That f's up your car. I really don't know the procedure of what to do when you start skidding but the e-brake wont work if your regular ones don't anyway.
Do you have snow tires? They help a lot. If those don't work I've heard tire chains can help in really icy/snowy areas - no personal experience with those though.
Chains=bad idea! I know people in non-snowy or non-wintery areas use them but they are so not a good idea for people with wintery seasonal climates like us up north.
Don't use the E-brake.
Go slow, leave tons of distance between the car in front of you, don't slam on your brakes... If you have a rear-wheel drive car (yuck, sucks in winter!), be especially careful and make sure you know how to handle your car if you spin out!
Oh, and don't trust other drivers to know what they're doing. Like I already said, leave lots of room. You never know when they'll spin out or when you'll have to brake. Make sure you've had your tires rotated recently so they're evenly worn out instead of having a couple that are bare (I usually get mine rotated when I get an oil change).
Oh, and don't trust other drivers to know what they're doing. Like I already said, leave lots of room. You never know when they'll spin out or when you'll have to brake.
So true! People are jerks when driving, bad weather makes them even more dangerous. Drive cautiously, and even a bit slower if you're being tailgated so that if you slide you have some slide room and they won't slide into you.
I'd say to reduce your speed to what you feel is safe, brake sooner rather than later and keep a safe following distance.
I hate winter driving. I will be so happy when I don't need to deal with slick roads and jerky drivers.
Arent chains on tires illegal in some areas? I think they are bad for the streets. I might be wrong. But you still might want to check that out before you put them on. Also I have heard they are bad. I would get snow tires or 4 season tires.
Yeah, I know where I grew up, chains were illegal on highways. My busdriver used to have them on the bus for picking up kids in the country, but would have to stop the bus and take them off before going on the highway.
Do you have anti lock brakes? If not, tap brake quickly and repeatedly.
If you are kidding, look in the direction you want to go because we subconsciously steer the car in the direction we are looking, and slowly, slowly, steer. Do not turn the wheel fast. It will make it worse.
I learned how to drive in winter in a defensive driving class. Could you take one?
and I could, if I had an extra $300, take a class. But I don't have that kind of money. haha. I was really just wondering, if I'm in a skid, if I'm supposed to use the E-brake? Why do they call it the emergency break if its only for parking??
No using the brake in a skid is bad and will make you skid worse. You are just supposed to lay off the gas and turn the way you want to go very slowly.
I've heard the emergency brake also called a parking brake. The reason you would need it in an emergency is if your regular brakes ever failed, you would need to use your emergency brake to stop.
Think about it. The reason why your regular breaks don't work is because your car has no friction on the ice to slow down. The breaks are doing their job, but the road texture isnt there for the wheels to grip on. The e-brake just clamps down on the wheels so they can't move. It won't work on the ice either. It will mess up your car. I never use the e-brake at all in my car, honestly I don't even know where it is located :oops: What kind of car do you have? If you don't have abs, just pump your brakes when you start to skid otherwise they will lock up. Check out these websites:
this website had a lot of good info but I quoted this for you:
Quote:
If you don't have ABS, you should gently apply pumping pressure to your brakes during slippery conditions. Do not apply steady pressure to your brakes. Standing on your brakes will only cause wheel lock, and may result in your car spinning out of control.
The following precautions can make any trip across town safer:
* Give yourself extra time to reach your destination.
* Reduce speed and turn on headlights.
* Leave extra distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you to allow more time to stop.
* Maintain enough speed to climb hills, but reduce speed to anticipate a downslope.
* Use caution around snowplows, sanders and other snow-clearing equipment; stay at least 10 metres back.
* Never pass a snowplow when it is clearing snow; whiteout conditions created by flying snow can reduce visibility and increase the risk of a collision.
* When road conditions are difficult, consider leaving your vehicle at home and using Calgary Transit.
Tackling Winter Driving Hazards
* Starting/accelerating on ice and snow â Make sure tires are not buried in snow and front tires are pointing relatively straight ahead. Accelerate slowly to avoid spinning tires as this will make the area more slippery. If vehicle is stuck, use gravel, sand, kitty litter or traction mats to improve traction. Stay clear of the wheels.
* Driving on ice and snow - Slow speeds and gentle braking are best on slippery surfaces. Any sudden, excessive braking or acceleration will cause your tires to lose their grip.
* Braking on ice and snow (ABS-equipped vehicles) â Maintain firm, even pressure on brake pedal. If pedal begins to pulse or vibrate, do not remove your foot.
* Braking on ice and snow (non-ABS-equipped vehicles) â If your brakes lock up and you are sliding, ease off and then re-apply firm, even pressure. If your vehicle continues to slide, keep releasing and re-applying pressure until you re-establish rolling tire contact.
I'm a born & raised Wisconsite, so I'm pretty accustomed to winter driving- for that matter I learned to drive in the winter.. But anyways, some tips are DON'T use the E-brake if you don't use it regularly because it can mess up your car bad.. if you often use it, your ok.. such as if you have a stick shift and always use it when you park, but if your car is an automatic, avoid the E-brake (it's really not necessary even when parking on a hill if you have an automatic.. just put it in park).. And when driving in the snow/ice/slush/etc.. allow PLENTY of time, drive SLOW, allow PLENTY of space between you and te car in front of you, and if you start to slide, tap the brakes GENTLY and turn out of it SLOWLY.. Also with anti-lock brake DON'T pump the brakes.. its really bad for them.. Drive Safely :)
I'm a born & raised Wisconsite, so I'm pretty accustomed to winter driving- for that matter I learned to drive in the winter.. But anyways, some tips are DON'T use the E-brake if you don't use it regularly because it can mess up your car bad.. if you often use it, your ok.. such as if you have a stick shift and always use it when you park, but if your car is an automatic, avoid the E-brake (it's really not necessary even when parking on a hill if you have an automatic.. just put it in park).. And when driving in the snow/ice/slush/etc.. allow PLENTY of time, drive SLOW, allow PLENTY of space between you and te car in front of you, and if you start to slide, tap the brakes GENTLY and turn out of it SLOWLY.. Also with anti-lock brake DON'T pump the brakes.. its really bad for them.. Drive Safely :)
Good advice. One question though. I have an automatic car and if I don't put on the parking brake i go rolling backward because I live on a hill. Does that mean something is wrong with my car?
I'm a born & raised Wisconsite, so I'm pretty accustomed to winter driving- for that matter I learned to drive in the winter.. But anyways, some tips are DON'T use the E-brake if you don't use it regularly because it can mess up your car bad.. if you often use it, your ok.. such as if you have a stick shift and always use it when you park, but if your car is an automatic, avoid the E-brake (it's really not necessary even when parking on a hill if you have an automatic.. just put it in park).. And when driving in the snow/ice/slush/etc.. allow PLENTY of time, drive SLOW, allow PLENTY of space between you and te car in front of you, and if you start to slide, tap the brakes GENTLY and turn out of it SLOWLY.. Also with anti-lock brake DON'T pump the brakes.. its really bad for them.. Drive Safely :)
Good advice. One question though. I have an automatic car and if I don't put on the parking brake i go rolling backward because I live on a hill. Does that mean something is wrong with my car?
I live on a steep hill as well. I was taught that this was the purpose of a parking brake. If you just put your vehicle in park, your transmission is holding the car in place. If you use the parking brake, you physically clamp something onto your wheels to keep them from rolling. Its less stressful on your transmission to use the parking brake when you aren't parking on a flat surface. I swear, if I didn't use mine, I'd wake up one mornign and discover my car had rolled into Puget Sound :lol:
LessthenLove- Thats interesting.. I've had several automatic vehicles in my time and I never needed the e-brake when parking on a hill, but then again every car is different.. If your car is running fine, I'm sure its perfectly ok.. and as far as using the e-brake.. use it if u need it- it sounds like u use it regularly so you should be just fine.. the problems arise when u never use it and suddenly start using it after years of inactivity.. the e-brake can rust and stuff when not used and using it after inactivity can cause it to brake and if that happens it can caue damage to your car.. (I made this mistake w/ my parents mini-van when I was learning to drive.. and my parents weren't too happy w/ me :shock: )
The reason why I never use my e-brake for parking is because we have no big hills here in MN. In drivers ed I learned how to turn your steering wheel so that your wheels are facing the curb but I never had to use it because I never parked on a hill of any size other than a small slope. I'm guessing it depends less on your car and more on where you live.
It is illegal here to use your brights... what about where any of you live?
To use them period? Here some roads are so dark and in the middle of nowhere that without my brights I'd be afraid of hitting some animal. You can't drive with them on if there are cars in front of you or driving the other direction (mostly out of courtesy not to blind them with your lights) but some people don't even follow that.
But then I'd almost rather them keep their brights on then not have any lights on (like many cars I encounter do).
It is illegal here to use your brights... what about where any of you live?
To use them period? Here some roads are so dark and in the middle of nowhere that without my brights I'd be afraid of hitting some animal. You can't drive with them on if there are cars in front of you or driving the other direction (mostly out of courtesy not to blind them with your lights) but some people don't even follow that.
But then I'd almost rather them keep their brights on then not have any lights on (like many cars I encounter do).
I live in rock creek park and my sister and I board our horse at the stable there. Even though we live in DC these are very windy (not like wind like WIIIIND... no idea how to speel it) roads with NO lights. Also, there are no predators so there are deer EVERYWHERE. In the backyards of apartment buildings getting killed on main roads it's really messed up with the ecosystem here. But yeah, it's still illegal to use your brights. I use them anyway. Driving over a deer could kill me!
There are no laws on using your brights that I know of, but I live in the city so I rarely have to use them. If i do I just make sure there is no one in front of me for a while or no one coming the other direction so I don't totally blind them.
the emergency brake? im sure you dont use that often as another poster suggested. the emergency break is for emegencies. period. like if its the only thing stopping you from going off a cliff. not regulary during rush hour traffic. it really messes your brakes up. i use it to park on a hill because it does take the strain off your transmission. as for the ice issue, i found the best thing for me is to recognize high ice areas such as bridges, slow down , alot, and if you skid , absolutely dont use your brakes of any kind. take your foot off the gas and avoid sudden movements of the steering wheel. i think the safest way is to slow down, you cant do jack when your driving 80 miles an hour regardless of the situation. now 40, could be manageble.
i think the safest way is to slow down, you cant do jack when your driving 80 miles an hour regardless of the situation. now 40, could be manageble.
thats why you drive really slow, if you were driving 80 on ice and slipped i could hardly feel bad... people should really drive very slowly and cautiously on ice and in the snow.
The emergency brake? That's only for use when parking on hills.
That f's up your car. I really don't know the procedure of what to do when you start skidding but the e-brake wont work if your regular ones don't anyway.
Do you have snow tires? They help a lot. If those don't work I've heard tire chains can help in really icy/snowy areas - no personal experience with those though.
Chains=bad idea! I know people in non-snowy or non-wintery areas use them but they are so not a good idea for people with wintery seasonal climates like us up north.
Don't use the E-brake.
Go slow, leave tons of distance between the car in front of you, don't slam on your brakes... If you have a rear-wheel drive car (yuck, sucks in winter!), be especially careful and make sure you know how to handle your car if you spin out!
Oh, and don't trust other drivers to know what they're doing. Like I already said, leave lots of room. You never know when they'll spin out or when you'll have to brake. Make sure you've had your tires rotated recently so they're evenly worn out instead of having a couple that are bare (I usually get mine rotated when I get an oil change).
So true! People are jerks when driving, bad weather makes them even more dangerous. Drive cautiously, and even a bit slower if you're being tailgated so that if you slide you have some slide room and they won't slide into you.
I'd say to reduce your speed to what you feel is safe, brake sooner rather than later and keep a safe following distance.
I hate winter driving. I will be so happy when I don't need to deal with slick roads and jerky drivers.
Arent chains on tires illegal in some areas? I think they are bad for the streets. I might be wrong. But you still might want to check that out before you put them on. Also I have heard they are bad. I would get snow tires or 4 season tires.
Yeah, I know where I grew up, chains were illegal on highways. My busdriver used to have them on the bus for picking up kids in the country, but would have to stop the bus and take them off before going on the highway.
Do you have anti lock brakes? If not, tap brake quickly and repeatedly.
If you are kidding, look in the direction you want to go because we subconsciously steer the car in the direction we are looking, and slowly, slowly, steer. Do not turn the wheel fast. It will make it worse.
I learned how to drive in winter in a defensive driving class. Could you take one?
Snow tires- yes. Chains- no.
I do have anti-lock breaks yes,
and I could, if I had an extra $300, take a class. But I don't have that kind of money. haha. I was really just wondering, if I'm in a skid, if I'm supposed to use the E-brake? Why do they call it the emergency break if its only for parking??
No using the brake in a skid is bad and will make you skid worse. You are just supposed to lay off the gas and turn the way you want to go very slowly.
I've heard the emergency brake also called a parking brake. The reason you would need it in an emergency is if your regular brakes ever failed, you would need to use your emergency brake to stop.
Think about it. The reason why your regular breaks don't work is because your car has no friction on the ice to slow down. The breaks are doing their job, but the road texture isnt there for the wheels to grip on. The e-brake just clamps down on the wheels so they can't move. It won't work on the ice either. It will mess up your car. I never use the e-brake at all in my car, honestly I don't even know where it is located :oops: What kind of car do you have? If you don't have abs, just pump your brakes when you start to skid otherwise they will lock up. Check out these websites:
this website had a lot of good info but I quoted this for you:
this info came from here:
I'm a born & raised Wisconsite, so I'm pretty accustomed to winter driving- for that matter I learned to drive in the winter.. But anyways, some tips are DON'T use the E-brake if you don't use it regularly because it can mess up your car bad.. if you often use it, your ok.. such as if you have a stick shift and always use it when you park, but if your car is an automatic, avoid the E-brake (it's really not necessary even when parking on a hill if you have an automatic.. just put it in park).. And when driving in the snow/ice/slush/etc.. allow PLENTY of time, drive SLOW, allow PLENTY of space between you and te car in front of you, and if you start to slide, tap the brakes GENTLY and turn out of it SLOWLY.. Also with anti-lock brake DON'T pump the brakes.. its really bad for them.. Drive Safely :)
Good advice. One question though. I have an automatic car and if I don't put on the parking brake i go rolling backward because I live on a hill. Does that mean something is wrong with my car?
I live on a steep hill as well. I was taught that this was the purpose of a parking brake. If you just put your vehicle in park, your transmission is holding the car in place. If you use the parking brake, you physically clamp something onto your wheels to keep them from rolling. Its less stressful on your transmission to use the parking brake when you aren't parking on a flat surface. I swear, if I didn't use mine, I'd wake up one mornign and discover my car had rolled into Puget Sound :lol:
LessthenLove- Thats interesting.. I've had several automatic vehicles in my time and I never needed the e-brake when parking on a hill, but then again every car is different.. If your car is running fine, I'm sure its perfectly ok.. and as far as using the e-brake.. use it if u need it- it sounds like u use it regularly so you should be just fine.. the problems arise when u never use it and suddenly start using it after years of inactivity.. the e-brake can rust and stuff when not used and using it after inactivity can cause it to brake and if that happens it can caue damage to your car.. (I made this mistake w/ my parents mini-van when I was learning to drive.. and my parents weren't too happy w/ me :shock: )
DOWNSHIFT if you are going too fast, I do this a lot, it will automatically bring your RPMs down, and slow you down. then you can break.
At driving school I was taught to always use the emergency brake when parking an automatic, even if not on a hill.
The reason why I never use my e-brake for parking is because we have no big hills here in MN. In drivers ed I learned how to turn your steering wheel so that your wheels are facing the curb but I never had to use it because I never parked on a hill of any size other than a small slope. I'm guessing it depends less on your car and more on where you live.
Same here Kyamo- maybe it is a Canadian thing, like how we always have our headlighst on even in daytime.
My dad's car automatically does this. I sometimes forget to turn my on during the day but yeah some people do and some don't here in DC.
It is illegal here to use your brights... what about where any of you live?
To use them period? Here some roads are so dark and in the middle of nowhere that without my brights I'd be afraid of hitting some animal. You can't drive with them on if there are cars in front of you or driving the other direction (mostly out of courtesy not to blind them with your lights) but some people don't even follow that.
But then I'd almost rather them keep their brights on then not have any lights on (like many cars I encounter do).
I live in rock creek park and my sister and I board our horse at the stable there. Even though we live in DC these are very windy (not like wind like WIIIIND... no idea how to speel it) roads with NO lights. Also, there are no predators so there are deer EVERYWHERE. In the backyards of apartment buildings getting killed on main roads it's really messed up with the ecosystem here. But yeah, it's still illegal to use your brights. I use them anyway. Driving over a deer could kill me!
There are no laws on using your brights that I know of, but I live in the city so I rarely have to use them. If i do I just make sure there is no one in front of me for a while or no one coming the other direction so I don't totally blind them.
the emergency brake? im sure you dont use that often as another poster suggested. the emergency break is for emegencies. period. like if its the only thing stopping you from going off a cliff. not regulary during rush hour traffic. it really messes your brakes up. i use it to park on a hill because it does take the strain off your transmission. as for the ice issue, i found the best thing for me is to recognize high ice areas such as bridges, slow down , alot, and if you skid , absolutely dont use your brakes of any kind. take your foot off the gas and avoid sudden movements of the steering wheel. i think the safest way is to slow down, you cant do jack when your driving 80 miles an hour regardless of the situation. now 40, could be manageble.
thats why you drive really slow, if you were driving 80 on ice and slipped i could hardly feel bad... people should really drive very slowly and cautiously on ice and in the snow.