Safe driving tips for winter.

Safe Driving Tips for Winter….. I know it’s an interesting situation. Here in drought-ridden California, we are having ourselves a winter, and I know a lot of you are going to want to get out there and see it. Here are some safe driving tips for winter that I hope may help avoid some uncomfortable situations.

First and foremost, maintain your car. Some less obvious things that should be in proper working order are:

Your battery and charging system. Cold weather reduces the effectiveness of your battery. The temperatures can in fact reduce the charge and cause the rate your car turns over to be diminished. If you can’t get it started you will surely have a less enjoyable trip.

Your cooling system needs to be up to snuff. What…. Cooling in winter. Yes, there is a thing called anti-freeze that needs to be checked. For a couple of bucks, you can get a thing called a Hydrometer that can tell you the effectiveness of your anti freeze. If you haven’t enough protection, your engine block can in fact freeze which can be an enormous problem.

Pay attention to the weather situation. If you have the option, don’t travel in the height of a storm. Perhaps better to stay home and binge watch Warren Miller movies than head out into the fray.

Keep your gas tank full, you never know when you’ll be stuck off the side of the road and unable to dig yourself out. It may be imperative to run the car occasionally to keep yourself somewhat warm in that sad eventuality. Sometimes in an extreme storm, it can be hours before help arrives so you’ll have to take care of yourself until it does. Run the engine just long enough to stave off the chill and then shut it off to conserve gas.

Keep things like blankets, energy bars, nuts and plenty of water in your car for the above reason. You may be trapped in your car for a spell and its best to be prepared.

If you get stuck, be mindful not to strain yourself if you try self-rescue. Imagine being stuck an injured all at the same time.

If you are stuck, stay with your vehicle unless you can see a more suitable shelter (Like a house, gas station, or store.) Your car will provide a semblance of shelter in a storm.

If you slide off the road, make sure your exhaust pipe is clear of snow before you run your engine. Just like running the car inside a closed garage, you can expose yourself to carbon monoxide poising if you aren’t careful.

Lastly if you are unfortunate enough to be in a winter collision, do get yourself checked out by your Chiropractor. A little early prevention can prevent a minor injury from becoming a more chronic condition.

If you have to travel in the snow, I hope some of these safe driving tips for winter may help you out.

For more information on winter driving, follow this link.