How to drive in wintertime.

1. Make sure that your car is prepared for winter. Preventive maintenance is the key. Check the battery, the air conditioning system, the windshield wipers and all the other important systems of the car, they must be in good working order. Indeed this preventive maintenance is expensive, especially if you do it at a specialized service, but you will spend even more money if you remain broken down while driving, especially if you are on a snow-covered road.

2. Install special winter tires, these are mandatory when the road is covered with snow, ice or frost. Winter tires have a different composition and footprint compared to regular tires, and for these reasons they have increased grip on the wet and slippery carriageway. In cold season conditions winter tires are more elastic and softer, unlike the normal ones. To these tires anti-skid chains can be added for extreme situations.

3. Cars with rear-wheel drive are more difficult to drive in wintertime because the rear part of the car is lighter, thus the grip of the wheels is reduced. To improve grip and avoid uncontrolled skidding it is recommended to carry weights in the trunk, for example you can use bags of sand that you will place above the rear axle.

4. Always pay attention to the vehicle in front of you and keep a considerable distance from it. As a rule this distance must be double compared to normal driving conditions. If you keep this distance you will be able to stop the motor vehicle in time to avoid possible collisions or skidding.

5. Drive gently and carefully. It does not matter how much experience you have, when you drive the car on surfaces with ice or snow, there will always be unforeseen situations, therefore you must drive carefully. Anticipate the turns and stops that you will make in order to perform them as smoothly as possible. Never accelerate suddenly, especially in turns, where deceleration (reducing speed by releasing the accelerator pedal) is recommended.

6. If you want to stop the car press the brake pedal gently, braking must not be done suddenly. When the motor vehicle is equipped with an anti-lock braking system (abs), the best thing you can do to stop the car quickly is to press the brake pedal with constant pressure. The ABS system will maintain grip and you will be able to control the car during braking. If the motor vehicle is not equipped with an ABS system and during braking the wheels lock, release the brake pedal and then press it again gently. Do not try to turn the motor vehicle whose wheels are locked during braking or are about to lock. When you have an obstacle in front of you, to avoid collision with it, you must release the brake just enough to unlock the wheels and gently go around the obstacle without accelerating.

7. There are situations in which drivers cannot control skidding. If during braking, or in other situations, the motor vehicle skids, you must release the brake/acceleration pedal and turn gently in the opposite direction of the skid and accelerate again only after you have stabilized the car.

Useful:

• Take with you a bucket with a lid full of sand mixed with salt, as well as a shovel. When you remain stuck in snow throw on the wheels with traction that mixture of sand with salt and the grip will be increased, often managing to get out of trouble.
• Take with you a set of electric cables for the situation in which the battery discharges. You will find plenty of people who want to help you, but not all of them have electric cables with them.
• Try not to stop the vehicle completely when it is crowded, especially when you are going uphill. If you stop on a slope, starting from standstill is difficult or sometimes impossible because of skidding. So keep the momentum when you go uphill on roads with ice or snow.
• Fill the fuel tank. It will be useful if you remain stuck, completely isolated, and for a period of time you can use the air conditioning system of the car to warm up.
• Always be cautious, even if the road seems clean it may have ice that you cannot see. If the light of the headlights or of the taillights of the cars in front reflects strongly from the carriageway, there are high chances that there is ice.
• Test the road conditions. Just before setting off accelerate, but not very hard, then brake. This will give you a good perception of the condition of the carriageway. Being aware of the road conditions will help you make good decisions in unforeseen situations.

Attention!:

• If you want to change the traffic lane and ice grooves have formed on the carriageway, reduce the driving speed and perform the maneuver very smoothly. Jerking the steering wheel in such situations will make the car skid uncontrollably.
• Even if you are an experienced driver and you have a capable car, keep in mind that not all road users are like you. They can be less prepared or capable to control their car well in wintertime. So you must drive with increased attention, anticipating the imprudent maneuvers of the other road users.
• Keep in mind that motor vehicles with all-wheel drive (traction on all wheels) will help only when starting from standstill. When braking or turning this function will not help at all.
• Do not keep the motor vehicle on the all-wheel drive function (4x4) all the time. Most have traction on two wheels, and when needed you can activate the 4x4 function. Using the 4x4 function all the time will unnecessarily wear out the drivetrain and will reduce the lifespan of the motor vehicle.
• Do not park the car on a slope. It is possible that because of the ice it will slide downhill, it will be impossible to stop.