Traveling During Winter Holidays? Take Caution!

12/23/2019 (Permalink)

Whether you're going down the road this holiday season, or across the country, traveling in winter weather can be a tricky task. AAA provided some simple solutions to avoiding a motor vehicle mishap.

1. Accelerate and decelerate slowly
   • avoid skids and take time to slow down for a stoplight on icy roads.
2. Properly position feet on pedals
   • keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
3. Don't stop if you can avoid it
   • if you can, slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes. Always stop at stop signs or signal lights when required.
4. Uphill Driving
   • applying extra acceleration on snow-covered roads can cause your wheels to spin. Try to obtain extra speed before reaching the hill and let inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the top, reduce speed and proceed downhill slowly.
5. Safe Following Distances
   • normal driving conditions suggest a 3-4 second car spacing. When driving in snow or icy conditions increase that to 8-10 seconds. Doing so allows you time to stop and avoid collisions should you need to.