Driving on a snowy day can be quite dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has urged Americans to drive carefully and protect themselves, especially due to the busy travel plans and the highway fatalities during this time of the year.
You can’t possibly avoid the rush and the sleet, but you can warm up and fix your car before you hit the road. Here are the eight essential tips that you must keep in mind.
1Check The Air Pressure
While over-inflated tires can lead to a blowout, under-inflated ones can cause instability, especially on a slippery road. Using a pressure gauge, make sure that your tire pressure is between 30 and 32 PSI for a safe ride.
2Use Low Beam Lights
These are more effective and provide better visibility, especially in heavy snow and fog. A high beam headlight reflects off the snow, blurring the vision.
3Slow Down
Driving too fast could lead to abrupt acceleration, braking, and loss of traction. To avoid this, maintain a distance from the other cars and drive slow. In addition, adjust your brakes before you take the road.
4Use Radial Tires
The high silica content in these tires prevents them from hardening in the cold weather. It also improves their grip. A word of caution, though. Don’t mix radial tires with the regular ones. If you must, place both the radials on the same axle.
5Start Right
Before turning on the engine of the car, turn off any added electric load such as the lights, rear-screen heaters, and wipers. If the engine doesn’t start in short bursts, try again after a minute, giving it time to recover.
6Never Warm Up In Closed Areas
If you do, be prepared for a buildup of carbon dioxide in your garage. To avoid the hazard, warm up in an open space. The same goes for clogged exhaust pipes, which need to be cleaned out.
7Avoid Cruise Control
No matter how comfortable the ride gets with cruise control, don’t use it on a snowy day. If the car skids, the speed will go up, making it very difficult to regain manual control.
8Load The Gas Tank
You don’t want the cold temperature to condense the gas and stop the car. This could happen if there is very little gas left in the tank. To avoid getting stuck, fuel up.
