The holidays are finally here, and so is the winter weather everyone is looking forward to. Many of us are attending parties, vacationing, and spending time with loved ones.
As such, it is no surprise that many choose to drive to their destinations - whether it's an airport or to the mountains for some winter-exclusive activities.
However, the winter weather also brings dangers of its own, and driving is nothing different from the things that winter makes more dangerous.
Here are some must-know tips newly licensed and veteran drivers should keep in mind when driving during winter:
Use Snow Tires
A car's four tires are its only contact with the road, and as such, great care must be given to them regardless of the weather. However, because winter makes driving much more complicated than the rest of the seasons, you'll need to pay extra attention to your tires or change them.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car owners should consider installing snow tires if they're considering driving during winter. These tires help reduce braking distances on cold, wet, ice, and snow-covered roads, per Honda.
It also increases the traction edges of the tire to improve its grip on wet pavement.
Interestingly, the braking distance of a winter tire compared to an all-season one can be up to 25% shorter depending on the car's speed and road conditions.
Check Your Lights
Snow can look pretty while they're falling slowly separately, but it could also prove dangerous in large amounts, especially while driving. Checking headlights, brake lights, turn signals, emergency flashers, and interior lights and changing them if needed is one way of preventing an accident on the road while driving during winter.
Cleaning and removing built-up snow, ice, and slush are also advisable, as doing these help you see what's ahead and help other drivers spot you regardless of how much snow is falling, per Kelley Blue Book.
Get Familiar With Your Brakes
Since a car's tires are the only point of contact a car has with the road, it is also important to check and/or change the brakes of a vehicle before heading out with a car during winter.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, drivers may want to check if their car has anti-lock brakes that prevent a car's tires from locking up during braking.
If your car does have this safety technology, use the heel-and-toe method when braking, but you shouldn't remove your foot from the brake pedal until it comes to a complete stop.
Watch Out For 'Black Ice'
"Black Ice" is a term used to describe the layer of ice a road has during winter, making it look like shiny new asphalt. According to Weather.com, black ice is formed when the snow melts during the day and hardens to ice on the road during the night.
It can also be formed if moisture in the car condenses and forms a layer of wetness on a road, and then frozen during the night when temperatures drop below freezing.
Black Ice is dangerous because they are invisible and slippery to a car, increasing the likelihood of car accidents involving them.
Although driving through black ice is unavailable there are some ways to prevent and minimize the chances of being in an accident because of it.
Reducing speed and keeping your steering wheel straight are some of these things. But the most helpful tip to avoid accidents on black ice is to...
Drive Slowly
It goes without saying that with the visual and physical impairment winter weather brings to driving that all drivers should considerably slow down when going out during this season.
Driving slowly not only increases your reaction time to road accidents, but also gives you better traction when driving on snow, ice, or black ice, per AAA Exchange.
The increased traction also makes it easier for you to control or stop your car on slippery surfaces.
