Winter Driving Tips

[240B]

AAA
by Triple A

If you’re a member of the media and would like to schedule an interview with a AAA expert, visit NewsRoom.AAA.com for contact information.

Severe weather can be both frightening and dangerous for automobile travel. Motorists should know the safety rules for dealing with winter road emergencies. AAA reminds motorists to be cautious while driving in adverse weather. For more information on winter driving, the association offers the How to Go on Ice and Snow brochure, available through most AAA offices. Contact your local AAA club for more information.

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http://exchange.aaa.com/safety/driving-advice/winter-driving-tips/#.Wj6Xmd-nHIV

[RoosGirl]

Whatever you do, don't come to Florida.

[Frank Cannon]

Some of these were written by someone trying to fill pages with words they are so stupid....

Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.

Actually I would hope more people would do this. It would lighted rush hour traffic for good

Never mix radial tires with other tire types.

Does anyone even know what a bias ply tire is anymore?

If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.

What type of idiot is driving using their parking brake?

Always look and steer where you want to go.

As opposed to closing your eyes, spinning the steering wheel like a roulette wheel and hoping for the best?

Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.

Does this include popping in to get something out of the glovebox?

[Victoria33]

Whatever you do, don't come to Florida.

@RoosGirl

Here, 30 miles north of Dallas, we finally have cold weather.  It was 30 degrees this morning, Saturday.  It rained all day Friday bringing the cold front.  Thursday, it was 75.  Went to casino Thursday, came back with net win of $210 to add to other winnings.

[RoosGirl]

Our outdoor thermometer has hit 89 so far today, but we've got some clouds rolling in so maybe it'll cool off a little.

[240B]

Tips for driving in the snow:[/size]

• 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 down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.

• Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.

• The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.

• Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.

• Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.

• Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed down hill as slowly as possible.

• Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.

• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

[Applewood]

@240B

Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

Around here, we sometimes get weather so bad, the authorities tell motorists that, unless they are emergency personnel (doctors, nurses, police, firemen, snow plow drivers, etc.) and they are caught on the road during an extremely bad snowfall, they will be turned around and sent back home or wherever they came from.  Refuse and you will be arrested. 

I'm amazed at how many morons go out in such extreme weather anyway -- just for an emergency 6-pack of beer or my favorite --a roll of toilet paper.  These same morons complain when they are pulled over and turned around.  And then they complain because it's been 10 minutes since the snow stopped falling and the roads aren't cleared yet.   Hello?  Maybe the roads are bad because of stupid people like you on the roads preventing the plows from getting through.

[240B]

@Applewood

I lived in Virginia for a few years. Not a whole lot of actual snow, but ice was very common in the winter, which in some ways is worse. I was crossing an overpass doing about 35mph on a really icy night. I saw something passing me on my Left. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that it was the backend of my own car. Just out of nowhere, and for no reason that I could figure out, I did complete 360. It was only pure luck and nothing more that there were no vehicles around me and I did not slam into the concrete guardrails.

The weirdest Winter news report I ever heard was in Ohio. Thick snow everywhere. Very bad conditions. A young girl died when she crashed into an overpass stantion. She was under the overpass. A news crew interviewed a witness to the crash and what he said was stunning. He said, 'She was speeding like a maniac passing everybody.' But he ended his report with a statement which has always stuck in my head. His last sentence was, 'She didn't die from the snow; she died from stupidity!' While it may be true, I couldn't believe the news producers decided to broadcast that statement on the air. The stark truth of it shocked me. She must have done something that pissed off this guy before she wrecked. I still wonder if the family sued the station?

[truth_seeker]

It is 68 F and dry at 2:30 PM. Last night it hit 40 F  which was the coldest I have seen thus far, this OC winter.

[Smokin Joe]

14 above! Heat wave!

[Applewood]

[The weirdest Winter news report I ever heard was in Ohio. Thick snow everywhere. Very bad conditions. A young girl died when she crashed into an overpass stantion. She was under the overpass. A news crew interviewed a witness to the crash and what he said was stunning. He said, 'She was speeding like a maniac passing everybody.' But he ended his report with a statement which has always stuck in my head. His last sentence was, 'She didn't die from the snow; she died from stupidity!' While it may be true, I couldn't believe the news producers decided to broadcast that statement on the air. The stark truth of it shocked me. She must have done something that pissed off this guy before she wrecked. I still wonder if the family sued the station?/quote]

@240B

Surprising that the station didn't edit out that line.  It does seem insensitive, but on the other hand, it's something that needed to be said.   Young people especially think they are invincible.  Seeing the body and hearing that witness might have knocked some sense into these kids (and more than a few adults too)?

[240B]

It must have been a live broadcast interview from the scene, otherwise the line would have been edited I'm sure.

[goatprairie]

@Applewood

I lived in Virginia for a few years. Not a whole lot of actual snow, but ice was very common in the winter, which in some ways is worse. I was crossing an overpass doing about 35mph on a really icy night. I saw something passing me on my Left. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that it was the backend of my own car. Just out of nowhere, and for no reason that I could figure out, I did complete 360. It was only pure luck and nothing more that there were no vehicles around me and I did not slam into the concrete guardrails.

The weirdest Winter news report I ever heard was in Ohio. Thick snow everywhere. Very bad conditions. A young girl died when she crashed into an overpass stantion. She was under the overpass. A news crew interviewed a witness to the crash and what he said was stunning. He said, 'She was speeding like a maniac passing everybody.' But he ended his report with a statement which has always stuck in my head. His last sentence was, 'She didn't die from the snow; she died from stupidity!' While it may be true, I couldn't believe the news producers decided to broadcast that statement on the air. The stark truth of it shocked me. She must have done something that pissed off this guy before she wrecked. I still wonder if the family sued the station?

"He said, 'She was speeding like a maniac passing everybody"
I still remember my family taking  a winter trip from our home  in Wisconsin to visit my grandparents in Detroit more than fifty years ago.
 As we rounded Chicago and headed towards Michigan on I-90 we encountered a heavy snow storm.   My father slowed down to the appropriate speed for that kind of weather.
At one point with the snow still falling heavily we  were passed by  a young woman in a compact car. She was driving way too fast for the conditions.
About one mile later we saw her in the middle of the median her car buried with snow up to her door handles. She had flipped out on the slick road.
We continued driving.  About an hour later she passed us again driving like a maniac. Several of us shouted out that it was the same car and young woman.
I guess she must have made it to where she was going because we didn't see her in the ditch again.