How to Keep Yourself Safe While Driving in the Winter. How to Keep Yourself Safe While Driving in the Winter

Transcription

1 How to Keep Yourself Safe While Driving in the Winter 1

2 Table of Contents Highway Safety is a Very Real Concern During All Seasons Things to Have in Your Trunk this Winter... 4 How to Get your Car Out of the Snow if It s Stuck... 5 Top 7 Defensive Driving Maneuvers for Winter Conditions... 6 Common Winter Driving Hazards & How to Handle Them... 7 The 3 Best Tires for Winter Driving

3 Highway Safety is a Very Real Concern During All Seasons 7,630 died car accidents during the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This figure was up 13.5% compared to the same time period during During winter, we know driving only becomes more treacherous. Even though you live in an area where thick snow is expected for several months every year, fatal accidents still happen frequently throughout the season. At Gentry Motors, we want to make sure you stay safe during the winter months, even if you haven t bought a new car from us. If you have purchased a new vehicle, we want to make sure you and the vehicle both go unharmed throughout the season. So, we ve compiled this guide, along with a recommendation for a good all-weather Ford, to help ensure your safety. Enjoy reading this ebook, and be sure to pass it along to your family and friends if you find it useful! 3

4 10 Things to Have in Your Trunk this Winter Okay, so maybe winter so far this year has been a little warmer than we re used to. But, at some point, you know we are going to get those intense storms and sub-zero wind chills. If you are like most people, you probably aren t thinking too hard about bad things that could happen while driving in the winter. You re used to having someone nearby able to help you basically anywhere you go. What happens if you are in one of those situations where no one can help for hours? Fortunately, you can prepare ahead of time for any trouble you might experience this winter. Essentials You Should Have In no particular order, here are the 10 things you should have in your trunk this winter: 1. Blankets Having several warm, thick blankets in your car can mean the difference between getting a little chilled and severely frostbitten. If your car gets stuck in a deep snow bank, always make sure you have enough blankets to keep you and all of your passengers warm. 2. Spare, charged prepaid phone Keep this wrapped up in the blankets to prevent damage in the event of a crash. Just in case you forgot your cell phone, or if it s battery is dead, you will be able to call 911 with your prepaid phone. 3. Jumper cables Maybe you didn t remember to include a prepaid cell phone in your car. If that s the case, then at least you have jumper cables available. If someone drives by, you can get yourself out of a sticky situation by flagging them down. 4. Sand/Lime Keep a bag of either. If you slide off into a snow bank, you might be able to get yourself out. Placing a few handfuls under your wheels gives your vehicle more traction and a better chance to get out. 5. Shovel You might bury your car so deep that lime or sand won t get you out. Pack a shovel along to help you get out of those situations. Who knows? You might also be able to help someone else get unstuck. 6. Ice scraper This isn t so much for emergency situations, but you should have one if you live in a cold-weather region. Frost is a fact of life for people living in such areas, and it can take a good 30 minutes or so for it to thaw off if you rely only on your heater. 7. Tire sealant If you notice your tire is losing air and still has a little left, tire sealant can fill the holes enough to make a trip to the nearest town possible. It works great, and takes up just a little bit of space. 8. First aid kit If you or someone else is hurt in an accident and it will be a while before help arrives, then a first aid kit comes in helpful. Perhaps equally important is knowledge of using it make sure you know how to apply splints, for example. 9. Dried foods Hopefully you are never in a situation where you anticipate being stuck this long. But, if you know you will be going on a long trip to an isolated area, be sure to pack in some dried foods like beef jerky and granola. 10. Road flare Keep this in your car, just in case you are stuck in whiteout conditions. Rescuers will have an easier time finding you, and even just a few minutes can mean the difference between discomfort and frostbite. 4

5 How to Get your Car Out of the Snow if It s Stuck Believe it or not, getting your car unstuck from the snow involves quite a science. If you don t know how to do it, you might actually make the situation worse, keeping it stuck until a tow truck can help. Fortunately, it only takes a little knowledge to ensure you are able to get yourself out of the snow, should you bury yourself in an embankment. First, What You Shouldn t Do Do not spin your tires! This is the first mistake inexperienced winter drivers make when they get stuck. What happens is that you will burn little holes in the snow beneath your tires. This causes two problems: What to Do Your vehicle rests on the snow beneath it, making it more difficult to get out The snow beneath your tires melts, reducing their traction If you do get stuck, put your car in reverse and press gently on the gas for no more than 3 seconds. If you don t get out right away, then you will have to take the following actions: Ensure your tailpipe is clear of snow. If it s not, the snow can block the exhaust fumes, causing them to go back into your car. Inhaling carbon monoxide for extended periods of time causes death, so make sure to look out for this hazard right away. Remove snow from beneath your vehicle. If your efforts so far haven t gotten you out of the snow, then you re probably stuck pretty good. Remove as much snow from beneath your car as is possible. Make sure to clear pathways for the tires to follow out backwards as well. Straighten your wheels. Make sure your wheels are facing straight backwards, but account also for hazards such as fire hydrants, signs, and other vehicles. Trying to reverse with the wheels turned causes some of the force to go to the side, which makes it much more difficult to get out of the snow. Place sand/lime underneath your tires to increase traction. If you re not stuck too far in, then the additional traction from sand and lime can give your tires enough to work with to get your vehicle out. Make sure to dig your way in beneath all four tires. Ride the brakes. Sometimes, one wheel spins more than the other because it has less traction. By pressing the brakes in every slightly, you can even out the power so that both wheels are working together to pull you out of the snow. Don t do this for any more than a few seconds, as your brakes will overheat if you do it for too long. 5

6 Top 7 Defensive Driving Maneuvers for Winter Conditions An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is a popular cliché that rings true for winter driving. When it comes to reducing accidents and fatalities, prevention is always the best strategy when discussing winter driving. Here are some tips you can follow to ensure your holiday season is a safe and happy one: 1. Always drive below the speed limit. Hey lead foot, remember those signs with the numbers on them? The posted speed limit, unfortunately, does not hold true for all seasons of the year. The best rule to keep in mind is to drive 10 mph below the posted speed limit when snow is accumulating on the ground. Depending on conditions, you may have to drive much slower than that. 2. Turn only after stopping. When weather conditions are hazardous, make sure to come to a complete stop before turning. If you round the corner off like you do during the summer months, you run the risk of careening out of control into an oncoming vehicle or the snow bank. 3. Allow extra distance between yourself other drivers. The DOT usually tells you to allow 1 car length between your car and the next one for every 10 miles of speed as a rule during safe driving conditions. If it s slippery out, allow at least double that distance. You never know how long it could take to stop in winter conditions. 4. Always avoid abrupt steering. Sometimes, this isn t possible because you have to react to what s in front of you. If you can, however, avoid sudden steering movements. On slippery roads, a quick jerk of the wheel leads to an accident for you, and it could include other drivers. 5. Merge slowly and carefully. If you simply have to get in a different lane, do so with caution. Not only do sudden movements result in accidents, but small ridges of snow pile up in between lanes. When you hit one going at a normal speed, your vehicle experiences a small jerk. If you suddenly hit that ridge, you could get surprised and overcorrect in the steering wheel, causing an accident. Always merge with care. 6. Look farther ahead than you usually do. Since you ve learned that sudden movements cause so many accidents, prepare yourself for changing traffic conditions by looking further down the road than normal. That way, you will catch traffic changes much earlier, giving you an extra second or two to safely react and avoid making a slippery situation worse. 7. Accelerate slowly. If you attempt to accelerate quickly, your wheels will spin, and you could lose control of your vehicle. Best to be on the safe side and accelerate with care. 6

7 Common Winter Driving Hazards & How to Handle Them Winter presents a number of driving hazards, and the more you know about them up front, the better off you ll be when driving. Check out these common hazards and learn strategies for handling them when they appear: Other Drivers By far, the biggest winter driving hazard is other drivers. It seems like drivers in cold climates have to re-learn how to drive in the snow every year. If you re in an area where 1 inch of snow is considered a storm, this rule holds doubly true. For cold-climate drivers, allow extra stopping distance between yourself and the next guy, and never make any sudden movements. If 1 inch of snow is cause for a news story in your area, you might be safest staying off the roads entirely. Black Ice This ice is clear water frozen on dark pavement, making it difficult and almost impossible to observe from your vehicle. If you can t see it, what can you do about it? Fortunately, you can anticipate its presence. Black ice is most commonly found on bridges, below overpasses, and on roads surrounded on both sides by trees. Sharp Corners Sharp curves are doubly dangerous during the colder months. Why? Trying to turn on snow, and with the possibility that snow is covering some slippery ice, corners become much more difficult to navigate. If you have to slow down to 5 mph to get around the corner safely, then do it. Low Temperatures Reduced Visibility In the most intense storms, sometimes you can only see a few feet in front of your car. The key to safe winter driving lies in reducing your speed, going near zero if that s what it takes. That rule again applies for poor visibility when driving. Best of all, stay off the roads entirely if you don t have a very good reason to leave home those days. The lower temperatures winter brings cause machines to do all sorts of crazy things they don t do during warmer months. Cars fail to start, stopping takes a longer distance, and the list goes on. The best thing you can do is to mentally prepare for the lower temperatures and all the challenges they bring. You can do this by creating a Disaster Kit, and making sure your vehicle has jumper cables and simple tools packed in the trunk. 7

8 The 3 Best Tires for Winter Driving Just a small minority of all drivers use tires specialized for winter driving. By stark contrast, however, tires specialized for a specific type of weather offer greater control than all-season tires. Fortunately, there are a number of specific makes you can choose from. Here are the top three: Michelin X-Ice Xi2 Those in the industry regard this tire as one of the best available in the market. This directional tire offers excellent traction on the snow, as well as great ice breaking performance. It provides good firmness at higher temperatures for normal driving, while offering a high degree of flexibility at lower temperatures, which help it successfully navigate packed snow and ice. This tire possesses cross z-sipes and intermediate tread blocks, which enhance its traction further. The tire meets the US tire industry s severe snow service requirements. Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 The WS-60 is a studless snow tire offering exceptional snow traction and ice braking performance. The 3-D zigzag sipes and independent tread blocks increase its durability. Coating its surface is a thin layer of Tube Multicell compound, which removes surface water. Although it has not received any industry endorsements, the WS-60 is used by many automotive enthusiasts for the difficult winter months. General Altimax Arctic The directional patter and Center Stability Rib tread design evacuates water and increases the hydroplaning resistance of the General Altimax Arctic. Excellent snow traction and better than average ice braking capability also result. This unique design also gives this tire fantastic straight-line stability control on drier roads. Altogether, these features help this tire meet the auto industry s severe snow service requirements. If you are considering adding metal studs to any of these tires, keep in mind studs are only allowed in certain parts of the country during certain times of the year. Your state s Department of Transportation sets the rules regarding studs, so make sure to check with them prior to adding studs to your tires. Points to Consider When Buying Winter Tires Winter tires are not necessarily the best solution for everyone. To determine if winter tires are the right solution for you, keep the following questions in mind: How long is winter in your area? How stressed do you get by driving in winter conditions with your current tires? Do you realize how much of a difference they make for winter driving versus all-season tires? You don t have to get winter tires, but they do make it much safer, and a little easier during the difficult winter months. 8

9 The Best Ford for All-Weather Driving: Sonata Although it s known for making primarily affordable sedans, Ford manages to nail a great allround driving experience in the Sonata. Its pricing and outstanding warranty coverage, however, are still what make it stand out from similar sedans. With a daring style and sporty driving dynamics, this sedan departs somewhat from its predecessors. The standard engine offered is a 198 horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine. At 184 ft-lbs. of torque, the base model GLS doesn t offer a ton of power, but enough to do the job. The GLS and SE provide a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine delivering a more-than-adequate 269 ft-lbs. of torque. Fuel mileage roughly averages out to around 30 mpg for mixed driving conditions. Why You Will Like this Car On the interior, the Sonata offers a surprisingly spacious cabin. Comfortable seating, a highquality build, and a quiet highway ride complete the attractive feature set of this vehicle for the typical consumer. At an MSRP $19,795, the Sonata offers a great driving experience for all weather conditions at an affordable price. In government testing, the Sonata earned the top rating (5 stars) for overall crash protection, 5 stars for side-impact protection, and 4 stars for front-impact protection. This year s version also features a high-resolution touchscreen that offers an intuitive method for climate control, navigation, audio, and phone functions. Overall The Ford Sonata gets everything you want in a sedan just right. A spacious interior, reasonable amount of power, decent gas mileage, and an affordable price combine to make this vehicle a great all-weather performer. Thanks for Reading- and Drive Safe! 9