If winter weather is just starting to set in where you live, it’s time to start thinking about how to adjust your driving to the worsening road conditions. Along with giving yourself a reminder, it’s wise to also remind your teenagers, your elderly parents who aren’t yet in senior living communities, and anyone else that you love that they should be adjusting their driving habits as well.
To help you give them the best possible advice, here are three reminders to give your loved ones about winter driving.
Make Sure Your Car Is Clean And Clear Before Driving
While it’s easy to forget in the morning when you’re in a rush, if you live in a place that gets cold and snowy, it’s vital that you make sure that your car is clean and clear before you start driving.
While you might think that, as your car gets warmer, the snow and ice will defrost from your windows, until that happens, your vision is going to be impaired. This could cause you to get into a car accident that you otherwise may have been able to easily avoid. Not only this, but not being able to see out of all of your windows may actually be illegal where you live. So while it can take more time and energy, make sure you get all of your windows and camera spots clear of snow and ice before you take off in your car.
Prepare For More Time And Space
Another great safety tip for winter driving is to plan to give yourself more time and more space when you’re on the road.
When conditions are snowy or icy, you don’t want to find yourself in a rush. This could cause you to take unnecessary risks and potentially put your life and the lives of others in danger. And because driving in winter conditions can be stressful enough as it is, you don’t want to add to this by being in a time crunch.
To avoid this, plan to leave for your drive a bit earlier than you normally would. And when you’re on the road, keep more of a following distance between you and the car in front of you so that you have more time and room to maneuver in case you lose some traction.
Put Your Cruise Control To Rest
Cruise control is a great feature to use to ensure that you’re maintaining a safe speed and running your car efficiently. But in winter time, it’s best not to use cruise control at all. In the event that you hit snow, ice, or other conditions where you need more control, you want to be sure that you instantly have that control without having to think about turning off your cruise control.
If you’re wanting to ensure that your loved ones keep themselves safe on the roads this winter, consider sharing with them the driving reminders mentioned above.