Any good tips for driving in the snow?

If you start to skid Do Not slam on the breaks

Drive at about 60% speed of what you normally would. By simply slowing down, you can avoid almost all the negative impacts snow and ice have on driving.

Take your time, and stop sucking…. Too many people suck on the road when it snows if you’re not from the great lakes or northern north areas.

Slow and steady.
Really all there is to it.

Biggest thing to know is drive like your brakes don’t work. That mean drive slowly, use your brakes as little as possible, and keep your distance from other cars so you have plenty of time to slow (release the gas peddle and don’t use the brake if possible) if you need to stop. If you are on a slower road with curves put your car in a low gear like 1st or 2nd if you drive an automatic.

Turn the wheel into the skid.

drive at the speed limit, always. the people behind you are always angry that you are driving slowly.

when on ice and your vehicle is slipping, press the brakes as hard as possible – your instincts are always right

put the pedal to the metal when not moving – stuck in snow

drive your car right after you turn it on

dont look both ways

red means go

tailgating is best done during the winter

thats all i have right now… follow these tips and you’re on your way to a safe drive!! :D

Its all about momentum and driving defensively. first, keep your speed way below the posted speed limit. plan ahead. look as far down the road as possible and plan your next move ahead of time. use the brakes as little as possible. if you have to use your brakes, gently pump the brake pedal, no sudden braking. it will throw you into a spin and out of control. downshift to the next lower position from drive, like 2 or 1 on your gearshift. remember, front wheeldrive vehicles are different from rearwheel drive vehicles if you go out of control.

@JLeslie‘s advice is about the single best piece here so far. There are a lot of “techniques” you need to understand and practice, but the single best philosophy is to drive as if your brakes are very, very unreliable. Which will be more or less true.

And in wet, slushy snow, or snow on ice, just stay home if you aren’t already used to it.

Don’t.

But seriously, I generally like to test the conditions. I start going slowly, and see how slippery things are, and I test how my brakes and steering are doing. If it’s really slippery, I drive really slowly. If steering is tricky, I drive slowly. I watch for dangerous places, like going down hills. I don’t want to slide at the bottom and go right through an intersection when someone else is coming through. Or worse, when a person is crossing the street.

I am also aware of uphills, especially if there is a stoplight at the top of the hill. I try to time it so I don’t have to stop at the light. If I do stop, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to get going again if conditions are slippery. So keeping my momentum is crucial.

I watch out for drivers who look like they don’t know what they are doing, and I try to stay the hell away from them. I used to like to go out to empty parking lots and practice turning and skidding and getting out of the skid. I haven’t done that in a long time, though, but if you are unfamiliar with driving in the snow, it’s a really good thing (and fun, too).

If you brake, and start skidding, it’s because your wheels have locked. You can’t steer when your wheels are locked. That’s why you take your foot off the break. It allows you some control over where you are going. Most people see themselves starting to skid into a car or something, and slam the brakes even harder. You have to let your foot up if you are to have any chance of avoiding the accident.

You can do some slowing by pumping the brakes. That way you brake until you feel the wheels lock, lift up, and then try it again. That’s what anti-lock brakes do, only much faster than the human can. Of course, you can’t spin your wheels with anti-lock, so it’s much harder to rock your way out of a snow pile.

I learned to drive in the snow and at night. It was snowy and dark the first time I ever drove a car. I’ve never had an accident due to snow. I’ve had lots of other accidents, but never due to snow. Do I sound proud of that? I guess I am. LOL.

If you don’t have ABS, learn to pump the brakes. Maybe practice in an empty parking lot.

If you have ABS, slamming on the brake pedal is correct. ABS will pump the breaks more effectively than a human.

Agreed that @JLeslie has the best, easy to remember answer, “drive like your brakes don’t work”.

@daloon took my answer! Not fair!

Just stay home as opposed to “Just do it.”

get winter tyres and/or snow chains for the wheels.

I am a Canadian. We have snow up to six months of the year.

Clear off your windows – all of them
Accelerate slowly!
Leave extra space between you and vehicles ahead of you.
Do not drive the speed limit, it takes much longer to stop than you think!
Let those who want to go faster pass you – you will then be able to keep an eye on them.
Anticipate the need to stop at intersections and start slowing down well in advance.
Assume other drivers are idiots who will skid through stop signs and red lights – they will.
Make sure you have loads of room when you change lanes so others will not skid into you.
Expect any trip to take 50% longer than usual and leave early.
Beware of black ice that forms in high traffic areas like intersections and on and off ramps. ..............It is more slippery than you can imagine – you can’t steer or stop on it!
Watch our for kids – they are all bundled up and can’t see you
All season radials are not as good as winter tires – if you drive in snow often, buy them!
Keep a shovel in your car – if you skid into deep snow – you may need to dig yourself out.
Avoid hills whenever possible. Go around steep ones even if it means going farther!
Be patient and courteous to other drivers – they may be no better on snow than you are.
Don’t drive if you can get there by public transit. You will have less stress, fewer insurance….......................claims and you will be much safer than driving your own car.
Be extra careful near schools and school buses – kids do goofy things on snowy days

Good Luck!

For goodness sakes, DON’T use the cruise control!

Actually it’s pretty simple:CHANGE IS BAD. If you have to change your speed, direction of travel, or anything else, the car will not like it. Go out to an empty snow covered parking lot and experiment a little. There’s no better teacher than experience to get to know what a car feels like when it starts to lose grip with the roadway.

Go slow….don’t turn or stop suddenly. Pump your brakes, go really really slow, even if you have a 4×4

The best tip of all about driving in snow: move to Florida. Problem solved.

Something that I just read here reminded me:

Even if you have a 4×4 vehicle and can “go” when others can’t, that vehicle doesn’t give you any better ability to “stop”. Drive accordingly.

Your ability to navigate in winter conditions depends more than anything else on the condition of your tires. If they are bald, you’re not going anywhere, or you’ll soon be dead because you won’t be able to stop.

Of course, keep a sensible head, don’t drive too fast for existing conditions, slam on the brakes, etc. I’ve recently moved to a state with a lot of aggressive drivers. In snowy or icy conditions, they are not people you want anywhere near you. Pull over if necessary, to get them away from you, because aggressive drivers are accidents waiting to happen.

Stay outta my way! ;)

My best ever run in snow was on an interstate right after a huge snowfall. The plows hadn’t been through yet and there were few trucks on the road. I didn’t have a 4×4 but I did have extra weight in the back end of my pickup truck (nothing worse than an unweighted bed in snow). I could pretty much pick my speed and play around. I had the tunes cranked and drove about two hours to my destination. It was magical, but it is rare that you get the snowy road all to yourself.

If the road surface is glazed (and sometimes you can’t tell), it can take you far longer to stop or turn than you thought it would. That’s where accidents happen. Go slower than you need to, even if you have great tires, new breaks, and 4 wheel drive. None of them are a guarantee on ice. And then of course, there’s always the question of the other drivers you meet at an intersection. That part you have NO control over. A wise person plans for that as well.

No sudden movements! Plan your moves ahead and remember that most of them well take longer than you think to pull off safely.

Hence in order to drive in snow we have to follow the precautions. Generally snow bikes are used in such conditions in order to avoid skidding. Ok whatever may be in such icy conditions you should have to decrease your vehicle speed. Break gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake. Turn on your lights for clear visibility to others. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills. Be careful especially on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first.

@RosauraCaswell Mostly true except for one thing; Low gears will make things worse!

If your engine has more power than a three-legged hamster, the lower gears will transmit more force to the wheels, making it more likely to spin the tires and cause a loss of traction, while also increasing the engine braking effect,meaning that letting off the gas will the same effect as slamming on the brakes.

During the winter, my old Golf could not use 1st gear. At. All. It had enough torque that trying to take off from a stop in 1st would result in the nothing but tire-spin. And even trying a 2—>1 downshift would swap ends; not good if you prefer to keep your hood ahead of your tailgate. Other manual vehicles I’ve had were similar, and some of my automatics (the electronically-controlled ones) would disable 1st and start off in 2nd when you slid the shifter to 2 for that reason.