Winter Safety: Four Dangerous Driving Myths Debunked
ByKristen Rodman, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
In order to stay safe, motorists should steer clear of these four winter driving myths:
1. Winter Tires Aren't a Necessity:
"Most people think a winter tire is just for ice and snow, but it is better performing on cold pavement," Director of Bridgestone Winter Driving School Mark Cox said.
Unlike summer or all-season tires, which get hard in cold air, winter tires stay pliable down to the lowest temperatures, according to Cox. These tires also stick well to the pavement in wintry conditions.
2. All-Wheel Drive is Invincible in the Snow:
While all-wheel drive splits grip between four tires instead of two thus allowing the driver a greater margin of error, simply having all-wheel drive does not enable a person to be necessarily safer in the snow.
"All wheel-drive creates a false sense of confidence, people assume that the vehicle stops and corners better but that is not the case," Cox said. "When it comes to turning and stopping, all vehicles are created equal."
3. All-Season Tires are Fine for Winter:
Sneakers can be worn in the summer and the winter, but a person gets better comfort and performance if they wear sandals in the summer and snow boots in the winter. The same goes for tires, Cox explains.
Commuters drive on snowy road in Chicago, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
"An all-season tire is a compromise, it is engineered to be medium in the summer and medium in the winter," Cox said.
Due to the engineering of an all-season tire, these tires do not stay as soft as a winter tire in lower temperatures and as a result are simply not as effective in colder weather.
4. For Better Traction, Under Inflate Tires:
This legendary myth is far from the truth, as under inflation of a tire takes away from performance, effectiveness and safety.
"When temperatures are dropping you lose one pound of inflation for every 10-degree drop in temperature," Cox said.
Under inflation can actually damage tires when withstanding winter weather. For the best performance, tires should be inflated to the car's manufacturers recommended inflation rate which is listed on the inside of the car door.
When out on the roads, drivers only have control of three things; the brake, the accelerator and the steering and wintry weather adds additional challenges.
"It takes from four to 10 times longer to stop on ice and snow than on dry pavement," Cox said. "The more slippery it is, the more critical it is that the driver be smooth with all of their inputs."
Due to the limited amount of grip on the roadway, drivers must be 100 percent effective in every moment they make with the goal being to maintain as much grip as possible.
To help ensure safety when driving in wintry conditions, see the tips below from Chief Operating Office for the Snow and Ice Management Association Brian Birch.
Tips For Safe Winter Driving:1. Clear the top of the car, the windshield and the windows of all snow and ice before driving.
2. Always bring warm clothes and extra water in the car with you.
3. Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
4. Double the amount of space you would normally put between you and the car in front of you.
5. Brake and accelerate slower than normal.
6. Do not slam on the brakes, if you can help it.
7. Know that many people are nervous when driving in winter weather and use caution when passing.
8. Stay 50 to 100 feet away from an active plow truck when possible .
[Link: AccuWeather.com ]
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I can tell you some pretty scary stories about experiences I've had during the 60 years I've been driving.
It can get very dangerous out there if your not properly prepared to handle unexpected weather conditions.
Absolutely excellent advice. Having myself driven through horrendous winter conditions in Canada for more than a half a century I can "second" everything said in the article. I always used winter tires in the winter, and actually the best winter tires I ever used were Bridgestone.
The point about not slamming on the brakes depends upon whether or not the car is equipped with ABS (antilock braking system).
A further bit of advice. When the temperature is around zero centigrade (32 degrees F - i.e. freezing) even if the roads are just wet (due to a certain amount of warmth maintained by the underlying ground), when you drive over a bridge the surface could be ice due to the fact that cold winds under the bridge will freeze the surface wetness. That can be a lesson too late for the learning.
By the way, in the photo accompanying the article, the cars are much too close together - they seem to be itching for rear end collisions.
The lead car in that 'caravan' isprobablygoing too slow for the road conditions, and has collected a bunch ofmore confident drivers behind it. When this happens it sometimes causes one of the trailing drivers to foolishly attempt to pass which can lead to a very dangerous situation for for everyone.
The lead car isentitled to drive at a speed they feel comfortable with, but when the see they have collected a line of cars behind them, they should pull to the side as soon as they can find a safe spot and let the trailing cars pass them.
How do you know that lead car isn't a proper distance behind another line of cars in front of it?
In don't know if what looks like the lead car is in fact the lead car, you're right, there could be a another car, a truck, a farm tractor of an ox cart obstructing the road.
For all we know that line of vehicles may not even be moving, if they are they're moving very slow, because if you look at the wheels you cannot see any sign of snow being kicked up behind them.
The bottom line is, whenever I have come upon, or have become part of, a moving caravan of cars, it's almost always because the lead vehicle, for whatever reason, is moving too slow. However, it is rare to see those slowpokes pull over and let the traffic they have built up behind them move on.