These winter driving tips could help save your life
I'm going to share three winter driving tips that have saved my skin on more than one occasion over the past half-million kilometres of vehicle testing I've done in central and northern Ontario.
Carl Nadeau, Michelin's winter driving expert, provides some insight and perspective, as well as some advice on helping drivers practise them more consistently. A professional stunt driver, race-car driver and performance-driving instructor, Nadeau has a long career of teaching people advanced winter-driving techniques.
These tips and advice assume you're driving a properly prepared vehicle that's riding on a quality set of winter tires.
TIP 1: LOOK UP, UP, UP!
Keeping your eyes far up the road ahead is one of the first things Nadeau teaches. It's also one of the best ways to protect yourself from hazards in winter driving. By keeping your eyes trained as far up the road as possible, and seeking to look past other vehicles in traffic, you give yourself precious extra seconds to react to danger in inclement conditions. This might mean the difference between stopping safely, or causing a crash.
Looking far ahead can be tricky. Ensuring you have an upright seating position can make it more comfortable to keep looking up — and away from the road right in front of your car.
“If drivers look farther away, everything tends to slow down,” Nadeau adds. “If you're looking too close, everything seems to be moving faster. Raise your eyes, and things come at you more slowly.”
Proper vision can help you feel more relaxed, which is a key factor.
“If you're tense, you can't control the car precisely,” Nadeau says. “When drivers are relaxed, it's easier to control the car, and easier on the driver.”
TIP 2: GUARD THAT GAP!
A large gap between you and the vehicle ahead is a precious commodity on slippery roads. It gives you more margin for error, more room to stop, and more room to make decisions if a hazard presents itself.
I like to visualize one or more transport trucks between me and traffic on icy roads, representing the absolute closest I want to be following another vehicle. If a car cuts into your safety bubble, lift your foot off the accelerator until the gap is regained.
If you can read the licence plate, you're probably too close. You'll want to read the road ahead, though, Nadeau says.
“If I leave that gap, I can read the road for clues — does it look different, do I see ice?”
TIP 3: WHAT'S GOING ON?
Situational awareness is the practice of knowing exactly what your motoring environment looks like at all times. Check your mirrors frequently, and take note of the shape and condition of the road ahead.
One evening while driving some friends on the highway to go to a movie, my vehicle was struck by ice from the roof of an oncoming transport truck. In a fraction of a second, I was driving blind at 100 km/h.
Although I couldn't see, I knew the road ahead, and was able to safely and confidently move off the road without causing a collision. That situational awareness, as taught by a driving instructor just like Nadeau, may have saved my life, and the lives of two passengers.
Your own eyes are your vehicle's No. 1 safety feature. With strategic, frequent glancing around, drivers can be constantly aware of which adjacent lane they could safely swerve into if required, or how they might exit the roadway safely if they suddenly had to do so.
NADEAU'S BONUS TIP
“Drivers should be able to activate their hazard lights without taking their eyes off of the road,” Nadeau says.
“Most drivers can't. But your hazard lights send a more powerful signal back down the road than regular brake lights.”
If you had one second to turn your hazard lights on, could you find them?
A confident driver is a more relaxed driver, and therefore a safer driver.
Safe travels this winter!