Often when you are driving on the chaotic streets of St. Louis in the winter season, it can feel as if you are in a war zone. Car accidents and the evidence of them is strewn all over the roadways, drivers are stuck or have all manner of car dent damage, and folks are sliding all over like they’re messing around at the ice rink. Clearly, the best thing that you can do to survive out there is to have a solid strategy. That is why Car Craft Auto Body in St. Louis, MO has developed this solid winter driving three-pronged attack plan to keep you out of the auto body shop this winter.
Get Prepared For The Assault
The very first thing any military tactician will tell you to do if you’re about to face a formidable foe is going to be to be fully prepared for battle. The challenge of safe winter driving is no exception. Getting your car totally clear of snow and ice is a good method of doing that. If you do not have a garage, you probably will struggle with this the most. After all, who would want to waste time in the morning before work by standing out in the cold wiping off the windshield and the rest of the windows? In spite of those reasonable worries, visibility is too essential to dismiss. If you don’t see that automobile in your side mirror, you may mistakenly get in a car accident with them and swiftly find yourself in a St. Louis auto body repair shop.
Another way to get ready for battle is to make certain that your automobile is in good working order before you decide to set out. If you’re in need of auto body repair, get that taken care of in advance. Furthermore, make sure that your headlights are not foggy, If they are, you can go to Car Craft Auto Body for headlight restoration services. It might not look like a big issue, but any preexisting damage to your car can put you at a disadvantage on the road.
Stay In Formation
Once you have gone to all of the trouble of preparing your car for battle, you probably will want to race to get to work or school or wherever you are going. However, that’s a terrible idea with roads which could have snow or ice on them. Instead, you really need to take it slow and be alert. With roads that are demonstrably icy in St. Louis, Oakville, Chesterfield, and Bridgeton, MO, you should be comfortably under the speed limit. Be very cautious in risky areas that freeze quickly, like bridges and underpasses. Do not use cruise control on winter roadways either. Something else to take into consideration is the other automobiles. If a car is driving ahead of you, stay very far back from them. The greater amount of reaction time you have when they skid or try to stop, the better.
Speaking of skidding, you need to know how to react in the case of skidding to avoid unnecessary dent damage or worse. There are numerous strategies to utilize, based on the particular situation. For instance, if your rear tires slip, you’ll want to do the following:
- Quit pressing on the accelerator
- Steer in the direction that you wish for the vehicle to go to be able to straighten out. If your back wheels are sliding to the right, steer to the right. If the rear of the car is slipping to the left, turn the wheel left.
- In some cases, the rear wheels will overcompensate and begin sliding to the other side. If that does happen, ease the steering wheel to that side. Depending on how slick the roads are and how fast you were going, you may need to steer back and forth a couple of times to regain control.
- The next step is to push on the brakes. However, there’s a couple of divergent techniques here. If you have anti-lock brakes, just press gently. Don’t pump them. However, if you’ve got standard brakes, pump the brakes gently until you’ve got the vehicle under control.
The strategy for controlling your car if the front tires begin to slip is less difficult to remember:
- Stop pushing on the accelerator and shift to neutral.
- Rather than trying to direct the automobile, let the tires skid laterally. That’s going to slow the car down, which is definitely what you need.
- When you feel the car slow down to a manageable level, steer the automobile until you have control and shift back into drive.
Have A Backup Plan
The third prong of the three-prong strategy is to have a backup plan in position in case you get into an auto accident or slide off of the road. Have a war chest of essentials to help you get rolling again if you become stuck. Items that would serve you well include sand or kitty litter for traction, a foldable shovel to dig yourself out, an ice scraper, reflective triangles so that other automobiles can see you, and a cleaning solution for your auto glass.
A survival pack may also be useful if you’re stranded behind enemy lines. Place items in it such as winter clothing, flashlights with batteries, extra cell phone batteries, matches, rope or ratchet straps, and a well-equipped first aid kit.
Many Saint Louis, MO car accidents happen because of the dread enemy known as winter weather. Trust me, we at Car Craft Auto Body have seen quite a few cars roll through our auto body shop because of slick winter roads. Not all winter is a wonderland. If you would like to face the roads head-on, use these tips to help you have the advantage. If you’re ever needing towing or auto body repair, use Car Craft Auto Body to have the repair work completed fast, correct, and affordable.