Winter Driving Tips

I hope everyone enjoyed the snow and has power back! We lost power Thursday for a while, it came back and then went back down Friday. We got it back on Saturday. It wasn't too bad except that my wife was in Dallas so it was just me, the boy and the animals.

Now that Snowpacalypse 2012 has ended I've been hearing some rumblings about additional snow in our future (we'll see, the weather people around here never seem to be able to predict futher than a couple of days). Given that I thought I'd write up some tips about driving in the snow and ice around here.

Just as a little bit of background I grew up in Yakima, WA, a place that is no stranger to snow and ice in the winter. My Dad taught us boys how to drive in the snow/ice the old fashioned way. He took us to a deserted road or parking lot, told us to take it up to 40, slam on the break and turn the wheel as hard as you can. He had us do this multiple times so that we were halfway comfortable with the experience and told us what to do once we were comfortable.

I've been driving in bad weather since I was 16 and always take the opportunity during winter to brush up on my winter driving skills. Given all the mistakes and just plain bad driving I saw last week (I went out each day of the storm), I thought I'd make a list of some things that may make winter driving a bit easier.

1)  USE YOUR COMMON SENSE!
This is what probably bothered me the most when I saw people driving around last week. It's like all common sense went out the window as soon as the snow started falling! For instance, if you are trying to go up or down an ice/snow covered hill chances are you are not going to fare very well. This is just simple physics, and unless you have a snowcat you are best just sitting where you are or find a flatter way to get where you are going.

2)  THINK AHEAD
This is something you should do whenever you drive, but especially during icy winter conditions. You know when you have turn and you know when stop lights are coming up. Think ahead about them so you can start slowing down or speeding up so you don't get stuck. A good example is the interesection of NE Woodinville-Duvall Road and Avondale. That intersection always ices up on and on the Avondale part there's a slight hill. If you are going to the Safeway that stoplight can have you spinning your wheels. if you plan enough ahead and time your speed you can make it through the light without having to stop and risk a spinout. 

3)   DRIVE 30 MPH OR UNDER
I saw so many people driving so fast! I swear a guy on Wednesday evening I saw driving down Avondale was going at least 50mph. I was surprised I didn't see him in a ditch the next morning when I went to work. If you keep it under 30 it gives you enough time to look ahead and plan your next move when you are driving (see above). It is fast enough to keep you from getting stuck in most conditions as well. I generally try to stay around 25mph and speed up to 30 if I'm coming to a slight hill to make sure I have momentum to get me up and over.

4)  IF YOU'RE STUCK ROCK IT
I woke up at 5 a.m. each morning this last week hearing someone spin out the tires of their car because they were stuck in the slush. I also saw it numerous times as people would drive down the street and get stuck during a turn. They would gun it as hard as they could, spin out for a few seconds, stop and try it again.  

That my friends is the definition of insanity. Gunning the engine and making your wheels spin out isn't going to help you at all. It actually often leads you to be stuck a lot worse. If you are in this situation you are going to need a little bit of coordination, skill, and luck. If you have a manual transmission it's easier to get out of, but can be done with an automatic as well.

Put the transmission in first, and tap on the gas to go forward a little bit, put it in neutral right before you start to come back so that it goes backwards with little resistance, repeat. The key is to just tap on the accelerator as you start to build your momentum. Once you start rocking enough you can put it in reverse and back out the same tracks you came in on. This is your best bet. Then you can try a different approach to get where you were trying to go.

5)  THINK SAFETY
Friendly warning: That foot of snow and ice you are driving around with on the top of your car? It's illegal, you can be ticketed for it, and you are likely going to kill someone. This one really chaps my hide. It makes me angry enough that I've forced people to pull over and I brush it off myself.

I have no idea what person thinks it's OK to drive around with that much snow on the roof of their car, but you know, read tip number 1! You can also get ticketed for not brushing the snow off the hood of your car and windshield (no, just making a small square you can see out of is not OK). I saw a Uhaul that only had the top 1/4 of his windshield cleaned off. I'm sorry, but I only have one word for that special type of person: MORON.  

One last bit of advice, is to do exactly what my Dad did with us. PRACTICE! If you aren't comfortable driving in the snowy weather no amount of tips are going to help you. You need to get out there and practice. Find an empty parking lot and get comfortable with your car and how it handles in the snow. Practice until you feel like you can at least get to the grocery store. If you aren't comfortable with driving in winter conditions your best bet is to just stay home until the weather gets good enough that you feel you won't be a hazard to anyone else on the road. 

I'd love to hear all of your tips on winter driving in the comments!

Jack's Last Successful Meal
Frozen chicken nuggets
Fries
Pudding
Some sort of fruit and vegetable goop (hey it was the last night before my wife came home and the fridge was kind of empty from having no power)
Milk (2%)

Jack's Current Favorite Reads
"A Walk Down Sesame Street" by Sesame Street
"Curious George Visits The Library" by Margaret & H.A. Rey
"Superman Classic: The Incredible Shrinking Super Hero! With Wonder Woman" by Zachary Rau