9 Driving Safety Tips to Get You Ready for a Winter Drive

It’s never fun to be stuck on the side of the road, but in snow, ice or bitter cold, it can be downright miserable. Before you head out on a long drive or road trip in the winter, do these nine things.

1. Check that your defroster, wiper blades, lights, battery, and brakes are working well. If any of them are due for service, now’s the time to get it done.


2. Be ready to add traction: Carry snow chains. Check your tire pressure and tread depth, too.


3. Know what you’re getting into. Find out about the weather along your route and get road condition updates.


4. Charge up. Keep your mobile phone’s battery charged in case you are stranded and need to call for help.


5. Fill your fluids. Add wiper fluid that includes de-icer. If you know how to do it safely, check your antifreeze, or have a mechanic do it for you.


6. Cold air temps, wet conditions and dirty road spray make for foggy, blurry windshields. Use antifogger on the inside of your windshield and water repellent on the outside.


7. Also use water repellant on your headlights. If your lens covers are scratched, consider restoring or replacing them as winter sets in.


8. Keep the gas tank full in case you get lost, stuck in traffic or rerouted due to an accident.


9. Carry a winter road trip safety kit that includes an ice scraper, a headlamp, warm accessories, snacks and other essentials just in case.

Now that your vehicle is ready, review ways to drive safely in our Stay Safe on the Road This Winter infographic.

19 Winter Driving Resources You Can’t Do Without

Introduction

Winter driving in the West can be wacky at best and perilous at worst. Roads ice over. Rain makes pavement slick as bacon grease. Here are 19 winter driving resources on everything from fog lights to snow chains to driving on ice. Use these in addition to the warnings, notices or other advice specific to your vehicle in your owner’s manual.

Got Traction? Winter Tires & Snow Chains

You shouldn’t go on a winter drive without being sure of your traction. Find out how to use snow chains, the differences between all-season and winter tires and what you really need for where you live.

1. How to: Put on Snow Chains. Step-by-step instructions and a video for putting on snow chains and driving safely.


2. Snow Chains Buyer’s Guide. The Automobile Association’s guide to what you need and how to buy them.


3. How to Choose Snow Tires. Are winter tires worth it? Can you just buy chains instead? Should you buy studded tires? What about siping?

Top Safety Reminders for Winter Road Trips

Getting road-ready is different in the cold months. Don’t leave home without reading these short refreshers to prevent winter driving nightmares.

4. 14 Items to Put in Your Winter Road Trip Safety Kit. Think you’re prepared? Here’s a checklist of what you may have forgotten.


5. AAA’s guide How to Go on Ice and Snow. Easy-to-read info on safer driving in winter.


6. 9 Driving Safety Tips to Get You Ready for a Winter Drive. A pre-trip checklist to get your vehicle winter-ready and quick tips on how to drive on slick roads.


7. What to Do If You Get Stuck in Snow. Tips on getting your vehicle out of deep snow from an Icelandic off-road driving expert.

How to Drive in Rain, Snow, Ice and Fog

Tips for handling all the bad driving conditions you're likely to face from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies to Southern California and every place in between.

8. Driving in Rain? How to Avoid Hydroplaning and Other Tips. When you’re most at risk of hydroplaning, preventing skids and what to do if you do lose control.


9. Winter Driving Tips: How to Drive in Snow. What you should know about stopping distance, driving downhill and where the road’s going to be most dangerous.


10. How to Drive Safely on Ice: Top Tips for Keeping Your Car on the Road. You can’t always tell when the road is icing up. Here’s when to use extra caution and steer clear of a wreck.


11. How to Recover from 5 Types of Skids. For advanced drivers only, the low-down on different types of skids and how to safely steer when it happens.


12. How Do I Drive Safely in Fog? How to drive safely in fog and a list of fog light rules for Western states.


13. Common Winter Driving Myths Busted. Thinking you should gear down in slippery conditions? Think again.


14. Winter Driving Guide. The difference between traction control and stability control.

Winterizing Your Vehicle

Summer driving puts a lot of wear and tear on your vehicle. Here’s what you can do in fall to head off dead batteries and other hassles.

15. Now Seasonal Car Battery Care: Why and How. Figure out if you need a new auto battery or not, before your car won’t start.


16. How to Winterize a Car. A cold-weather survival guide for your car from Consumer Reports.

Real-time Road Conditions

Know in advance or in real time what’s happening with the weather and roads where you’re headed. Here’s where to find out.

17. What You Need to Know About Road Conditions Right Now. Real-time road conditions in Western states, with chain requirements, current road reports, forecasts, road cams and winter storm warnings.


18. AccuWeather Hyperlocal Weather App. An app for Apple or Android phones that gives hyperlocal, minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts.


19. Weather Underground App. For use in rural areas, an app for Apple or Android phones with local data from over 40,000 professional and hobbyist weather stations.

If Nothing Else, Remember This About Winter Driving

When you’re in a hurry to get to work or your vacation rental it can be easy to forget that winter driving is not like warm-weather driving. In winter, bald tires, tailgating, leaving home on a near-empty tank or passing aggressively have even bigger consequences.

Almost a quarter of auto crashes in the U.S. annually – nearly 1,259,000 — are weather-related. Almost half of those happen during rainfall.

It’s better not to venture out at all when the weather’s awful. But if you absolutely have to be on the road, here are key things to remember.

Slowing down is more likely to get you there safely and on time than rushing. Statistics show you can expect bad weather on main roads to result in travel time delays from 11 to 50 percent. On arteries with traffic signals, you can expect speed reductions from 10 to 25 percent on wet pavement and from 30 to 40 percent with snowy or slushy pavement.

Why fight it?

Give yourself more stopping distance. Forget the 3-second rule; allow at least 120 feet on wet pavement, 180 feet on packed snow and 600 feet on ice to stop.

Make sure all parts of your vehicle are winter-ready — starting with the right tires, properly inflated and in good condition.

14 Items to Put in Your Winter Road Trip Safety Kit

If you’re going over the hills, through the woods or over a mountain pass during wintry months, do yourself a favor. Put a winter road trip kit in your vehicle, just in case.

Icy roads and traffic jams in cold weather aren’t predictable. Preparing in advance may save you some misery...and keep you safer in bad driving conditions.

Here Are Items to Put in a Winter Road Trip Safety Kit to Keep in Your Vehicle During the Cold Months.

1. Plastic storage tub for keeping it all together and dry. And easy stowing when warmer weather returns.


2. Headlamp. It could be not only snowing but dark when you realize you’re going to have to put on the snow chains.


3. Speaking of tire chains, don’t forget them. If you have several sets of chains for several vehicles, putting the right chains in a dedicated winter safety kit for each car will keep you from being stranded with the wrong chains when you need them. (Here’s a video on how to install chains.)


4. Reflective gear. A fluorescent safety vest with reflective strips can be bought at most big box home improvement stores. Orange warning triangles are available at most auto parts stores.





5. Windshield ice scraper, in case of freezing rain, sleet or heavy snow.


6. Waterproof jacket with a hood and rainpants. You’ll be glad to have that hood to keep snow from going down your back if you need to put on chains.


7. Something to sit or kneel on when installing chains. Snowy or icy pavement is not a comfortable surface. A small tarp or even a piece of cardboard will really help.


8. Gloves. Mittens won’t do you much good if you’re installing snow chains. Get gloves that are water resistant.


9. Beanie or baseball cap. A knit hat that covers your ears will keep your head warm. Or a cap with a bill will keep snow from hitting your face.


10. A towel to use after snow chain installation and removal, to put on the seat to keep it dry from your wet outer layers.


11. Water. If there’s an accident on the pass you could be idled for hours. It’s a good idea to carry some water.


12. Snacks. Keep a few energy or protein bars with a long shelf life in your kit.


13. Kid items. Long road delays+hungry kids = nightmare. An extra diaper, a deck of cards and bag of snacks won’t take up much room and could make things a lot more tolerable.


14. Pet items. A foldable fabric water bowl, spare leash and treats will be rewarded with lots of wags.

And one last thing: keep waterproof shoes handy inside your vehicle. Driving to your destination with wet feet in winter is no fun. Bring along the galoshes, just in case.

Want more tips on winter road safety? See 19 Winter Driving Resources You Can’t Do Without.

Did you know you can get a free pre-trip safety check for your vehicle at Les Schwab? Find out more here.

Shop for Winter Tires