Winter Driving Tips

I live in Canada, more specifically Calgary Alberta. Living in the north requires certain skill sets. For example how to write your name in the snow, or to own a wardrobe for -40 as well as plus 40. The topic of conversation though is driving in the winter, which happens often. The problem is that when it happens, people forget how it dynamically changes the whole driving experience.

I wanted to write some tips on how you can more successfully navigate the winter roads based on experience and instruction.

Engine Braking
This is a simple technique where you gear down causing the natural resistance in the engine in a higher rpm range to slow the vehicle at the source. In a manual this is easy to do and done often. In cars that are manumatic, this is also easy, put it into manual mode and when you want to decelerate, drop a gear. In automatic cars you usually put it in D for drive, however in a winter driving scenerio when you want to slow down you can shift to 3, 2, or 1 (but don't use 1). This doesn't actually downshift the transmission, but instead it remaps the engine to run at higher rpms. This is typically for if you get stuck and such, but it works great to engine brake the car as well. Just remember to click it back in D or 3 before you start to accelerate again.

Smooth Driving
"If you drive with a twitch you will end up in the ditch." This is the mentality you need to keep when driving on slippery surfaces. Some of the best advice I ever read was from Motortrend, and it described how the best drivers even when they driver fast, drive smooth. The reason that they can do both, speed and smoothness, is they know how to approach corners, how to take them wide and cut the apex. When you can drive smooth you can control your vehicle better at higher speeds.

Accelerating on Ice
Now when you are accelerating on ice and your wheels are slipping and spinning the trick is to not lean on the pedal a bit more. When you spin your wheels and they finally get traction it can really shock the drivetrain which can cause damage. You should try to avoid this.

Winter Tires
Winter tires can help you with winter driving. A winter tire's composition is softer at lower temperatures, giving you better traction. Now I live in Calgary and in truth the roads are only really bad two maybe three weeks out of the year. The rest of the year even during winter the roads aren't that bad and with these tips you should be able to drive in the winter weather without.