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Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where the tires meet the
road probably have good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between the tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation.
You have a lot less traction, or grip, and need to be
very careful.
What is 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 can offer the least
traction of all. You can get wet ice when it is about
freezing, 32°F (0°C), 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.
If your vehicle has a traction system, it will improve your
ability to accelerate when driving on a slippery road.
Even if your vehicle has a traction system, slow down
and adjust your driving to the road conditions. Under
certain conditions, you might want to turn the traction
system off, such as when driving through deep
snow and loose gravel, to help maintain vehicle motion
at lower speeds. See Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 4-5 and StabiliTrak
®
System on page 4-6.
If your vehicle does not have a traction system,
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.
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