Stay Safe on the Roads

Road conditions are friendly in the spring, summer and fall, but snow and ice in the winter turn the roads into a not-so-friendly zone. As the weather in the PNW changes from warm to cool to freezing, there is a greater potential for dangerous road conditions. Therefore, understanding best practices for staying safe on the road in the winter is essential information for every PNW resident to know and be reminded of before every winter season.

Prepare to Drive Slowly

Although you may have places to be in a hurry, plan to take your time when signs of ice or snow are visible. If you hit a patch of ice on the road at a high speed it is more likely your vehicle will get away from you and you will lose control. Even traveling at a slow speed, you can lose control or have the inability to break quickly. If you are going slow and lose control, the chances of high damage to your vehicle or life-threatening personal injuries are lower compared to when you drive quickly. The times to take special precautions are in a snowstorm or blizzard or when the weather indicates freezing rain or when the snow sticks and it rains the next day.

Ice is Not Always Visible

The thing about ice is that it can be a clear color. Sometimes it is white, cracked or dirty and easy to recognize. Other times, it blends right into the road. This is called black ice and it is incredibly dangerous. You could be driving along at less than ten miles an hour and need to break and not be able to. You could completely slide through a red light or intersection or hit a car stopped or slowing down in front of you. Black ice could cause a major accident. When the brakes start auto-pumping (if you have an anti-lock braking system) when your car is traveling at a very slow speed, you know you’ve probably hit the dreaded black ice. Continue to keep your foot on the brake pedal throughout this process, because anti-lock braking systems are designed to grip the ground so you can steer while braking.

You can be impacted by black ice even when not trying to slow down or hit the brakes. Ice is slippery when you merely drive over it and you could easily lose control of your vehicle.

Now, the best way to avoid a black ice fiasco is to not drive at all. If you are new to the PNW, you may think that you have to go to work or school, but sometimes the freezing temperatures are so dangerous that you may not be required to show up until the early morning has passed. However, not all workplaces and schools stop operations for weather conditions, so you may need to use your car even when you do not want to.

So, the best thing to do is exactly what was stated above, slow down. It might seem obvious, but to some, it is not. When you drive slowly, practice driving slower than you think you should drive. Patience is key. If you hit ice while driving, just remain calm, don’t jerk the steering wheel, don’t hit the brakes and let the car come to a stop on its own. If you are sliding, turn into it rather than out of it to avoid spinning out.

One other note on ice, if you have a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle, your car will not stop or steer better on ice. This means driving slowly in the wintertime is for everyone, regardless of the type of vehicle you drive. In fact, the larger the vehicle, the longer the stopping distance, which means you should be driving slower and far away from vehicles ahead of you.

Winter Tires

On some roadways (especially ones going into higher elevation), during specific winter conditions, traction tires are required. Sometimes chains are required as well. If you are going to higher elevations in the winter, check your state’s Department of Transportation website for more updated information.

In a lot of places, traction tires are not required at all but are highly recommended. Winter tires have a different type of rubber that grips the roadways better in colder conditions, usually at temperatures below 50 degrees. So even if you live in an area with hardly any snow precipitation but still has freezing temperatures, winter tires are almost essential.

Overall, winter driving is dangerous in all conditions, snow, ice or not. Remember to play it safe and drive slowly, with awareness for changing conditions.