Snow angels, snowball fights, snowmen… These are some of the wonderful things that come with snow. Driving in it isn't so fun sometimes. Here are some tips for driving in the snow.
The risk when driving in the snow is loss of traction. This occurs most often when accelerating, decelerating, and when making turns. In the case or a curve or a turn, you simply need to do it slower.
You cannot hope to decelerate in the snow the same way that you do when it is dry out. You need to allow yourself more distance to slow down. By giving yourself more distance, you can rely less on the brake pedal and decelerate by taking your foot off of the accelerator.
Give yourself more time to get up to speed too. So when you are accelerating from a stopped or slowed position, accelerate much more gradually than you would normally. This will help you maintain traction.
If you find that you need to stop on a dime, your ABS system may engage. If its does, understand that the pulsating sensation is normal and that you do indeed have some steering capacity.
There is plenty of maintenance that you can do to improve your performance on the snow. Make sure you have a good set of tires on your vehicle. Make sure your wipers are functional and that you have plenty of windshield wiper fluid.
Give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going in the wintertime. To implement appropriate winter driving tactics, your trip time will inevitably increase. Plan for it. Feeling rushed and obsessing over how late you are going to be can create a dangerous situation when snow and ice is on the road.