Safer Driving: How to Prepare and Handle Your Car in Winter

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - This year, car drivers have been faced with a particularly fierce winter. With many people still having their ski vacation ahead of them and as winter dragging on, Chevrolet provides recommendations on the equipment and preparation of cars as well as some driving tips.

Preparation of the car
Winter tires are a very important part of car. This is what is in contact with the tarmac or potentially snow or ice. You can recognize the winter tires by the snow flake logo on the tire. It is a much softer compound than a normal tire and has much more trade in it. It grips the ice a lot better and gives a much better traction and breaking.

Additional parts to be checked are the battery, lights and windshield wipers. The battery can be checked at a dealer. Lights and wipers are two key elements to guarantee good visibility. In addition, antifreeze needs to be added to windshield washer fluid.

What to keep in the car
It is wise to always have an ice-scraper and a broom to clear the car of ice or snow. For a journey in the mountain, it is recommended to have snow chains in case of heavy snow to give the grip and traction needed in these conditions.

In case people get stuck because of a traffic jam, they will appreciate having a blanket, warm clothes, food and drink, especially if they travel with kids. Gloves and flat winter shoes and gloves will be helpful if, for example, snow chains have to be put on.

Parking in winter
When parking the car at night, the hand brake should not be pulled. Otherwise, the brakes freeze to the discs. Leaving the car in gear will stop the car from rolling away. It is best to lift windshield wipers to avoid that they freeze to the windshield. An easy alternative to keep the windshield clear of frost is to cover it with a blanket or cardboard.

In case of snow and frost
To have a good visibility, it is important to scrape the ice of the windshield and to free up also the lights, mirrors and all the windows of the car. Snow should be removed from the car, including the roof. Indeed, if the car brakes heavily, snow may come down and cover the windscreen.

In case of heavy snow, it is wise to equip the car with snow chains. Chains have to be installed on the front wheels if the car is FWD and on the rear wheels if the car is RWD.

Driving in the winter
It is best to remove any big jacket that could reduce the efficiency of the seat belt. To drive on snow and ice, it is important to be smoother with all the controls, the throttle, the steering, the gears and the brakes and to be particularly cautious on bridges, in shadowy areas and in case of fog.