How Much Do You Know About Driving In Icy Conditions?

From the most knowledgeable driver in Arnold, Missouri to the one that just moved to Arnold, Oakville, Imperial, or Jefferson County, MO from down south, every single driver should become aware of the risks associated with winter travel. Arnold, MO auto body shops including CARSTAR Arnold see cars roll into their garage every winter from drivers who felt that they didn't need to be concerned about icy road dangers. If you do not want to be one of those unfortunate people, read through this article to find out what you should know.

Why would I look at this if I have already got expertise in winter driving?

You might think that having experience would be useful for winter driving, and to some extent you'd be correct. But the downside that is included with that is that motorists who possess a lot of experience on icy roads constantly get into auto body accidents due to their overconfidence. If we were to be absolutely straightforward with ourselves, we would understand that there's not a person on the road who's got the skill level necessary to drive at highway speeds on roads when ice is present. No one has the reflexes and quick brain needed to recover once you start fishtailing at high speeds. Thus, it's extremely important that every motorist get ready for winter weather not just by practicing winter driving at slow speeds, but also by slowing down overall.

Aren’t good tires everything you need to drive safely on winter roads?

Once again, this is among those half truths that may land you in an Arnold, Missouri auto body shop quicker than you know it. Having good tires with an adequate amount of tread is going to help you out there. However, you should never be lulled into a misguided sense of security by good tires. While good tires might get you up and going in snowy conditions, your snow tires will not do you a lick of good whenever all that snow is compressed into ice. Once again, good tires may do much to assist you, but they're not the be-all, end-all of wintry driving safety.

Won’t I be able to prepare for ice as I see it coming?

This would be a good strategy, but the problem is that you frequently can't see ice coming. “Black ice” is a term employed to describe ice that blends into the asphalt so well that you can hardly see it at all, regardless of how close you are to it or how well you're focusing. Most wintertime driving auto body accidents do not happen when there's a highly apparent layer of snow covering the whole road. The truly hazardous stuff is the ice that you can't see until you have already lost control of your vehicle. Do not wait until it's too late to drive as if you are on unsafe winter roads. Take the appropriate safety measures with every push of the gas pedal.

So all I have to do is slow down and I will avoid an accident on snow or ice?

That statement isn't completely true either. Needless to say, one of the safety measures that we all should take on winter roads is to slow down to a sensible speed considering the conditions that we're being confronted with. However, that is only one precaution of many. Truth be told, anybody who is traveling too fast in snow or ice is at far more risk of crashing than those who are not. Most data actually points to the fact that a lot of drivers who get into car accidents were moving at a rather reasonable speed. What usually happens is that a driver going at what they perceive to be a safe speed drops their guard, hits a spot of black ice, and gets into an auto body collision before they even understand what happened. The moral of this story is that you shouldn't presume that driving reasonably slowly means that you will be immune from sliding on the ice.

What should change about my driving habits to get ready for winter driving?

Obviously, you'll want to slow down. Clearly, you need to have good tires. These are the things which we've already covered. Moreover, just be mindful out there. Don't make abrupt lane changes or fast turns. Allow a lot of space between you and the car in front of your car. Always be vigilant and on the lookout for obvious ice and snow on the road. Exercise a little common sense and keep in mind that no time saved will be worth the loss of your life or anyone else’s as a result of a wintertime auto body accident.

Just what speed will be safe for driving in winter driving conditions?

The speed that you ought to be traveling will depend on the specific problems that you find yourself in. Different factors should influence your speed like the amount of ice and snow, if there are any curves, the sharpness of said curves, the incline of any hills, the quantity of traffic, and your own comfort level. If you're on the open interstate with no hills or other traffic, you may find forty miles an hour to be a reasonable speed. If you incorporate any of the factors above into the mix, you probably should reduce your speed even more.

Even with all of these precautions, you can't ever be completely safe on the road when you are working with something as dangerous as black ice. Really, the absolute best thing that you can do is to hold off until the weather goes away if you see any freezing rain in the forecast before heading out. However, this isn't necessarily practical in every single situation. For anybody living in Arnold, Oakville, Imperial, or Jefferson County, MO, you'll need to drive in icy weather conditions at some point. The best thing that you could do is just be prepared. A good way to be prepared is to select an auto body shop beforehand so you do not have to make a quick decision if and when you get into a wreck. Give consideration to CARSTAR Arnold in Arnold, Missouri. They've got much experience repairing automobiles that have been damaged by the rough roads of winter.