Andy’s Winter Driving Safety Tips

Winter driving safety is often neglected until it’s too late. Whether we are driving to work, driving to the supermarket, doing the school drop-off or wanting to get to the shops before everyone else does, do we really consider how we will get there?

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We all want to get to our destinations in one piece and without incident. Can we also really afford our vehicles to be off the road, while they are getting repaired?

Can we really afford to be off work due to an accident?

Sub zero Dunedin winter mornings are taking a regular hold now that it is July, with some impressive frosts across the windscreens. 

As we prepare to jump into our vehicles to drive to our destination, do we give ourselves enough time to clear the windscreen inside and out, the side windows, our wing mirrors and have you considered scraping your lights?

Although the light will shine through the frost, it won’t provide you with the full benefit that you expect. Use your scraper to clear the frost off all of your lights and take the extra minute to increase your visibility. 

When clearing your windscreen, make sure it is the full window and not just enough to see through. A lady on the school run was fined $150 – see the Stuff report – Here

Let’s start from the top down for some easy wins to do. Good news here, is that you can do some of these during the warmer parts of the day. 

Vehicle Windows – Winter driving safety

• Turn the car on, the heaters on, demister on and wait for a couple of minutes. Turn off your windscreen wipers to begin with.
• Start on the drivers door window using good ice scraper to scrape the ice away. Bonus here is that you get warm the faster you move your arms to scrape the ice….
• Move around the car clockwise clearing all windows, lights and wing mirrors instead of just the front one.
• I have found that by the time I get to the rear window, the demister has worked and this is so easy to scrape.
• I have found that by the time I have got to the windscreen on the passenger side, the heater has worked and the windscreen is so easy to scrape. Almost with little effort.  
• Jump into the car and check your windscreen is clear on the inside. No mist or condensation to obscure your vision. Wipe it away (avoiding leaving streaks (this will be important later in my blog))
• Avoid using boiling water on your window – this can crack the windscreen and you’ll be stuck at home. There is temptation to think that’ll never happen because I’ve done it for years and it hasn’t happened to me yet. Just think of the “told you so” moments…. now that could be embarrassing.
• I did recently read someone say about putting some warm water into a lock-tight plastic bag and roll that across the window to help melt the ice. I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like a plausible option.

Vehicles Windows – when it’s warmer

• Clean the inside of all windows with a good glass cleaner and paper towels.
• Avoid leaving streaks when cleaning (this will be important later in my blog)
• Again, don’t just do the windscreen, do all windows including the rear passenger windows. As drivers, we do look through these as we check over our shoulders when changing lanes, both left and right sides.

Vehicle Lights – when it’s warmer

• Check that all lights work. If they don’t work, replace the bulbs yourselves or book your car in to a garage to get them replaced. 
• Turn them on a walk around the vehicle or get someone to help you.
• Not only does it help you when you are driving, it is good for other road users too. 
• Remember, daytime running lights are not your driving lights during dusk, dawn or night time. Turn your bloody lights on. If you don’t know how to, either stay off the road or get someone to show you how. It doesn’t cost anything to turn your lights on. It is amazing how much more you can see with these turned on.

Vehicle Tyres – when it is warmer

• Check your tyre pressures on all wheels including your spare.
• Check your tyre treads on all wheels including your spare.

Driving in the winter

• Drive with clear windows – inside and out.
• Drive to the conditions.
• Consider black ice (especially early in the morning) will be on the roads. The downside is that you don’t get to see it. You only know you’ve hit it when you are facing a different direction from where you were previously driving at the drop of a hat. 
• Increase the gap between you and the vehicle in front. If you are really close and they spin out, guess what is likely to happen to you?
• If you have a bigger gap, you will have the opportunity to slow down, stop, change lanes to avoid them and the ice. 
• Give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. Postpone your journey, I am certain that others would want you to get to a meeting slightly late because of the weather, verses not getting there at all. Phone in advance, give them plenty of notice and carry on.

Winter Sun – sun strikes

• Ensure you have clear windows inside and out. Without streaks will make it easier to look through the windscreen.
• Use the sun visor to block the main strike.
• Wear sunglasses to avoid the additional glare.
• Know what is in front of you and behind you in advance of the sun strike.
• Slow down and increase your distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
• Avoid driving in these known locations at the time of when sun strike is at it’s worst. Delay your journey, or leave earlier.
• Drive with your lights on to assist others to know where you are.

If you have any winter driving safety suggestions for this page that I may have missed be sure to reach out to me and I will add them to this post.