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Your
Driving
and
the
Road
Winter Driving
(CONT.)
Include an ice scraper, a small brush or
broom, a supply of windshield washer
fluid, a rag, some winter outer clothing,
a
small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth, and
a couple of reflective warning triangles.
And,
if
you will be driving under severe
conditions, include a small bag of sand, a
piece of old carpet or a couple of burlap
bags to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your
vehicle.
Driving on Snow or
Ice
Most of the time, those places where your
tires meet the road probably have good
traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between
your tires. and the road, you can have a
very slippery situation. You’ll have a lot
less traction or “grip” and will need to be
very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.”
Very cold snow or ice can be slick and
hard to drive on. But wet ice can be even
more trouble because
it
may offer the
least traction of all. You can get “wet ice”
when it’s about freezing
(32°F;
OOC)
and
freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid
driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there.
Whatever the condition
--
smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow
--
drive
with caution. Accelerate gently. Try not to
break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate
too
fast, the drive wheels will
spin and polish the surface under the tires
even more.
Unless you have the anti-lock braking
system, you’ll want to brake very gently,
too. (If you do have anti-lock, see
“Anti-lock” in the Index. This system
improves your vehicle’s ability
to
make a
hard stop on a slippery road.) Whether
you have the anti-lock braking system or
not, you’ll want to begin stopping sooner
than you would on dry p,avement. Without
anti-lock brakes, if you feel your vehicle
begin to slide, let up on the brakes
a
little.
Push the brake pedal down steadily to get
the most traction you can.
Remember, unless
you
have anti-lock, if
you
brake
so
hard that your wheels stop
-olling, you’ll just slide. Brake
so
your
wheels always keep rolling and you can
;till steer.
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