Common Winter Driving Mistakes
Posted on | January 23, 2008 |
Do you make the following winter driving mistakes?
- Following too closely. “Increase the spacing between you and the car in front of you, which will give your room to stop or avoid the vehicle in front of you if the driver loses control. Don’t get caught up in someone else’s mistake,†says Matt Edmonds, vice president of The Tire Rack.
- Having insufficient traction. “Tires may have too little tread depth or be summer tires that do not give enough traction in winter’s worst conditions which can make you lose control,†Edmonds says.
- Driving too fast for conditions. Packed snow has about 25-30% of the traction of dry pavement so drivers should be going one-fourth the speed they would normally,†says Brandon Bogart, vice president of In Control Advanced Driver Training.
- Having poor visibility. “Snow creates extra hazards for visibility and drivers should make adjustments to compensate: clearing their whole car of snow and ice and using good windshield wipers and Rain-X to keep their visibility good. Fog lights can also make a big difference in dense snow,†Bogart adds.
- Driving fatigued. “Most drivers don’t realize that snowy conditions can use up to four times the energy and concentration of regular driving,†says Bogart. “As fatigue sets in, drivers quickly lose driving skills and become the equivalent of drunk drivers. Drivers should make sure they are well rested before attempting trips where there may be snowy or inclement driving.â€
Brush up on your winter driving skills with these top tips from snow plow drivers…
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