9 Winter Driving Tips to Keep You Safe

Top off your tank

In case of winter emergency, Austin recommends ensuring your car’s power source is always more than half-full–whether it’s with gasoline or electrons. And he counters common arguments about electric vehicles and the cold. "If you’re stuck in a new EV, you can keep the cabin warm for a really long time,” he says, owing to efficiencies in new heating systems. "You don’t have to worry about freezing, unless you get stuck with like 5 percent of your range." 

Prevent rust - and not just for looks

Many states use salt to enhance winter roadway traction. This can lead to undercarriage oxidation. "That can cause safety problems with the brakes, with the fuel lines, with structural components like the suspension," Preston says. He offers a simple solution. "Wash the car in fresh water at least once a month," he says, including the underside.

Austin adds that you can have a linseed or mineral oil undercoating applied to act as a moisture and rust barrier. "It really just depends on how long you’re going to own your car and how obsessive you want to be," he says.

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Clear your car’s exterior – including your wipers

Before driving, Austin says, clear your car of wintry buildup, using a soft brush on all surfaces, including headlights and taillights, and an ice scraper on glass. Preston adds that you should be certain to remove snow/ice from the roof, hood, and trunk, so it doesn’t fly off and obscure your or other motorists’ vision. (In many states, you can be ticketed for driving a snow-covered car.)

If your car is equipped with advanced driver assistance technologies like lane-keeping-assist or automatic emergency braking, Van Tassel advises clearing your vehicle’s sensors. "Your car needs to be able to see, too," he says. Your owner’s manual will note their locations.

Windshield wipers are invaluable winter driving tools. To preserve them, Austin recommends raising them perpendicular to the windscreen before a snowfall. "If a wiper freezes to the windshield and you turn them on, you could burn out the wiper motor," he says. "Or the linkage could break, and you don’t have wipers."

Proceed with caution

Your tires can only stick to one task well at a time, so try not to combine stopping or starting, with turning, Preston says. "Make sure you’re accelerating and braking while driving in a straight line." He explains, "If the road is slick, it’s just basic physics: you’ll keep going straight because that’s where the energy is headed. "

It’s also important to steer, brake, and accelerate cautiously. These more deliberate inputs "slow the rate at which you’re changing the contact patches of the tires," Van Tassel explains, "reducing the chance that you’ll lose traction."

Van Tassel also recommends reserving more space around your vehicle when driving. AAA typically recommends maintaining a 3-4 second gap behind the car ahead. "In winter, spread that out to 5-6 seconds," Van Tassel says. "Your tax dollars are paying for the whole road. Might as well use all of it." 

Learn the revised skidding recommendations

With modern stability and traction control systems, cars are less likely to skid. So, for slippery conditions, AAA has revised its actionable guidance. "The best advice we give is, continue to look, and to steer, where you want to go," Van Tassel says. "Your hands will automatically do everything they can to make things happen the way the brain wants and get the car back on track." He adds, "So don’t look at the telephone pole. Look at the space between the telephone poles.”

Know when to call for help

If you veer off the road, and can easily get unstuck, it may be worth trying, Preston says. But if trying might harm you or make the situation worse, call for help and wait.

Van Tassel recommends keeping an emergency bag in the car, including water, protein bars, a blanket, a flashlight, flares, a reflective triangle, and a phone charger and external battery. There are also gadgets you can keep in your car to help you get out of a pickle. And if you're traveling with your favorite furry friend, be sure to keep them (and you) safe when on the road by securing them properly in a crate - especially in tricky driving conditions.