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- Select 2nd gear when pulling away, easing your foot off the clutch to avoid wheel-spin.
- When driving downhill, choose 3rd or 4th gear to prevent skidding.
- Brake gently, get into a low gear earlier than normal and allow the speed of the vehicle to fall gradually, this should reduce the risk of locking your wheels.
- If your vehicle starts to skid, don’t stamp on the brakes. If you have to, apply them gently, release them then depress the clutch. Try to steer into the direction of the skid, turn with steady rather than jerky movements and when the vehicle straightens up continue carefully in that direction.
- If your vehicle gets stuck in a snowdrift or rut straighten the steering and clear the snow from the wheels. Try moving slowly backward and forwards using the highest gear you can. If this fails put a sack or an old rug in front of the driving wheels to give the tyres some grip.
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- Keep a safe distance behind gritting vehicles, the rate of spread is very powerful and will cover all lanes of motorways and trunk roads. You should not attempt to overtake.
- Be wary of black-ice, it can linger on the road in the shadows cast by buildings and trees on an otherwise sunny day. Take corners very slowly and steer gently, ease off the accelerator and be delicate with your steering movements.
- Stopping distances are 10 times longer in icy/slippery conditions. Braking on an icy corner will probably mean you will go straight on!
- Reduce your driving speed but try and keep it constant to reduce skidding.
- Allow at least a 10 second gap between you and the vehicle in front.
- Drive carefully even if the roads have been treated, as the road surface could still be slippery.
- When driving cars with automatic gear boxes in slippery/snowy conditions it is very advisable and safer to select 2nd gear which limits the gear changes and makes you less reliant on the brakes. In many modern auto boxes there is a ‘winter’ mode which locks out 1st gear to reduce the risk of wheel spin.
- If you find yourself in a position where you feel leaving your car is the only option, make sure your vehicle can be seen by other vehicles. Try to avoid blocking the road, as gritters/snow ploughs or emergency vehicles may need to pass.
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