People across the UK are waking up to seriously icy conditions today, having to defrost their windscreens quickly to get on with their day.
But the hazards don’t end there, and if you need to drive to work, you might feel unsafe due to the weather. Thankfully, @autotraderuk has provided their “top tips for winter driving to ensure you set off safely,” including advice on what to do if your car skids on ice.
Naturally, when it’s icy, you might prefer to leave your car at home and choose public transport or work from home if possible. But if you have to travel, it’s crucial to know how to handle your vehicle.
Auto Trader cautioned drivers that when they’re “driving in snow” or ice, they should “leave a stopping distance that is at least 10 times greater than usual,” to give your vehicle a chance to stop under these challenging conditions.
They also advised that you should “avoid braking where possible as normal tyres have less grip on icy roads”. So, you might be wondering how you’re supposed to slow down your car. They suggest that you should “change gears” instead of hitting the brakes.
However, if your car “starts skidding on icy roads,” they insist that you should never “take your hands off the steering wheel.” Instead, they recommend “steering your car in the direction of the skid to correct it.”
Icy Road Safety similarly advises that “the higher the speed, the more difficult it is to correct a slide,” highlighting the importance of adjusting driving speeds to match road conditions.
They also emphasise that braking could be counterproductive on icy surfaces, revealing that “braking can not only trigger a slide, it will make a slide worse”, underlining the need for wheels to turn “freely” to correct a slide effectively.
Echoing Auto Trader, they suggest the correct technique when a car starts to skid: “If the back of your car slides to the right, turn the wheel to the right. ” As the vehicle begins to “straighten out,” drivers should “straighten the steering wheel” in response.
Lastly, Icy Road Safety warns about the dangers of panicking or overcorrecting, as “overcorrecting can send the car rotating faster than a steering can counter, and the car will spin out.”