Follow my 17 winter driving safety tips to help ensure that you’ll arrive safety at your destination and later back home from your family holiday road trip.
In about a month, the start of the winter holiday season will commence. While many travel by plane for the holidays, many others travel by car for family celebrations beginning on Thanksgiving and continuing through the new year. Wherever you’re going after hearing, “Family holiday road trip,” you want to drive safely.
Follow my 17 winter driving safety tips to help ensure that you’ll arrive safely at your destination and then back at home from your road trip.
Tires and brakes are critical to the safety of your family road trip.
Check your spare tire or compressor with sealant kit — Flat tires can happen anywhere without warning, even when tires are new. According to Consumer Reports, based on their vehicle test fleet, “About 40 percent of new cars today don’t come with a spare tire, though they might be equipped with a compressor and sealant kit to temporarily fix a flat tire. Some cars without a spare come with a run-flat tire, which is designed to operate for a limited distance after losing air from a typical puncture.”
Unfortunately, sidewall damage will flatten all tires, including run-flat tires and they can’t be repaired by a compressor with sealant kit. The kits can handle tread punctures that aren’t too large, but not sidewall punctures, blowouts or damage from potholes or curbs. Consumer Reports recounts the nightmarish tale of a motorist whose run-flat tire had a sidewall failure, causing him to be stranded for hours while waiting for a tow truck. Then he had to spend the night in a hotel waiting to get his new tire the next morning. Frankly, I much prefer cars with a spare tire, whether full size or a space saver.
If your car doesn’t have a spare tire, you must be specially prepared for a flat tire or blowout.
If you don’t have a spare tire in your car, make sure you have a way to contact a professional service that can handle your tire emergency, no matter where you are and what time it is. In the US, I belong to the American Automobile Association largely because of their roadside service across the nation.
Make sure the spare tire is inflated correctly and that you have a working jack and lug nut wrench. If your car has a compressor with a sealant kit, ensure it hasn’t expired. If it’s expired or soon to expire, replace it.
Unless you’re driving an electric vehicle (EV), ensure your car’s antifreeze level is adequate — You don’t want the engine to fail due to a lack of antifreeze.
Driving through sleet, snow and ice is dangerous and requires that your car is in great condition and that you’re prepared to drive in difficult conditions.
Be prepared to meet weather’s challenges. — Driving through sleet, snow and ice is dangerous. Quick starts are ill advised. Stopping takes significantly extra distance in poor weather conditions. Drive a car that has anti-lock (ABS) disc brakes, which make driving in bad weather safer. Make sure your brakes are in good working order. Replace your brake pads if their thickness is less than five millimeters.
Add extra distance between your car and the vehicle in front of you in winter weather. — On dry pavement, follow the three-second rule. You should stay far enough behind the car in front of you so that when you begin counting off the seconds, you won’t reach three before you get to the spot at which the car in front was located when you began counting. That translates to about one full-sized car length for every ten miles per hour that you’re traveling.
On wet payments, especially on snow-covered or icy roads, multiply that length by at least ten, as when you hit the brakes on slippery surfaces, braking will take much longer.
Make sure you’re aware and ready to deal with “black ice.”
You may not be familiar with “black ice,” a thin, virtually transparent coating of ice on road surfaces that allows the black road surface to be seen through the icy coating. It’s often formed by rain freezing on cold road surfaces, particularly on bridges. It’s extremely dangerous because it’s invisible. Drivers don’t know it’s there until their car is sliding on it. If conditions for black ice exist, assume it’s there.
Adequate tire tread on all your car’s tires is essential. — Tire tread enables tires to grip the road and allow water on road surfaces to escape from under them. Worn tire tread prevents that, making steering and braking difficult. For winter driving, the Tire Rack recommends “all-weather” tires that have a tread depth of at least 5/32 of an inch to compress snow in their grooves and release it as they roll. Personally, I prefer tires with a deeper tread.
Ensure your car’s tires are properly inflated. — Cold temperatures reduce tire air pressure. Improperly inflated tires degrade your car’s handling characteristics, making it harder to control on slippery roads.
Don’t use cruise control on snowy or icy roads. — Cruise control generally reacts improperly on wet roads if your car slips or slides, so turn it off.
Make sure you stay on top of the weather forecast and have good windshield wipers, a windshield washer tank that won’t freeze, and an ice scraper ready for use.
Pay attention to weather forecasts at your destination and along your route. — Don’t hesitate to alter your plans according to weather conditions.
Ensure your windshield wipers are in working order. — Windshield wipers need to sweep freely and follow the contour of your windshield without streaking.
Make sure your windshield washer reservoir is filled with “de-icer” fluid. — Top off the reservoir with de-icer, so you’ll have ample fluid to clean your windshield as needed.
Take an ice scraper.
Be sure that all your lights are working and that you have plenty of fuel, or if in an EV, plenty of power stored in your batteries.
Ensure all lights are working. — Check your headlights, brake lights, turn signals, emergency flashers, taillights and interior lights to ensure that you can see the road at night and low light conditions and so that your car can be seen by others on the road, as well as emergency vehicles looking for you if an emergency occurs.
Keep your fuel tank or EV battery level at least half full. — A traffic jam or accident may stop your travels “cold,” or car woes such as a flat tire might strand you for hours. You’ll need plenty of fuel or battery power to keep warm in winter and power your lights for safety.
Carry a car emergency kit. — My car emergency kit for winter travel includes a blanket, a first aid kit, a small LED emergency flasher, and a flashlight. Plus, I carry enough snacks and water for everyone in the car for at least 24 hours.
In case of emergency, having a fully charged cellphone with you plus a portable battery charger is critical.
Have a fully charged cellphone with you in case of emergency. This is essential whether driving on interstates or back roads. I also bring a portable battery pack to recharge my smartphone, just in case.
Give friends your itinerary and driving route. — Give a friend or family member your itinerary, driving route, and arrival times. They can contact local authorities if you don’t arrive at your destination on time and you’re unreachable. Tell them where to search for you.
Following these safety tips won’t guarantee you’ll have no problems while driving. Not following them could lead to considerable trouble on your road trip.
(Image: Philadelphia Street Scenes – Snowfall. Copyright © 2022 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved. All TDM and AI Training are Prohibited.)
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.