Let Waze show you the way to snow-free streets this year

Lorraine Sommerfeld checks out the app that will keep you on clear roads all winter.

If you're already a user of the Waze app, you're familiar with the many tools it puts at your disposal while driving.

It shows you traffic and hazards along your route, such as cars pulled over to the side, speed traps, crashes, construction, locations of restaurants, and just about anything else that pertains to getting to your destination.

The company recently rolled out a new feature just in time for our Canadian winters: Waze can show you unplowed routes and allow you to tag them for others.

Waze kind of did the impossible: it figured out a way to get drivers to not only get along, but to help each other out.

Information inputted by users keeps all those above things updated in real time. It's why it's my preferred driving assistant.

You can spend a little or a lot on an emergency kit for your vehicle, but making your own is pretty easy. Much of the stuff you already know. Emergency blankets, candles, energy bars, a collapsible shovel, flashlight, gloves, a hat, and jumper cables. Some advocate having a bag of sand or cat litter too, to dump under stuck wheels, but smaller cars can get packed up pretty quickly.

Here are a few of things often overlooked: a decent pair of snow boots. They don't have to be a perfect fit, they can be ones somebody outgrew or left behind. We often drive in “normal” footwear, and you should never drive in those Sasquatch snow boots where you can't tell if you're mashing the brake or the accelerator. But those are just the kind you want in the car in case you end up outside. Stuff a pair of wool socks in the boots.

The other thing is a battery charger. I have a NOCO Genius, but there are lots on the market and prices range from about sixty bucks to a few hundred.

You charge them at home, and they serve as a portable power pack you can use to boost a car battery, or charge your phone or any devices that use a USB. Many have a flashlight built in.

If you've ventured out and ignored an unplowed road warning from Waze, and now you're stuck in the snow, keep a couple of things in mind. Most passenger vehicles on the road are front-wheel-drive, so those are the wheels that you have to connect to the road.

You've probably noticed the traction control button on your dash or to the left of the steering column. It's always in the “ON” position unless you turn it off. If you're stuck, turn it off. You want your tires to spin so you can find traction, and traction control prevents that. (If you're truly stuck and the tires are just spinning, stop.) Traction control also prevents you from gently rocking the car a little (do not slam your transmission around), a tried method that can sometimes work to get you going again. When you're unstuck, re-engage the traction control setting.

Still stuck?

If you've got the cat litter on board, dump it before or behind (depending on which way you're trying to go) your drive wheels. If not, you can use floor mats tucked under the wheels, too. If they get you unstuck, they're going to go flying, so get to sure ground, then go chasing after them.

Being stuck is when having all-wheel- or four-wheel-drive is helpful, but when you hit your brakes, you're braking just like everyone else, so slow down.

The best winter drivers? If they have to be out on the roads at all, they have winter tires on, a full tank of fuel, extra windshield wiper fluid, recently replaced wiper blades and they've cleared their entire vehicle of snow, including all the lights and that big blob on top.

As unpredictable weather starts up, slow down, stay safe and let Waze help steer you clear of uncleared roads.