Tips for Safe and Comfy Winter Driving

If you live in a cold climate, you definitely know how many dangerous and unpleasant situations you can face on the road. Let’s just remember frozen wipers (that pose a real threat while driving), a terrible sensation when you don’t feel your fingers and toes or sliding into a side drain. So if you are going to buy a car, keep in mind some of these characteristics, to make your driving in a cold weather safer and more comfortable.

Antilock braking system

You’d better have antilock brakes regardless of the climate you live in, because it can be quite helpful in any weather. During braking it helps to control the car by precluding the wheels from slipping and locking. ABS often curtails a stopping distance, but the main advantage of such system is that it allows you to steer even if it is an emergency stop.

Antiskid system

While antilock brakes let you brake on slippery roads, it is traction control that helps you accelerate. When you drive a slippery road, it reduces power of the engine and/or applies the ABS to continue power going to the wheel that has traction. Although traction control helps drivers who have cars with rear wheel drive feel more confident in snow, there are still outdated systems that don’t let gain speed when it’s snowing. However the most up-to-date traction control works well on every road surface.

Electronic stability control

There are many names for electronic stability systems, but most of them include the word stability. And it’s not surprising. Electronic stability system is one of the main inventions in the field of auto safety. It checks the car direction, compares it to where you are driving and informs ABS brakes to return the car on the intended route. Stability control is really indispensable in snow as it prevents fishtailing. If you still doubt because of its high price, be sure that you have never spent money more reasonably.

All-wheel drive

If you live in a town, you don’t really need a four-wheel drive, but it still can be quite helpful in snowy regions with hills or bad snow removal. In any case, you’d better set your choice on an all-wheel drive. It’s not only cheaper, but also totally automatic and appears to be more effective.

Clearance to ground

Keep in mind that all-wheel drive is effective only in cars that hug the ground. And if you use summer tires as well, you can forget about going somewhere at all. In deep snow higher-riding sport wagons and SUV’s are most viable on the road.

Winter or all-season tires

Tires are extremely important, especially in winter. Winter tires (we used to call them “snow” tires) are very effective on snow and ice, but as for a warm weather they may cause extended stopping distances and decreased traction. The best solution for people who can’t afford a second set of tires or simply don’t want to bother swapping them twice a year is all-season tires. And don’t forget about the dangers you can face while using summer performance tires in winter.
 

Heated seats and steering wheel
 

If you have leather-lined interiors, heated seats are a must-have for you. You will certainly appreciate them, because they warm before the car’s heat begins to stream. The most advanced seats offer several heat settings and most of the cars have a standard high-low switch. But even if you have only on or off setting, it’s also not bad. The most recent innovation is a heated steering wheel which prevents the wheel from freezing and you – from steering in gloves.
 

Heated rear-view mirrors
 

It is also very convenient to have heated side mirrors, because they can clean themselves of ice, snow and fog. There are different ways to activate them: some cars do it along with rear window defogger, some have a special button and in a few cars mirrors are linked to the heated-seat switch.
 

Headlight wipers/washer
 

Some people think that having wipers on headlights is extravagant, while they serve an important purpose: they clean snow, road salt and grime that can dim the headlights. As a rule, headlight clearing uses only washer jets, which is enough for a good result. The technology is quite simple and you will hardly notice it in operation: the jets appear from the bumper, spray and retreat. Cars either clear the headlights at the time as windshield or have special buttons, so that the driver can wash headlights whenever they want.
 

Heated windshield
 

Heated windshields are quite rarely used in cars. In comparison with ordinary windshields they contain a thin film or fine wire grid that melts ice on the glass. But be careful: the wire type of windshield causes exaggerated headlight glare that can shape a starburst.
 

Heated washers and wipers
 

A wiper de-icer, or a heated wiper park, helps to free wipers that are frozen to the glass. Moreover it serves to keep blades flexible so that they can contact the windshield over their full arc. Heated wipers can automatically start working in a cold weather or they can be activated by a special button. They can also be applied not only to windshield, but also to rear-window wipers.
Heated hoses and reservoirs prevent washing fluid from freezing in a cold weather, but they can also melt and clear the ice on a windshield.
 

Remote starting system
 

Remote start has been created to solve the problem of a cold car. If you have it, you won’t really need additional window heaters, as it prevents wiper liquid from freezing. The most advanced remote-start systems offer a possibility to automatically turn on the heat, defrosters and seats. Remote start isn’t effective in any weather, but it scrapes ice in a cold weather.
 

Folding hardtop (convertibles)
 

If you used to forego convertibles because they are unsuitable in winter, now you must be glad to know about the invention of retractable-hardtop models. You won’t differentiate them from the ordinary cars, as they look just like non-convertible ones when their tops are up.
 

Block heater
 

Even the best-engineered car can refuse to start up when the temperature drops below zero and persists there. However nowadays starting a car in a cold weather seems to be much easier then it used to be 20 years ago. You just plug block heater into a household electric outlet (normally overnight), thus keeping the engine block warm and the oil – thin. This facilitates car starting and decreases damage to it. Such solutions as Electric gage rods and accumulator heating units are usually sold at the aftermarket. If there’s a factory product, then it is a heater that is secured by screws in the motor block or divides a heater line, where it heats up and causes the engine coolant to move around.