Winter DrivingHere are some tips for winter driving:• Have your vehicle in good shape for winter.• You might want to put winter emergency supplies inyour trunk.Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, asupply of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winterouter clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight, a redcloth, and a couple of reflective warning triangles. And,if you will be driving under severe conditions, includea small bag of sand, a piece of old carpet, or a couple ofburlap bags to help provide traction. Be sure youproperly secure these items in your vehicle.Also see Tires on page 5-59.Driving on Snow or IceMost of the time, those places where the tires meet theroad probably have good traction.However, if there is snow or ice between the tires and theroad, you can have a very slippery situation. You have alot less traction, or grip, and need to be very careful.What is the worst time for this? Wet ice. Very cold snowor ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet icecan be even more trouble because it can offer the leasttraction of all. You can get wet ice when it is aboutfreezing, 32°F (0°C), and freezing rain begins to fall. Tryto avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crewscan get there.Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed, blowing,or loose snow — drive with caution.4-18
