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

Getting Unstuck

Jim Gorzelany CTW Features
As anyone living in the Snow Belt can attest, virtually any vehicle can become stuck in the snow if it’s deep enough. If you find yourself in this situation avoid spinning the tires - you’ll only be digging yourself into a deeper rut. Switch off the car’s traction control (which tends to work against a vehicle when there’s zero traction) and “rock” the vehicle gradually back and forth to get it unstuck. Engage the lowest gear (second gear if it’s a manual transmission) and slowly creep ahead as far as possible - perhaps only an inch or two at a time - then engage the brakes, put the car into reverse and repeat the process several times to gradually get moving again. The last resort may be wedging the car’s floor mats (even better would be sand or cat litter) under the tires to obtain just enough grip to get moving. If that doesn’t work, call a tow truck to avoid damaging the car’s drivetrain.