Winter Driving Tips
Driving in winter conditions can catch outany unprepared motorist,‚Â below are some tips and information that we hope will be of use to you..
Preparation starts with yourself!
Are you prepared for the winter? 
When did you last have your eyes tested?
It has been found that more than one in ten drivers would fail their test if they took it again – just on eye site alone!
So consider having your eyes tested, if you find it harder to drive in the dark than you used to you may have a problem!
Is your car prepared for winter?
- When was your car was last serviced?
- Check your tyres (minimum tread depth 1.6mm over ‚¾ width of the tyres )
- Check your wiper blades (if yours make a noise they need replacing)
- Check your lights – including fog lights
During wintry weather conditions
- Is your journey absolutely essential?
- Check the local and national weather forecasts (the journey back can be very different from the drive there)
- Tell someone at your destination what time you expect to arrive.
- Make sure you are equipped with warm clothes, food, boots and a torch. In snowy conditions, take a spade.
- Allow extra time to clear your windscreen and all your windows and lights before you set off. (it’s illegal to drive your vehicle if your windows are not cleared properly)
Adjust your driving to the conditions
Take responsibility for yourself and that of other drivers – expect others to make mistakes. Remember; if conditions are difficult for you they are also difficult for everyone else on the road. There really is no point in been right if your injured!
When roads are icy or slushy
- It can take ten times longer to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road. Drive slowly, allowing extra room to slow down and stop.
- Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin. (the high gear keeps the engine revs down and so the engine has less power to spin the wheels)
- Manoeuvre gently, avoiding harsh braking and acceleration.
- To brake on ice or snow without locking your wheels, allow your speed to fall and use the brake pedal gently. (Do not use your gears to brake!)
Watch out for fog
- Fog is statistically the most dangerous of all driving conditions
- In foggy conditions, drive at a speed that will allow you to stop easily within the distance you can see ahead
- Use fog-lights if visibility is reduced to less than 100 metres .
- Don’t hang on to the tail-lights of the vehicle in front. This gives you a false sense of security and means you may be driving too close.
- Don’t speed up suddenly, even if it seems to be clearing. You can suddenly find yourself back in thick fog. .
Salting and snow ploughing
- Don’t take for granted that the entire road will be salted! The salting vehicle may have turned off your road and in another direction. Also some of the road may have been obstructed by a vehicle when the salter truck passed.
- Remember; it takes time for the road salt to start to work on the ice
Drive Safely
Lionel Firn (Chief Instructor)
