Winter Arrives

Snow and ice is expected by the latter part of this week in Britain with overnight temperatures dropping below well below freezing. In Scotland heavy snow is expected and temperatures of -6 Centigrade for the East of England.
As we all know driving in this weather, especially in the mornings before ice on the road has melted, is particularly dangerous and something we only face for a two to three months a year. So here are some reminders and tips for this winter:

• Always carry deicer
  Its not recommended that you scrape snow and ice off your windscreen and is comparatively expensive to melt the ice using your car's heating. A cheap can of deicer will quickly melt any ice on your windscreen without damaging it or using up your fuel. Some cars have Bottle holders in the boot which a can of deicer fits into snugly
• Top up your Screenwash with Antifreeze
  Not only does this stop the Screenwash freezing in the reservoir it also helps preventing your jets freezing making clearing ice from the windscreen easier. While heat from the engine usually melts the ice jets quickly the jets themselves can be damaged when they freeze and will not melt until your engine is up to its running temperature.
• Take your mobile with you and keep plenty of fuel in the car
  While many organizations would advise taking enough equipment to camp in the Arctic we all know in the real world that unless we're driving long distance we're unlikely to get stuck anywhere long enough or remote enough to put our lives in danger and in the worst case you can park the car and use alternative means to get to your destination. However it is a good idea to keep your phone with you so that you can get in contact with people should you need to and use the camera in your phone should there be an accident. Keeping an ample supply of fuel in the car is also advisable as journey times are unpredictable and should you get stuck you can at least use the engine to stay warm.
• Avoid Minor Roads where possible
  Unless this is your first winter behind the wheel you'll know all to well that any time after the car starts moving you can become a passenger. Gritted roads are often no different from driving on wet roads however the minor roads which are often left to freeze over can leave you with almost no grip at all.
• Be Wary of your ABS and Corner Break Assist
  If possible turn off electronic driving aids while driving in snow or icy conditions unless they've been designed to work correctly under such conditions. Most ABS systems will activate quickly on ice and reduce your control over the car while extending your stopping distances. Corner Break Assists also have the same effect but may activate during a turn without you pressing the break. Official advice tells us not to use the break when on ice, a tip everyone instinctively ignores when sliding across the road, but is technically correct and will give you more control over the car.
• Drive Slowly
  Ok, so this message is repeated so often we're all bored of it but if you are turning off a gritted road to a frozen road even at 5 mph you can expect to slide 5-10 meters before you come to a stop or get some control back should things go wrong. So when entering a road which hasn't been gritted expect to loose traction, try to get the car point and traveling in the direction you want to go in before the tyres meet the ice and set the speed you want to turn the corner at before you turn into the road

If you're lucky enough to be escaping the British Isles for a while and plan to be driving overseas remember the winter can be harder and more prolonged on mainland Europe. This article on driving abroad may also be useful.