Snowfall, fun outdoor activities, numerous holidays and cozy nights by the fire make everyone fall in love with winter seasons. However, climatic change brings many challenges for us like driving in winter nights. The greasy and slippery road makes driving difficult even for experienced drivers, especially at night.
In fact, winter storms and sloppy roads caused millions of car crashes, and nearly 2000 car deaths every year. Hence, the prolonged and dark winter nights required us to be cautious before making any turn on the road. Also, every driver must know the safety rules to deal with winter road emergencies. Here are few hacks to protect you from any harmful incident and help you drive safely in this adverse weather.
- Use winter tires
As the temperature goes below 7-degrees the tires start to lose their grip, therefore, consider using winter tires in this cold weather. Unlike the traditional tires, winter tires are designed with bigger gaps which increase traction on a slippery road. Not only this, but they also provide better handling and braking to make your driver safe and secure. Apart from changing tires, make sure to check the tire pressure and look out for any tear or puncture before starting your journey.
- Top off your tank
To protect yourself from being stranded in the middle of a dark alley always keep your gas tank topped up, or at least half full in the winters. Apart from personal safety, there are many benefits of keeping the tank full in winter. A lower gas level can form condensation in the gas tank, and due to the chilly breeze, the condensation can also freeze the fuel lines which will block the gasoline from reaching down the engine. And eventually, your vehicle will refuse to start, leaving you stranded in the middle of a dark alley. Hence, the best way to save yourself from trouble and also protect your car from costly repairs is to keep your gas tank as full as possible at all times.
- Speed up the defrost
Running out to your car in the morning and looking at frosty and foggy windows is not the first thing you would want to deal in the morning. These foggy windows and windshields affect the driver's vision, especially at night time. There are few easy and simple ways to quickly and safely defrost your windscreens, for example, you can use the car's wipers or a snow scraper to clear off the snow. However, the most effective way is by switching on the heater. It will warm up your car and will remove all the moisture from the air which will stop the car from misting up.
- Don't crowd a semi-truck
Driving next to a vehicle much larger than you in not-so-pleasing weather conditions can be intimidating even for a skillful driver. And especially on a well-traffic road sharing a path with semi-trucks can be even more nerve-wracking. The best practice under such circumstances is to maintain a good amount of distance and stay almost 8-10 seconds behind the semi-truck.
- Pack emergency winter clothes to stay warm
This severe weather can be awfully dangerous for travelers, hence always be prepared for the worst. You never know when the winter storm will leave you stranded on the road. Keep a couple of warm clothes in your car like extra blankets, gloves, socks, and other essential clothing items. You can't always rely on the car's heater since it gets cold real quick if the car doesn't turn on.
- Don't fight stability traction control systems
The traction control system is designed to help the tires use all the available traction in order to move forward on sloppy and snowy surfaces. When a car without traction accelerate on slippery roads, the wheels slip and lose control. Therefore, the stability traction control, in response to spinning wheels, reduces engine power and applies minimal brakes to keep you on the road. It is beneficial to keep the system activated in winter and let it do its work because it's likely to do a much better job in maintaining traction than any other human being.
- Use night vision camera for assistance
Driving in the dark condition is already pretty frightening and dangerous. However, in winters the fog and snow make it even more hazardous. In such circumstances, using a night vision system for assistance substantially improves your perception of the road. The Lanmodo Vast Pro Night Vision System is designed to provide you a crystal clear view of the road.This system extends up to 300m, much further beyond the car's headlight to give you the picture of what's ahead on the road. It provides a full-color 1080P high-resolution image which highlights even a small detail on the screen. The device has an 8 inches IPS user-friendly screen and provides a wide-angle vision. All these features combined make it the ideal pick for your car.
All of the above-mentioned hacks are a few easy ways to keep your nighttime driving experience safe in this beautiful yet dreadful season. Follow them and take all the preventive measures before welcoming this freezing weather.
