without any distractions. One must not be distracted while driving, I am not saying not to have the radio on to listen to music or local news. But you do not need to have it blasting full 200W speakers either. You should really not answer the cellphone calls either. Sometimes the caller on the other end does not realize you're driving under severe road conditions and the news relayed can be disturbing causing you not only to lose driving concentration, but could also turn you into offensive driver from a defensive one. When driving on slippery roads remember to look way ahead for stops at road intersections or stop lights. Remember letting the car slow down rather than applying strong brakes can avoid your car from spinning around. Be aware that intersection roads, under bridges and over the bridges roads are the most icy. Also remember to let go of the gas pedal at the slightest slipping feeling rather than applying the brakes. If you have ABS put your foot on the brakes and continue pushing on the brakes pedal. That vibration and noise you hear from your brakes is normal, because the ABS is releasing the brakes on the slipping tire and re clamping on them the millisecond it is not. If you do not have ABS, then tapping the brakes repeatedly can have similar effect. There seems too much confusion on which direction to turn your steering wheel in case of a slid, and the direction of the skid. Most drivers fail to understand that skidding is really nothing more than the rear wheels trying to pass the front tires therefore skidding in either side direction. Correcting the skid requires that you turn the wheels in the direction you wish to head and release the gas pedal to slow the skid speed at the same time.Do not use the brakes during the process because that adds momentum to the skid or spin, and at the same time do not use the gas pedal either until you have achieved full control of the car direction. Now you should never speed up while turning, as that might cause the car to spin out of control. Slowing down before turning is the safest way, and then you can accelerate once the front wheels of the car are straight again. While all of that is great to remember, most drivers forget that severe winter road conditions places lots of stress on the engine, battery and brakes of a car. Yes you are driving a machine, but your machine was designed only to drive optimally under normal road conditions, and severe road conditions are not normal. Remember to have your car checked before the winter season, or announcement of severe weather anticipation. Remember to fill all necessary fluids especially antifreeze and windshield fluid (do not use plain water for obvious reasons). And go easy on your car and be grateful that you're not the machine today! |
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The copyright for this content entitled "Driving safely in snowy or icy road conditions" has been specified by the contributor as:
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