With winter gusts blowing in some parts of the country and more snow and ice forecasts, it is important to know how to deal with them on the roads.
In addition to being well prepared for you and your vehicle, you need to know the basics of staying in control and avoiding hazards.
Winter inevitably increases the number of riders who encounter wet and slippery surfaces, increasing the risk of loss of control and skidding.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How to ride on snow and ice?
Check your car
A few simple checks will ensure that your car is in top condition even in bad weather.
- Make sure all your headlights, including fog lights, are working;
- Check tire pressure and tread depth – minimum 1.6mm allowed, but at this time of year a minimum of 3mm is recommended;
- Add fluids, especially antifreeze and washer fluid, and make sure the wiper blades are in good condition.
- Make sure your license plate and headlights are clean and visible. Otherwise, it’s illegal.
Prepare your bag
It pays to be prepared for the worst, so make sure you have a bag full of essentials in case you get stuck. Essential items include a flashlight, safety vest or vest, sturdy shoes, a shovel, a blanket or extra clothing, a warning triangle, an ice scraper, a phone charger, and food and drink.
plan ahead
Check the weather forecast to plan your trip. Give yourself more time to get to your destination and be prepared for delays and accidents that can stop you.
Drive carefully
- On snow and ice, the braking distance increases up to 10 times. leave a big hole to the car in front;
- Drive calmly. Harsh acceleration, braking and steering are more likely to cause loss of traction and misfiring;
- anticipate what other drivers are doing – this can keep you from falling or getting stuck while others are stopping;
- Keep your speed low – so that you have more time to respond to possible problems.
- Try it wherever you can use engine brake slow down to reduce the likelihood of skidding;
- be alert. Be prepared for hazards such as puddles or icy patches and adjust your driving style.
- Don’t move so slowly that you don’t lose momentum – especially on hills you can get stuck and have traffic problems again.
Use high gear
If your vehicle is having traction problems, especially when pulling away, try shifting into a higher gear. This should reduce wheel slip and help keep you moving.
Not…
Take a trip if you don’t have to
The best way to be safe is to stay off the road.
Use boiling water to clean your windshield
Surprisingly, some people still think this is a good idea. Boiling water on frozen glass can be enough to crack or shatter the windshield, so don’t touch it. Use de-icer, scraper and old-fashioned elbow grease.
Use smaller routes if you don’t need to
Main roads are mostly cleared regularly, while side roads may not be cleared at all, making them more treacherous. If you are involved in an accident, you are also less likely to be detected.
Clean only part of your car
It is extremely dangerous and illegal not to remove all snow and ice from the vehicle, including the windows and roof. If you can’t see well, you can be fined £60 and minus three points.
What should I do if I slip?
To shed light on how to behave in such a situation I asked Bill Wardlaw, instructor at the Anti-Skid Center Knockhill Racing Circuit.
Prevention is better than cure
Knowing how to deal with slips is great, but it’s even better to avoid rolling into them. “The vast majority of skids are the fault of the driver,” explains Bill. “A good level of concentration can help drivers reduce the likelihood of problems.”
His mantra is OAP – the three pillars of safer driving: Watching, waiting and planning.
“Grip changes every few meters, every turn can be different, especially at this time of year. Therefore, it is important to always be aware of road conditions,” he says.
By looking ahead, you can identify potential hazards such as puddles or ice and adjust or avoid your driving style in time.
And by keeping your speed low when conditions seem unpredictable, you reduce the chance of losing control in the first place and give yourself more time to react.
This advice is echoed by Richard Gladman, Head of Driving and Driving Standards at IAM RoadSmart. He adds: “Even when frost melts, ice remains around areas that are often in shade. Think about how you ride in this microclimate and be prepared to slow down if necessary.”
During my time in the skid, Bill’s motto is smoothness. Sudden braking, acceleration and steering confuse the car and make it more vulnerable to poor road surfaces. Smooth entries help prevent slippage in the first place.
trust in technology
Modern cars are equipped with technologies designed to keep you safe. While all of the acronyms may seem confusing, Bill emphasizes that it’s helpful to know what systems your car has and what they do.
Check your manual to see if you have anti-lock braking system (ABS), traction control, and electronic stability control (ESC). Each manufacturer has a different name and acronym for stability control, so find out what you have. It’s important to know what systems are installed and how they appear on the dashboard, as having stability control changes how you deal with skidding.
Trust in systems is also important. Bill says: “These sensors read and transmit data hundreds of times per second – much faster than a human can process it.”
To demonstrate the difference in the stability control system, Knockhill uses a BMW 3 Series with disengageable ESC. If this setting is disabled, the back end is easy to get working. When activated, this proved almost impossible. By holding the throttle midway through the corner, the system cut off power and braked the inside front wheel.
Don’t panic!
Suppose the worst happened, you hit a patch of snow or ice and the system couldn’t catch the car before it began to slide. Then what are you doing?
First, don’t panic. Staying flexible when you slip is just as important as avoiding it. Richard Gladman says: “In icy conditions, all steering and braking efforts should be as gentle as possible.”
However, it is important to react quickly and decisively.
“The first thing you have to do is press the clutch – the power cuts off immediately – and let go of the gas pedal,” says Bill.
What you definitely should not do is apply the brakes – you can point in the wrong direction on the road.
Bill explains: “For some people, this is the hardest thing in the world. You want to stop, but you just slide on and throw the car off balance.”
The next step depends on which wheels are spinning and what controls the car has. When the front wheels slipped, when the front of the car was widely stretched, it was advised to steer in the direction of slipping. However, with modern ESC systems, IAM’s Bill and Richard recommend maintaining rudder position.
Bill explains: “When the ESC system detects a front wheel spin, it immediately brakes the inside rear wheel and pulls the nose of the car back in the right direction. So drive your car with ESC as you normally would.”
On older vehicles without stability control, Bill recommends turning slightly in the opposite direction before returning the steering wheel in the direction you want to go. This can help the tires find some traction.
Richard Gladman’s advice: “If your car is losing traction, take your foot off the accelerator and steer the front wheels in the right direction.
“Front-wheel drive cars tend to handle icing better, but if you have rear-wheel drive, you always have to be very slow and steady when changing direction.”
A skid where the rear wheels have lost traction is usually harder to fix. Rapid response is essential. Disengaging the clutch and releasing the gas are the first steps again. If you have ESC, steer in your desired direction again. However, if your vehicle does not have an ESC system, you will have to begin to steer into a skid by turning the front wheels to counteract the rocking forces of the rear wheels.
If you do it right, you will skid; if you do it wrong, you will at best end up back on the hedge, at worst in oncoming traffic.
Having shown how difficult it can be to recover from such a slip, Bill reiterates that the best way to deal with a slip is not to get stuck in it. Be aware of road conditions and drive accordingly. Reduce speed if necessary. Be flexible – soft actions can mean the difference between control and losing it. And if the worst happens, stay calm, stay calm and follow the advice of the experts.
Source: I News
I’m Jeffery Bryant, and I’m an experienced author specializing in automobile news. For the past several years, I have been working as a writer in a well-known news website. During this time, I’ve written hundreds of articles covering automotive trends and developments both nationally and internationally.