The root of all cold, wet season motoring errors is driving too fast for road and weather conditions.
If you’ve driven even for a couple of winter seasons, you most certainly have witnessed motor vehicle crashes, near misses or their aftereffects on the road. Many of us will have driven past winter wonderland moments and thought: “How could that have possibly happened?”
During the height of last week’s big storm, I was on a bus heading home from Nanaimo. The road was saturated and deep pools were everywhere. But no matter what the conditions, you can always count on that one driver to have the mind on “Ignore.” This one blew by us at 25 to 30 km/h over the limit, water spraying from behind like the vapour trail from a jet.
Next up is failing to equip with snow tires. It’s easy for many drivers around southern Vancouver Island to try to ignore the white stuff for the few weeks that it’s actually around here by simply not bothering to drive. But for the majority, driving in snow is a necessity. To handle snowy roads you need proper winter tires — tires that are actually designed and marked as being snow capable. All season tires won’t cut it.
Winter driving puts much more stress on the mechanical components of your vehicle. It’s important then to ensure that your car is fit to drive in icy, cold and wet conditions. All fluids should be topped up to a winter standard and perhaps most importantly the battery should be checked that it’s working to full capacity. Equipment breakdowns during winter months keep towing and rescue services hopping. You could be stranded for hours before help arrives.
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