Driving in snow can be a nerve-wracking experience especially if you’re not used to it. You don’t have to get the chills just thinking about driving on icy roads and in heavy snowfalls. Getting your car ready before you leave and knowing what to expect on the road can put you at ease. We’ve put together some useful tips on how to cope with difficult winter driving conditions.

Car safety
• De-ice your car. Before you set out, clear your car of any ice or snow with an ice-scraper or de-icer. Make sure all your car windows are ice and snow-free, not just the windscreen.
• Air-conditioning is quicker and more effective at clearing condensation on cold windows than your heater.
• Keep your windows clean. The glare from the winter sun can be blinding but a dirty windscreen can blur your vision even more.
• Drive with anti-glare sunglasses to protect your eyes. Just make sure they’re not so dark that it impairs your vision.
• If you wear glasses, coat them with an anti-glare solution. This will help reduce the glare of the sun during the day and the glare from approaching headlights at night.
• Keep a winter driving survival kit in your car. If you’re going on a long trip, make sure you take an ice-scraper, de-icer, mobile phone, flask with a hot drink or soup in it, chocolate or other high-energy snack, blankets and warm clothing.
• In case of an emergency, keep these essential items in your boot: duvet or blanket, warning triangle, torch, jumper leads, towrope, first aid kit and a spade (in case you experience heavy snow and have to dig your car out).

Safety on the road
• Don’t rush. Watch your speed and drive as fast or slow as the conditions allow.
• In ice and snow, stopping distances can be up to 10 times longer than in normal conditions. This means that if you’re travelling at 50mph you will need a distance of 530 metres or 130 cars to stop. So keep your distance.
• Main roads are usually gritted after a heavy snowfall. To avoid skidding, drive as slowly as possible in the highest gear. If you drive an automatic, take the car out of drive and change into second. Driving slowly in a high gear means you will use your brakes less thus reducing the risk of skidding.
• Driving after dark adds another hazard to the mix. Less visibility and the usual dangers of winter driving means you will need to take extra care. It is harder to judge distance and speed after dark so slow right down. If visibility drops below 100 metres, use your fog lamps.

Skidding: what to do and how to avoid it
When one or more tyres lose their grip on the road’s surface, your car will go into a skid. In winter, this can be caused by heavy acceleration and/or braking abruptly. The best thing to do when your wheels lock and you start to skid, is to take your foot off the accelerator or brake pedal (whichever has caused the skid) and gently steer in the same direction as the skid until your tyres grip the road again. Don’t panic and don’t over correct. This will just make you skid in the other direction.

It’s great to know what to do if your car goes into a skid but it’s even better not to experience it at all. To avoid skidding, drive slowly, manoeuvre gently, decelerate more and break less.
Always allow more time for your trip in wintry conditions. Take your time and accept that in order to arrive safely, it may take a little longer to get to your destination.