Cold Weather Driving Tips
Just came back from a long road trip through the -42 Celsius winter night. (that’s -43.6 Fahrenheit for United States drivers). We took a trip up to Saskatoon, S.K. in Canada for the weekend and we got stuck in a massive blizzard between Oyen, Alberta and Kindersley, Saskatchewan.
It was 7 PM when we hit this horrible blizzard so it was pitch black, and snowing like crazy. We couldn’t see the lines on the highway, and the wind was really howling. My wife was getting very concerned (actually frightened) as we had to slow down to 30Km an hour.
Just when we thought the situation couldn’t get much worse, we saw the lights of semi truck coming up behind us. I put my hazard flashers on so the driver of the transport truck could see me, slowed down, and pulled over to the shoulder of the highway. However, it was soon apparent that the driver was not going to drive his truck over to the left to avoid hitting us as he passed us.
I quickly ditched our car to avoid a possible tragedy. I managed to keep some speed up as I hit the ditch (more like a snowy farm field as the ditch was very shallow), and I managed to swing our car back onto the highway. Very frightening indeed. So now for the cold weather driving tips.
Cold Weather Driving Tips
It’s very important to prepare yourself well when you’re going to be traveling in ugly winter highway conditions. Below are my cold weather driving tips:
- first of all (and most important) try to avoid driving in highway conditions as I have described above. Unless it’s an emergency, stay home!
- warm up your engine by idling for 15 minutes before driving
- bring some food and drinking fluids with you in case you get stranded for awhile (you need energy in that situation)
- if you just HAVE to drive in cold weather conditions make sure you bring some blankets
- bring some candles and a tin can in case your car breaks down does not run anymore
- make sure you have a charged cell phone with service
- make sure you have plenty of warm clothing such as toques, mitts, heavy socks and warm boots
- bring some tools and a flash light in case you need to make a small repair
- have a credit card or cash for emergency funds
- take an extension cord if you have a block heater on your car or truck
- make sure you have good winter tires, or at the very least, quality all season tires
- bring along a spare headlight, single light, and tail light
- make sure you have all your fluids topped up (oil, anti-freeze, and windshield washer fluid)
- make sure your windshield wipers work and that the windshield wiper fluid is the anti-freeze kind
- make sure your heater works and your door seals are not ripped or torn
- check your tire pressures with a gauge and not just visually
- never let your gas tank drop below a quarter tank
- before you fill your gas tank up, put some gas line anti-freeze in the tank
- always put gas line anti-freeze in your tank before you fill up
- always make sure your gas tank is full if it is going to be inside a heated garage overnight. Why? Because when your car thaws out, all of the ice inside your gas tank will melt and create water in the fuel. Your tank needs to be full and have gas line anti-freeze in the fuel. This means that frost and ice can’t cause your gas line to freeze up during the continuation of your journey
Note: If you are new to driving in harsh winter conditions, you will find all of the above described fluids at most gas stations. Countries that are used these kinds of winter driving conditions have gas stations that provide all of the needed fluids for protecting yourself and your vehicle. This includes gas line anti-freeze, windshield washer fluid with anti-freeze, and synthetic oil. Synthetic oil is more expensive, but it has a longer service life, and it much easier on your engine when you are in extremely cold weather.
I think I’ve covered most of the common tips for driving in cold weather. These precautions are taken by Canadians and Northern Europeans every winter. It’s just part of life.
Most important is to pay heed to tip #1. Stay home at all costs when it’s really really cold outside. Don’t get a bad case of the killing disease known as “get-home-itis”. Stay in a hotel if the roads are bad, and only drive during the day, and only when there is good visibility. There is NEVER a time when you HAVE to be anywhere.
Call your place of work and don’t go into work if the visibility is really bad, or the roads are icy. Just stay put and wait it out. Don’t let family members pressure you to drive when the road and weather conditions are bad. You’re life and your passenger’s lives are at stake!!
Tags: alberta, blizzard, cold weather, driving conditions, saskatchewan
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