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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Winter driving tests drivers’ skills plenty

Bill Love Marketing Department Columnist

A few weeks ago I covered some procedures to prepare your ride for winter. There are lots of things you can do to protect your vehicle from winter’s worst, while improving its safety and reliability. I’ve written of those things, like readying the interior/exterior, and servicing the cooling system, engine oil, battery, tires, and wipers. I’ve recommended a safety/tool kit as well. But there’s another item that needs winter readiness: the driver.

As we embark upon the winter roadways, we must quickly get in tune with the adverse conditions we will encounter. It’s normal to get out of practice for winter driving during the other seasons, but sadly, it’s also normal to have a bunch of crashes as soon as the snow flies. Prepare yourself for the skill demands of driving upon snow and ice.

Know Your Vehicle

All vehicles handle differently. Sedans, wagons, SUVs, pickups, short wheelbase vehicles, and long wheelbase vehicles each have their own handling characteristics — get to know these differences, especially when changing vehicles.

A big factor in forward traction is your type of drive system: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or four-wheel drive/all-wheel drive. Again, each of these systems operates and handles differently. Front-wheel drive vehicles, for example, have better take-off and hill climbing traction than rear-wheel drive vehicles, but may be less stable under braking and turning. In fact, front-wheel drive vehicles (and 4WD) have a front wheel “engine braking” effect when you sharply decelerate, which can cause the rear of you car to come forward unexpectedly. To avoid this, always lift your foot from the throttle gently when slowing on slick roads — skilled drivers often use neutral, or depress the clutch of a manual transmission equipped car, when slowing suddenly to avoid a slide.

How you stop your vehicle depends on whether it has anti-lock brakes — make sure you know what you have, and use them properly. In general, if you have anti-lock brakes, apply firm pressure, and if you have regular brakes pump them gently on slick surfaces to avoid lockup. Applying and continuing firm pressure with anti-lock brakes allows you to stop efficiently (each wheel is monitored for impending lockup), and still retain steering control. If you release pedal pressure, the anti-lock computer must reset each time you let off. Pumping regular brakes is an attempt to mix efficient braking with steering control too — it’s just that you can’t do it as well as the anti-lock computer.

Read the Road

Learn to study and “read” the road surface upon which your tires are about to roll (or slide) to determine its adhesion potential. I see too many drivers going too fast where it’s slick, and too slow where it isn’t. If it looks wet, and the temperature is below freezing beware of the dreaded “black ice” condition. Automobiles can zip right along on glare ice in a straight line — slowing, turning, and stopping, however it can present problems.

When making a stop on an icy street, move to the looser snow if possible — there is likely more grip there. Try to get at least one wheel on a sanded spot or bare area for the final stop at slippery intersections.

Practice

Each time you go out this winter, your driving skill quotient should improve. It’s important to get skilled quickly, though, so the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests practice — the following is a summary of their recommendations.

Practice cold weather driving when your area gets snow — but not on a main road! Until you’ve sharpened your winter weather driving skills, and know how your vehicle handles in slippery conditions, it’s best to practice in an empty lot in full daylight. Drive slowly.

One constant for winter vehicle operation is that it’s harder to control or stop your vehicle on a slick surface. On the road, sufficiently increase your following distance so you’ll have plenty of time to stop without striking vehicles in front of you.

Skids

If you find yourself in a skid, stay calm and ease your foot off the gas, while carefully steering in the direction you want the front of the car to go. This procedure, known as “steering into the skid,” will bring the back of your car in line with the front.

Plan Ahead

Check weather, road conditions, and traffic before departure. Plan to leave early if necessary to allow plenty of time to get to your destination — don’t rush. If road conditions are extra hazardous, avoid driving if possible. Wait a day for road and weather conditions to improve before venturing out.

Where’s the Sand?

Reader R.P. has noticed the snow on the streets, but hasn’t seen any sand yet.

That sand scarcity, R.P., is the way of our future. With admitted controversy, the State of Washington, along with the city and county of Spokane, will use mainly plows and liquid de-icer (calcium chloride, and calcium magnesium acetate) for snow and ice control on our roadways.

One reason for lowering our dependence on sand is to reduce spring dust in the area. Also, sand requires more frequent reapplication than liquid, since sand gets pushed to the side of the road.

Spokane still has sanding trucks, but the sand will be used very sparingly, and only on the steepest hills and iciest intersections.

At this point, the state seems sold on the virtues of liquid — they have 219,200 gallons of liquid de-icer stored, along with 1,715 tons of the same chemical in solid form — we might as well get used to it.