Winter Driving

You know there’s no avoiding it – winter driving is dangerous at worst, and a headache at best. If you’re used to it, we’re sure you’ve become the kind of driver who can deal with it well. Turning in the direction of the skid, making sure your tires have good tread on them, not getting in too big a hurry, that kind of thing. But that’s only part of the story… Before things get too nasty, you’ll want to stock up on a few things to keep in the car, for some practical winter driving auto solutions:

• Snacks. You don’t want to get stranded and you hope it doesn’t happen, but the possibility is always there. Keep a trouble bag stocked with some high-protein foods like pouches of tuna, cans of sardines, nuts, beef jerky, and a few high-carb items like hard candy. It can make all the difference if you do find yourself stuck.
• First-aid kit. You don’t need anything real elaborate, but a basic first-aid kit with band-aids, antiseptic ointment, scissors, gauze, bandage tape and burn cream is a good thing to have around.
• Change of clothes. Again, you don’t want to get stranded, but spare socks, a change of underwear, T-shirts and a sweater can’t hurt.
• Snow broom and ice scraper. Self-explanatory.
• Tire traction runners or traction mat. A sandbag or two (or a bag of Quik-Dri or kitty litter) used to be the way to go, but tire traction runners can be just as good to get you out of the snow. Plus they have the benefit of folding up for easy storage, and none of the mess of a sandbag.
• Sand caddy. If you’ve got a 2wd, RWD truck or car, you know that extra weight over the rear wheels can make a big difference. Sand caddies give you 40 lbs of extra weight in a neat, leakproof container, or can easily be dumped out onto snow to help improve traction.
• Traction cables or auto socks. Tire chains are pretty outdated now – traction socks (developed in Norway) or cables can improve your winter drivability without the noise and clunky handling of chains. Most people don’t like driving in snow, or winter driving in general, and it’s understandable. But you can at least even the odds in your favor!