Throughout the winter, drivers are advised to adapt to road conditions, which officials say can vary throughout the season.
Dennis Porter, supervisor for AMA Driver Education, said the biggest thing to keep in mind while driving on winter roads is to pay attention to your speed and the space between you and other vehicles.
“Make certain your speeds are a little bit more relaxed, knowing that your car could slip on ice when accelerating,” Porter said. “On the accelerator, give more following distance to the car in front of you. Because we know at speeds your car can take up to 10 times longer to stop, especially at this beginning snow.”
Porter said it is important not to stomp on the brake when roads are slick, but to instead use threshold braking. He added that temperatures between -2 C and -5 C can result in some of the slickest roads.
With stopping distances longer than usual in winter, Porter said this is when animals seem to appear more often and are more visible.
“Just have that awareness, scanning the ditches. But the biggest factor is, of course, if it’s snowing and your visibility is down, slow down. Just be aware that the animals can’t see you as well. If your visibility is blocked, remember theirs is as well when it’s a huge snowstorm. So just drive a little bit slower if you know deer can be in the area or if larger animals can be in the area as well.”
Porter said awareness is his biggest piece of advice.
“If it takes you half a kilometre to change a lane, take that half a kilometre. Don’t try to rush changing lanes when there’s ruts in the roads because what will happen is your front tires will get in one rut and your back tires will be in another and next thing you know, you’re spinning around. So be gentle with your steering. Be gentle with your accelerating.”
“With your braking, same thing. Start braking much earlier and much more gentle. It’s better to roll up to the intersection than slide through the intersection.”
He said most people are used to seeing a green light and just driving through the intersection. They are not used to double-checking that other drivers are going to stop. Porter advised taking that extra second to make sure other vehicles are coming to a stop and not sliding into the intersection.
“Just a little bit more awareness, a little bit more proactive with your driving.”
“I’d rather everybody get there a little bit late than not get there.”
A winter kit is another way drivers can be prepared to hit the roads. Porter said the kit can include snow pants or an extra coat, along with a blanket and a battery pack to charge a cell phone. For those who plan to drive on winter roads, Porter suggests having a warning triangle to set behind a vehicle if it slides into a ditch, alerting other drivers.
“We know in some of the rural roads, when you go off, your car is pretty much almost invisible,” he said. “Definitely have a shovel in there that’s a sturdy shovel, because we know some of those plastic shovels don’t survive at -20 C.”
He added that when driving in colder temperatures, keep at least half a tank of gas because you never know what will happen.
