Safe(r) Winter Driving

Snow-covered and icy/shushy roads are a fact of life here in Geauga County, particularly through the snow belt. Ideally, we’d all just stay at home by a fire, but the reality is that we have to go out, often in bad conditions. We can make the roads a little safer by following some best practices.

If you are able to, stock up your pantry/medicine cabinet to a higher level in the winter to reduce the chance that you will have to drive to the store if the weather is bad. At least it will give you maybe an extra day to give the plows time to clear the road.

With how the lake effect can drop massive amounts of snow in localized areas, it is important to know how the roads are in the areas you will be driving through. A great service from the state is OHGO where you can see real-time traffic status as well as video of the major roadways throughout Northeast Ohio.

Your tires connect you to the road. If they have low tread you will not have good traction in wet/snowy conditions and are more likely to lose control of your vehicle. You don’t absolutely need winter tires, but please have good all-season tires at a minimum. You will also want to keep your wiper fluid topped off with winter (low-temperature) wiper fluid to help with visibility. You use much more fluid in the winter than during other seasons. Also, replace your windshield wipers if you haven’t this year. Ideally these should be replaced every 6 months.

You need to make sure your car is stocked and ready for emergencies. Things like water, some snacks, an emergency blanket should be considered essential. Jumper cables are a nice to have as starting your vehicle is harder on the battery in cold temperatures. You will absolutely need a snow broom/ice scraper to keep your windows clean - even if you park in a garage.

Always bring clothes that will keep you warm if something bad happens. It can be tempting to only dress for your destination, especially when you pre-warm your car. Always take a coat, hat, gloves, and maybe even boots just in case.

Lastly, keep your gas tank filled higher than usual. Don’t wait until the last mile to fill up, this helps both with minimizing trips as well as a way to keep you warm for longer if you get stuck somewhere.

The most basic rules of driving in snow and ice are:

Here’s a good YouTube video with lots of tips from a good driver who is just driving around in the snow and talking. It’s a bit of a info dump for a 19 minute video, but it has lots of great points. His comments about ABS being scary the first couple times are super important.

As an engineer and a former test driver, I really like this more technical video that does a nice job illustrating the “traction circle” that governs how your vehicle connects to the road and the implications on driving style in dry, wet, snow, and ice conditions (5 minutes).