18 COMING UP
18 COMING UP
You’ll be hearing this over and over again for the next month; snow and ice is coming so you had better slow down but going slow is not the only way to prepare for bad road conditions. Knowing what to do and how it affects the vehicle helps, too.
First, winterize your car and your mind at the same time. Top up your antifreeze in the radiator and use none freezing windshield washer fluid; put your winter tires on and an emergency kit; blanket, candle, lighter, flashlight, first-aid kit, toque, spare jacket, mitts or gloves in the trunk or back seat.[preferably in a small travel case to keep it together.]
So the cars ready, how about the mind? First, the most dangerous time is when the temperature is a couple of degrees above to a couple of degrees below freezing.
A couple of degrees above, when you start out can be freezing in the low places, on slopes that are facing any kind of breeze and ON NEW PAVEMENT!
That’s right, new pavement is the first thing to freeze when the temperature is around the freezing mark. New pavement has not had the time to settle and the tar in it is still sticky and it will hold the moisture on top of it; where in old pavement, the tar has been heated by the summer sun and settled into the cracks and holes; letting the moisture go through it and away from the surface so, even if it freezes, the ice forms around the exposed rocks and bumps and you can still get some traction.
New pavement holds the moisture on a slick, smooth surface so it freezes in a thin sheet on the pavement meaning that you will hit a complete sheet of ice in places on new pavement.
With the roads going out last spring and the government election coming, there is a lot of new pavement going down right now. This will be a major hazard come freezing in another month; beware!
On snow and ice, I prefer a vehicle with the power wheels in the back or a four wheel drive vehicle. [Remember, it is only 4 wheel drive when it is in 4 wheel drive or an all wheel drive vehicle. A 4 wheel drive vehicle that is not engaged is only a two wheel drive vehicle.]
The power wheels being in the back and the motor in the front will not give you as good a forward traction as a front wheel drive, motor in the front, vehicle but, in an emergency, you can control a back wheel drive vehicle by taking your foot off the gas and gently braking, while you steer to stay on the road. In an emergency with a front wheel vehicle, you must NOT take your foot off the gas. It will create drag on your front tires and your free-turning back wheels will try to [and most times will succeed to] pass you; spinning you out of control.
In a front wheel vehicle and in an emergency situation, you must use the front drive wheels to pull you out of the situation, pointing them toward where you want to go. Most inexperienced drivers do not know how to do this and, in an emergency, you do not have the time to rethink any mistake you make. It takes cool thinking and guts to do this the first time and then learn it.
Drive safely this winter and I’ll leave you with one of my sayings for winter driving; on slippery roads remember; no sudden turns and no sudden stops. Do everything slow and easy.
