Yarmouth got it’s first big snowfall of the season today (Dec 5th) and as tradition would have it, suddenly driving on the road, or even just walking near one feels a lot more dangerous.
The first snowfall is when you start to find out who hasn’t put their winter tires on yet, or planned ahead by monitoring the weather. It’s when the roads are most slick as they may have not been salted yet, or if they were it may not have had a proper chance to settle in and melt the snow and ice properly yet.
Knowing this, the biggest tip is to drive slower and brake much sooner. Compared to a nice summer day, the average braking distance of a vehicle increases by anywhere between 3 to 12 times that in snowy conditions. Depending on whether you use winter tires or all seasons, and of course how much snow is on the ground.
Something you’ll also see often is tires spinning when they try to accelerate from a stop. If that’s you, a light touch of the pedal is usually all you need to get moving without loosing traction. Once you are in motion you can speed up to whatever speed is appropriate for where you are.
The same applies if you are stuck, or your car is buried. The absolute last thing you want to do is floor it in an attempt to get unstuck, that will only make it worse every time you try. Instead, a light touch of the throttle is usually enough to get you moving. Use the momentum you gain without increasing the throttle and you’ll eventually find yourself unstuck! If you are dug in, try going opposite the direction you want to go. If you can gain even just a bit of room from where you were that is usually enough to gain the momentum you need to break free!
But the biggest safety tip of all? CLEAN YOUR CAR. Yea, the wind will clear that snow right off the roof sure… But it’ll also toss it right into the car behind you! Depending on how much snow has fallen you could completely blind the car behind you with snow or damage their windshield with Ice that may have formed on your roof!
