Snow...

Snow…

I came out this morning to a slight dusting of snow on my car. As I left the Park and Ride car park it started to snow a quite heavily and this got me thinking about driving in the snow. So here are my top tips for driving in the snow…

1. Lights, Camera… OK, just lights would be a start. They may not help you see any better but believe me, they help other road users see you. It’s a little disconcerting to have a silver Mondeo materialise out of the gloom 10 yards away just as you start to pull out of a junction!

2. Viewing the world through a 3” wide slit may make you feel like a Panzer commander, but you are not driving around in 50 tons of steel and are likely to suffer a bit when you fail to see another road user. The pedestrian you don’t see, on the other hand, will probably suffer pretty much the same effect however!

3. Not only is a good idea to clear ALL your windows of snow, but clearing your bonnet can be a good idea too. This prevents you suddenly getting blinded when the sheet of snow that has been sitting on a layer of melted water suddenly flies up and covers your windscreen just as the pedestrian starts to cross the road in front of you!

4. Not only is it a good idea to clear ALL your windows and your bonnet, it is also a good idea to clean all the rest of the snow of your car too. I admit that this will probably be of little benefit to you, but it does prevent the cyclist you have just gone hooning past getting a face full of snow as a section the size of a small principality gets dislodged by the pot hole you hit as a result of swerving to avoid the cyclist you didn’t see due to the tank slit of a windscreen misting up!

5. ABS doesn’t work people!!!! ABS only works when one wheel keeps turning. If you lock all four wheels at once in the snow, your ABS system thinks you have stopped and rather inconsiderately, allows you to slide into the stationary traffic in front of you. Don’t rely on ABS, its not big and its not clever! Learn to break in the snow!!

6. It’s cold, wet and slippery out there! Why not slow it down and leave a bigger gap?

7. The best way to tackle a slippery hill is not to stop at the bottom and then try to crawl up it, I can assure you that gravity will win that battle. Instead why not have a bit of confidence in your abilities and drive up the hill steadily without spinning the wheels? If you keep moving so can everyone behind you.

8. Wheel spin my impress the girlies… when you are about 12, but it’s not the best method for getting traction in the snow. If you start to slide why not pause for a second rather than flooring the throttle? If you are sliding the chances are that gravity is winning and losing all traction really will not help your cause!

In all seriousness, the secret to driving in the sow is to be smooth and gentle. You need to be confident in what you do and a little thought and consideration for everyone else on the road will make everyone’s life easier.

Have fun driving home…