How to Drive Your Car or Truck in the Snow

Step 1: Make sure that your vehicle is prepared for winter driving.
If you live in an area where it often snows during the winter, it is a good idea to make sure that your vehicle is ready for winter driving.  You may want to consider putting snow tires on your car or truck, especially if it is a luxury vehicle like a BMW, Porsche, etc that came with sporty tires.  You're not going anywhere in the snow in a rear wheel drive vehicle that has performance tires on it.  If you are in an area that gets tons of snow, consider putting chains on your vehicle.  It never hurts to pack a roadside emergency kit in your vehicle during the winter either.  The following guide will show you how to put one together: How to Create an Emergency Roadside Kit for Your Car or Truck.

Step 2: Drive slowly.
Driving too quickly is the main cause of winter accidents.  Just because your car or truck has 4WD or AWD doesn't mean that you're invincible, be sure to drive slowly and carefully on snowy roads.

Step 3: Pay attention.
Maneuvers are more difficult to make in the snow, be sure to anticipate what your next move is going to be to give yourself lots of room for turns and stopping.

Step 4: Don't tailgate.
While tailgating is a bad idea under normal driving conditions, it is much, much worse in winter weather.  Stopping takes much longer on snowy and icy roads than on dry pavement.  Be sure to leave a lot of room between your vehicle and the one in front of you.  A good rule of thumb is to leave four vehicle lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you for every 10 mph you are driving.

Step 5: Brake before making turns.
It is difficult to steer vehicles while applying the brakes in snowy conditions.  So make sure to smoothly step on your car or truck's brakes to reduce speed before entering turns.  Once you have rounded the corner you can accelerate again.

Step 6: Drive smoothly.
Snowy and icy roads are much less forgiving than dry pavement.  Make sure not to make any abrupt turns or stops when driving.  Doing so will often cause your vehicle to lose control and skid out.

Step 7: Be familiar with your vehicle.
It is always a good idea to be familiar with your vehicle's driving dynamics.  This is especially true when driving on snow or ice.  Rear wheel drive vehicles or ones that have light rear ends, like a pickup trucks, often skid out if not driven properly in these conditions.

Step 8: Learn how to control skids.
While it is best practiced in a driving school or on a closed course, it is not a bad idea to practice controlling skids in your vehicle so that you how how to react if it ever happens under real world driving conditions.  When skidding, you actually need to go against your natural instincts and turn into the skid and accelerate.  Taking your foot off of the brakes and accelerating gently during skids transfers your vehicle's weight from the front to the rear and often helps vehicles to regain control.

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