How to drive on ice: 11 safety tips for drivers

Do you change your driving habits when snow and ice come to town? If you don’t, here’s why you should. Snow and ice exponentially increase the chances of unexpectedly sliding, spinning out, or crashing. In fact, the American Highway Users Alliance reports over 116,800 injuries annually from vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy, or icy pavement.

But luckily, there are ways to stay safer simply by adjusting the way you navigate your vehicle and the road conditions. Interested in how to drive safely on ice?

Follow our 11 safety tips:

  1. Reduce your speed and give yourself more time to get where you’re going. We tend to speed when we’re running behind, so it’s best in winter months to leave ahead of schedule and give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. The more cautious you are with your speed, the less dangerous a potential slip or skid will be.
  2. Stay in your lane. When possible, avoid changing lanes and keep away from the shoulder of the road where ice buildup accumulates. Never pass vehicles when conditions are slushy or icy.
  3. Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Road conditions can change in an instant, so it’s important to always proceed with caution. Accelerating and decelerating slowly may stop your tires from spinning out under you or keep the back of your car from sliding to one side.
  4. Double check the temperature. Don’t rely solely on your car’s temperature gauge to determine the conditions of roads. Instead, look for ice on your windshield wipers, outside mirrors, road signs, or trees for indicators.
  5. Stay alert on bridges. As signs suggest, bridges can freeze faster than nearby roads. Be extra cautious and proceed slowly and steadily across any overpass.
  6. Drive when it’s light. Night driving increases risks in general, but this is especially true during the winter months. Try to drive during daytime hours when temperatures have risen, more vehicles have made pathways, and crews have cleared and salted the roads.
  7. Increase following distances. A good rule of thumb for winter driving? Keep ten times the following distance between you and the car in front of you compared to the distance on dry roads. Increasing your following distance can also give you time to maneuver around icy patches if you see cars sliding ahead of you.
  8. Don’t use your cruise control. Avoid cruise control in slick or icy conditions to keep control of your vehicle and prevent wheels from spinning at different speeds.
  9. Work with your antilock braking system (ABS). If your vehicle has ABS and starts to skid, you’ll feel a pulsating of the brake pedal under your foot. This is normal and it’s by design. Do not remove your foot from the brake pedal and stay calm as the system helps you come to a stop.
  10. Steer into a skid. If you notice your vehicle sliding, take your foot off the gas and turn your steering wheel in the same direction the back of your car is sliding.
  11. When possible, stay home. Not driving in slick or icy conditions is the most reliable way to stay safe. If you can delay your errand or drive another day, do so.
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How to Check Blind Spots While Driving

Checking blind spots is a crucial aspect of safe driving. Blind spots are areas around your vehicle that cannot be directly observed through the mirrors. Here are some tips on how to effectively check blind spots while driving:

  1. Adjust Mirrors Properly:
    • Ensure that your side mirrors are adjusted correctly. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommends the “Blind Spot Mirror Setting.” This involves adjusting your side mirrors so that the rear edges of your vehicle are just out of sight.
  2. Use Rearview Mirror:
    • Check your rearview mirror frequently to have a general awareness of the vehicles behind you. This helps you to anticipate the need for a lane change.
  3. Shoulder Check:
    • Physically turn your head to check over your shoulder in the direction you plan to move. This is a direct visual check of your blind spot and is a critical step before changing lanes.
  4. Signal Before Changing Lanes:
    • Always use your turn signals before changing lanes. Signaling communicates your intention to other drivers and gives them a chance to react.
  5. Maintain a Safe Following Distance:
    • Keep a safe following distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. This gives you more time to react to any sudden movements by the vehicle ahead and allows better visibility around it.
  6. Be Aware of Larger Blind Spots:
    • Larger vehicles such as trucks and buses have larger blind spots. If you are driving near one, be extra cautious and avoid lingering in their blind spots for an extended period.
  7. Use Technology:
    • Many modern vehicles come equipped with blind spot monitoring systems. These systems use sensors to detect vehicles in your blind spots and provide a warning, often through a light on the side mirrors.
  8. Regularly Check Mirrors:
    • Make it a habit to check your mirrors every 5-8 seconds, even if you’re not planning to change lanes. This helps you stay aware of the traffic around you.
  9. Stay Vigilant in Parking Lots:
    • Be particularly cautious in parking lots, where pedestrians and smaller vehicles may be harder to spot. Use your mirrors and turn your head to check for any obstructions before moving.
  10. Educate Passengers:
    • Encourage your passengers to assist with blind spot checks, especially when merging onto highways or changing lanes. Having extra eyes can be helpful.

Remember, being aware of your surroundings and actively checking your blind spots can significantly reduce the risk of collisions and enhance overall road safety.

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HOW TO CHECK BLIND SPOTS WHEN DRIVING

A blind spot is anywhere around your car where your mirror cannot pick up. Most of the time, students think that if they’re checking the mirror, there is no need for them to check the blind spot, and that’s where they go wrong. So, when you’re enrolled in a driving school some instructors will teach you how to check blind spots when driving so you to be safe when on the road.

The blind spot is very critical when you’re driving and when you’re taking your road test.

How to Check Blind Spots

Checking your blind spots involves looking in the mirror and then over your shoulder. It’s that easy. Also, check the view out the window, and ensure there are no obstructions on the road.

Do not turn all round while checking the blind spot. This is because you want your entire focus to be on the direction where your car is headed to.

It won’t be long until it becomes completely natural to include it in your everyday observation practice.

Moving Off

You should look in every direction before stepping off the road. You will learn how to do this maneuver in a clockwise direction as part of your driver’s education. However, you need to check out:

  • Over the left shoulder
  • Look in the left-wing mirror
  • The rearview mirror
  • Your right-wing mirror
  • Over the right shoulder

After an Emergency Halt

Before making a sudden stop, you won’t always have the opportunity to double-check your rearview mirror.

As a result, before you start driving again, you must ensure that your blind spots and mirrors are checked thoroughly.

Getting Back On the Road After Being Stuck In Traffic

Before going forward in traffic, you must double-check all three mirrors. In this situation, you don’t need to peek over your shoulder into your blind areas.

However, you should be aware of bicyclists or motorcyclists who could have come up beside you while you were stopped and pay attention to their presence.

At Junctions

When approaching intersections, the pillars on each side of your windscreen will obscure your view.

Therefore, you’ll need to:

  • Reduce your speed as you approach to do the necessary observational checks on time.
  • Tilt your head ever-so-slightly forward and look further ahead to see over your A-pillars and into the blind zones.
  • Make sure to look left and right at least twice since this will give any approaching cars enough time to enter your field of sight.

When in Motion

When you’re behind the wheel, it’s best to keep your head facing in front. If you turn your head too frequently, it might throw off your lane alignment.

Because of this, there are mirrors so you can maintain a general watch on what’s happening behind you with a fast glance.

However, a simple glance in the mirror isn’t always sufficient. When switching lanes or another vehicle is merging in your lane, you should check your blind spot by looking in your mirrors and over your shoulder in the direction that is relevant to the situation.

Note that:

  • Before you do anything else, look in your rearview mirror
  • Examine the mirror located on the relevant wing
  • Look over your shoulder

That should take up the whole region behind you, allowing you to switch lanes without preventing anyone from securely.

What are the Blind Spots While Driving?

Some areas your mirrors don’t quite reach, though they display most of what’s happening behind you.

Additionally, your vehicle can also obscure some portions of the road from view. These sections are the ones we call blind spots.

Every automobile has two primary blind spots, even though their dimensions change based on the automobile’s make, model, and size.

  • Diagonally behind you. You can see vehicles much further back in your rear or side mirrors, but if traffic moves up in a lane beside you, they are obscured from view.
  • Diagonally at the front. Your line of sight is obscured by your vehicle’s bodywork, namely the A-pillars on each side of your windshield.

When Is the Best Time to Check Blind Spots?

When you’re behind the wheel, you should constantly be aware of what’s happening around you. In most cases, you should be able to accomplish this by focusing on the roadway in front of you and often checking your mirrors.

Nevertheless, there are certain circumstances in which it is essential to swivel your head and check if there is anything in the areas you can’t see. These include:

  • Before moving. You must confirm that you will not be going off directly into another person’s path.
  • Before making a lane change. Motorists or cyclists may have drawn up beside you when you’re trying to pass another vehicle or get into the correct lane at an intersection.

It is not enough to stare in your mirrors and hope for the best while driving on multi-lane roads such as highways since other drivers may be changing lanes behind you.

  • When other cars are entering your lane from an adjacent one. Drivers who wish to pull out from slip roads or merge into your lane in any other way require a clear distance in which to do so.

You have to make sure that you are not preventing anyone from entering the lane that you are in. If that’s the case, you need to adjust your speed or switch lanes to account for the situation.

  • Making a turn into a secondary road. Before turning off a road, you should examine your blind spot, especially if you have just passed a bike. If you do not do this, and the cyclist is following you closely, you risk colliding with them as they continue in the same direction
  • At crossroads. Your A-pillars may be hiding traffic approaching from the left or right. Before turning, you must ensure that you have performed the necessary observational checks.

 

 

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