There is nothing worse than watching a driver speed down a snowy road with little regard for his or anyone else’s safety. After all, snow hides everything–potholes, fallen branches, and even a ditch–all of them covered up and ready to cause damage on unexpecting vehicles. This is especially catastrophic when a driver is unfamiliar with the area. Thankfully, a trusted car rental in Covington, LA, has shared a handy guide that will help you tackle snowy roads with confidence and ease.
Look Into the Distance
The more difficult it becomes to drive, the more critical it is to see what’s up ahead. This gives you time to react to what’s on the road ahead. Even if the roads are clear, keep an eye out for turns, stop lights, and stop signs. Make sure to put away your phone to focus on the road. Safe driving on snowy roads is possible, but it requires the utmost concentration.
Smooth Driving Only
If you’re someone who drives impatiently and with sudden jerky movements, then it will be best to leave the driving to someone else. Keeping your vehicle moving slowly and consistently allows the wheels to keep that grip on the road. Any sudden movements will disconnect the grip and cause the car to skid. Any changes in driving direction must be intentional, featherlight, and gradual.
Use Your Control Panel
It can be challenging to gauge how fast you’re driving when you’re surrounded by snow. This is where the lights on your control panel will come in useful. You probably know all the main ones, the gas gauge, speedometer, and left and right signals. But there’s also a stability control warning system. Find the symbol of the car with wavy lines behind. When this symbol starts flashing, it can mean one of two things.
First, the tires are losing traction with the road. You need to immediately lessen pressure on the gas pedal so that the tires can increase their traction.
Second, it could mean that the car is starting to skid. The same solution applies here too. Decrease pressure on the gas till the wheels are gripping the road better. To prevent this from happening, the gas pedal should be depressed slowly and consistently. In snowy conditions, safe driving is slow and steady driving.
Pump the Brakes
What happens if you overlook the blinking stability control warning system? Your reactions should be based on which set of tires are skidding.
Front-wheel skid: You can identify this by how the car skids in a wide arc. Take your foot off the accelerator until you feel the tires grip the road again.
Back-wheel skid: You can identify this by how the car begins to spin. Reflexively, you might want to steer the vehicle in the opposite direction. But you should steer the car into the skid. If the back wheels skid to the left, you need to steer to the left. If the rear wheels skid to the right, steer the wheel into the right. Keep your foot off the gas and slowly reapply pressure on the gas pedal when the tires have traction again.
So there you have it–four great tips from a trusted car rental in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to drive safely in the snow. Check out Baldwin Subaru for more helpful tips if you want more information.
