Driving in the summer is a beautiful thing. The roads are dry, the sky is clear, and you have very little to worry about. Fast forward to the winter, and things get tough. The weather starts clouding over, you might have lots of snow, sleet, and rain – and let’s not forget about ice! Effectively, conditions couldn’t be worse for driving, which is why a lot of accidents can happen.
Now, the last thing you need in the build-up to Christmas is an accident that costs thousands of pounds to fix. While claims for car accident injuries are usually successful, you also don’t want that burden hanging over you as you wait for the compensation to come in. No, the best approach is to put yourself in a position where accidents are less likely to happen. To do this, you need to know how to drive safely in the colder period of the year…
Drive slower
Even if you’re in a rush, try to drive slower than usual. You don’t need to crawl along at a snail’s pace, but you should keep your foot off the gas more than you normally would. This is because there can be a lack of grip on the roads in winter. A combination of ice and water will do this, meaning you can very quickly spin out of control when taking a corner, or skid forward when braking. If you slow yourself down just a tad, you can stop this from happening and prevent accidents with other drivers.
Change to winter tires
Winter tires are designed to work better on tough road conditions that usually come around at this time of the year. They move through standing water a lot better and have more grip than normal tires. As a result, things like frost and ice aren’t as big of an issue when you have these tires on your car. Be aware, they aren’t snow tires, so they don’t have any special metal studs in them to use on snow. If you want or need to drive when it’s snowing, getting some snow tires will also be beneficial as they make driving a lot safer.
Don’t forget to turn your lights on
The chances are it will be a lot darker when you drive than you’re used to. Most of us never have our lights on at 4 pm, but the sun will set really fast in winter. So, be sure you always remember to turn your lights on when it gets dark, no matter how early it is in the day. Sometimes, if there’s a lot of cloud cover overhead, you may need them on during the middle of the day.
Here’s a bonus tip for you: don’t drive when the weather is really bad! If you see that it’s snowing or really wet and icy, don’t take the risk unless you have to. Sometimes, the best way to stay safe is by avoiding the roads altogether. Think about taking a train to work instead!
