Driving comes with inherent risks, but the stakes are much higher when Mother Nature tightens her grip on Canadian roads. Hopefully, you’ve already covered the basics like installing winter tires, keeping your car healthy, and packing an emergency kit in case of a setback on the road this winter.
From that basis, consider the following 10 tips, each of which could save your life during upcoming cold-weather journeys.
Store Your Power Inside
Power banks and booster packs are essential wintertime companions that can keep phones and flashlights charged and even boost multiple dead batteries, provided the battery inside them isn’t frozen solid from two weeks of storage at -25 degrees in your trunk. Batteries tend to work best and last longer at room temperature, and if the one in your portable power device is frozen, it might let you down when you need it most. Store power banks and booster packs somewhere warm where possible, and only store them in your car when required for best results. Don’t forget to keep them charged so they’re ready for you in your time of need.
Your Trusty Shovel
Being stuck sucks, which is why a shovel is a must-have for winter travel by car. Carbon monoxide poisoning is also a risk when stuck, but your trusty shovel can offer some protection. If you’re stuck or stranded in the snow and are running the engine to stay warm, use that shovel to clear out the area around your car’s tailpipes to ensure exhaust can flow freely into the air and not get trapped inside your vehicle. Note that your car may have fake or decoy exhaust pipes, with its actual exhaust existing beneath (not behind) the car. In any case, shovel the whole area around the back of your vehicle and beneath it to be safe.
A Headlight Cleaning Hack to Try
Most cars don’t have headlight washers, so headlights will get dirty and covered in grime as you drive in the winter, reducing their efficacy. While regular cleaning usually happens at home or the gas station, there’s another easy solution you can use anytime.
Just grab a few Ziplock bags, put a sheet of paper towel inside each one, and leave them in your car. When needed, pull a paper towel from the Ziplock bag and place it over the washer fluid nozzle, spraying it a few times. Then, you can use the Ziplock bag to keep your hand clean as you use it like a glove while wiping your headlight with the wet paper towel. You can also use this paper towel to wipe down parking cameras or sensors.
Know How Long You Can Idle for Heat
You can calculate how long your vehicle’s gasoline engine can idle for survival heat on a tank of fuel using three straightforward numbers.
Simply multiply the displacement of your engine in litres by the number 0.6 (which is approximately how many litres of fuel your engine burns per hour), and the resulting figure is how many litres of gas your engine uses per hour while idling. If you know the capacity of your car’s gas tank (you can quickly Google it or find it in your owner’s manual) and how much fuel remains, you can easily calculate the potential idle time of your engine against a given amount of fuel. Read this article for a closer look at the math.
Try Your Brakes
On long stretches of snowy highway, you’re not likely to use your brakes very often. When it’s safe, lightly and momentarily testing your brakes or riding the pedal briefly with light pressure can allow drivers to feel for slippery conditions through the brake pedal. This is also a chance to glance in your rearview mirror to see how brightly your tail lights shine in the scenery behind you, which can quickly reveal whether or not they’re blanketed in snow and ice. Occasionally tapping or lightly riding your brakes for a moment helps remove snow and ice melting into water against your hot brakes, which perform better when they’re dry.
Tailgating Becomes Exponentially Worse in the Snow
Tailgating is a filthy habit, and when it comes to winter driving, it becomes exponentially more dangerous. If you or a loved one is a tailgater, please seek help immediately. On snow and ice, you’ll need at least triple the stopping distance and possibly even 12 times as much, depending on your tire situation, velocity, and the vehicle you’re driving. In poor weather, leave plenty of space and then leave some more. Normalizing an excessive highway following distance in the snow can make the difference between avoiding a pile-up or causing one.
Check That Spare Before You Go
You don’t want to find out that your spare tire is borked on the side of an icy highway at 20 below. Thankfully, the answers to a few simple questions can help minimize the time you’ll spend standing next to winter traffic dealing with a flat or blowout. If you recently bought a new car, do you know whether it has a spare tire or an inflator kit? Can you tow a trailer on the spare? Is your older car's spare or inflator kit expired, previously used, or non-functional? Getting these details sorted before your next road trip can help prevent a frustrating and dangerous experience on an icy roadside.
Be Seen if You’re Stranded
If you’re stranded and it looks like it might be a while, remember the importance of visibility. Depending on your surroundings, you’ll want to keep your vehicle lights and hazards activated so other motorists or anyone searching for you can see you. Grab that flashlight, hazard triangle, and reflective vest from your emergency kit to make it clear to others nearby that something is wrong and that caution is required.
Don’t Trust the Shoulder
If something goes wrong on the road, it’s usually safest to pull over and get as far from the roadway as possible. Just be cautious in winter, especially if the shoulders have a heavy buildup of slush and snow. Every winter, drivers misjudge the shoulder when pulling over, which can easily result in getting stuck or rolling off the road. If you’re pulling over, signal well ahead of time, slow down, activate your hazard lights, and take it easy. Pulling over carelessly or at a high speed can cause serious trouble.
Pass the Hazard Light Test
If you had to spontaneously turn your car’s hazard lights on in one second, would your finger automatically know which way to go? Committing the location of your hazard light switch to memory is a great idea, especially during hazardous winter driving. Whether you come up on stopped traffic, approach an accident scene, or encounter a hazard that requires an emergency stop, the hazard light switch should be your next stop, right after the brake pedal. Flashing lights send a powerful signal to other motorists that something’s wrong. They can reflect off nearby surfaces, illuminating an entire area as potentially dangerous. In some situations, being quick to activate them can prevent a potentially serious collision.
