5 Tips for Winter Driving: Teens

As the cooler months approach one of the main safety concerns we should address is our driving and vehicle safety. This is especially important for teens and first time drivers. If you have teen or first time driver in your home you know how daunting the idea of snow can be. Snow and ice can quickly cause roads to become unsafe for travel and this paired with inexperience can often have costly and scary consequences. Use these 5 Tips for Winter Driving: Teens to make sure that you and your teen are prepared for driving in less than perfect conditions this winter!

1. Car Checks
This should be a regular part of your driving experience when you are a teen. Always make sure that your lights are working; driving during the day is not an excuse to skip this step! If it begins to snow, sleet, or rain, your lights will make you visible for other drivers. In whiteout conditions this could mean life or death. Check to make sure that tires are inflated properly and in good condition. Often times we get our vehicles inspected on a yearly basis and continue driving them until the next year without making any of our own observations. Tires wear out and the winter is not a great time to be driving on worn down tires with little or no tread! You should also make sure that your vehicle has a strong battery heading into the winter season. The cold weather can be hard on car batteries and you don’t want to make a bad situation worse by ending up stranded if you should have to shut off the car in a bad weather scenario!

2. Confidence is Key
This can also be read as “I can do it” or “keep calm, you’ve got this”. Driving scared is an easy way to end up in an accident. Keep your focus on safety and you will be fine. If you get upset or uncomfortable driving pull over to a safe location and call for assistance or wait for a plow truck to come along and clear the road more thoroughly. The main thing is to remain calm and not drive while in a state of anxiety. If you are overly scared about driving in the snow pay close attention to the weather and try and avoid putting yourself in that situation. Your fear can cause you or someone else to end up injured; a lack of confidence behind the wheel makes you more likely to forget simple safety tips.

3. Speed, Steering, & Safe Distance
Driving in the snow can be a terrifying task. Remember these three ‘S’ tips and you’ll do fine! Speed: keep a steady speed. While driving in the snow or ice intense accelerations or decelerations can cause you to lose control of the vehicle. Try and maintain a steady speed. Steering: keep a firm grasp on the wheel, know which way to steer if you begin to slide. Rear wheel and front wheel drive cars are different when it comes to steering. If you oversteer and find yourself in a slide know if you should steer into or out of a skid! If you are not comfortable steering in slippery conditions find a big empty parking lot and practice! It’s never a bad time to be prepared for what might happen. Finally, Safe Distance: allow yourself extra space. In case the vehicle in front of you encounters problems or needs to stop or slow down give yourself an extra cushion of space. It will take you longer to stop safely in the snow and ice; don’t find that out the hard way!

4. Avoid Travel
During times of extreme weather try and stay off the roads. As a teen it can be tempting to run around with friends and make plans regardless of the conditions. Encourage your teen to stay put when the conditions get frozen or snowy. It is much better to have them come home late than not at all. If you have a son or daughter that is not comfortable driving in the snow offer to pick them up or let them stay where they are. The best way to avoid accidents in the snow as a teen driver is to stay off the snowy and icy roads!

5. Technology
If you are a teen driver or you have a teen driver in your home make sure the dangers of using technology while driving are clear. During the winter months when driving is even more dangerous phone and technology use are even more hazardous. If you need or want to be in contact while you are driving in hazardous conditions put the phone on speaker and drive with it in the seat next to you. To avoid distractions put it on silent or turn it off completely. Any level of distraction while driving in the snow can be dangerous, those are seconds you are unfocused and you may miss already difficult to see signs and markers.