Driving tips on how to stay on the road during icy weather

AFTER a brief respite, the snow and ice returned this week with a vengeance. Tomorrow millions of us will have to cope with driving in less than ideal conditions as we visit relatives for Christmas.

But the bad weather brings with it a question: just how prepared are we in this country? And today is the last chance to prepare your vehicle ahead of the big day.

During the cold snap earlier in the month, there were encouraging signs that we may have learned from last year’s appalling winter. Despite temperatures plummeting to their lowest since 1896, the main arterial roads around York were kept surprisingly clear.

That was down to gritter teams who did a sterling job. Those who live in side streets might not be so impressed, but compared with last December, York has coped well.

But what if you live away from the gritting routes or in a village? Edward Marshall has been a driving instructor for nearly ten years and recently passed the toughest driving test available, the RoSPA Advanced Test, based on the way police drivers are trained.

Edward’s firm, JEM Driver Training, provides specialist courses to fleet operators, so who better to ask for tips on coping with snowy and icy roads?

And he says the answer isn’t to buy a 4x4.

“I think it’s a myth. As long as you have tyres with enough grip, even summer tyres, they will work on snow. Front wheel drive cars are better in this weather because you’ve got weight over the wheels. With rear wheel drives there’s nothing, so I would advise people to fill the boot with bags of rock salt. It adds weight which gives traction, and if you get stuck it will get you out of trouble.”

Then there is the debate over winter tyres. They are mandatory in some European countries and Austrian law deals severely with drivers who fail to fit them. Vehicles can be impounded and insurance is deemed void if a car involved in an accident is not fitted with winter tyres.

Here there is no legislation and precious little in the way of advice. Even the Highway Code does not mention winter tyres.

“They do have advantages in snow and have a chunkier pattern which gives more grip. Their optimum temperature is below 7°C, where the tread remains supple. But they do have limitations, such as on hills. Winter tyres provide more traction than ordinary summer tyres, but you really need snow chains which provide better grip on ice.”

The trouble is, our winters are fickle. In continental Europe, snow hangs around and becomes impacted, which is ideal for winter tyres.

So what should we do? Well, new tyres with maximum tread would be a good place to start. While it is tempting during cold weather to ignore routine checks such as oil levels and tyre condition, but that is precisely when you need to do it.

“Tyres are one of the most important things to change for winter. A new set will cost around £250 but it’s hard to think people are prepared to spend that much on Christmas dinner but won’t invest in new tyres.

“It could be the best present you ever buy your family. How could you live with your conscious knowing they’ve had a lovely Christmas but you’ve just killed them in a car accident for the sake of £250?”

The trouble is, many of us still adhere to the letter of the law and are perfectly happy to risk driving on snow with a mere 1.6mm tread. No wonder the side roads are full of wheel-spinning cars.

“I don’t run tyres with less than 3mm. Continental did a test on two cars, both doing 70 mph. When the car with 3mm tread stopped, the one on 1.6mm was still doing 50mph.”

This is because the main function of the tread pattern is to evacuate water and as the depth decreases, it gradually loses that ability. A tyre with only 1.6mm tread takes an extra 60 per cent stopping distance over a new tyre and also increases the risk of aquaplaning.

Maybe years of mild winters is the reason for our apparent complacency. Even with well shod cars, we still seem to grind to a standstill as soon as the snow falls. So our best hope is to improve the way we drive.

“Attitude is the biggest thing to change. You should assess the way you drive and ask would you be happy if someone else did what you are about to do? I think the standard of driving is appalling and it’s down to a lack of respect. Good drivers learn from experience through making mistakes, whereas poor drivers learn from the experience that they have got away with it and it doesn’t matter.”

Department for Transport figures show that 94.5 per cent of accidents are caused by driver error. One of our biggest faults is that we don’t take time to get to know how our cars work – especially in wintry weather.

Edward says we should regularly practise our skid technique and learn how long it takes to stop in dry and wet conditions.

One of the biggest problems is pulling away. Wheels spin and an already stuck car becomes even more so. Edwards’s advice is to use an appropriate gear, possibly second or even third, but the main thing is to keep the revs down.

“It all comes down to how you handle the clutch. Use less power and deliver it from the engine moderately as momentum picks up. The more delicate you are with the clutch, the more traction you will get. And modern cars will move away without any accelerator, especially diesels.”

Once you are on the move, in ice and snow, use as high a gear as you can without the car feeling uncomfortable; if you do skid, the main thing to remember is to remove the cause. Take your foot off the brake and accelerator and point the car in the direction you want to go, not where it wants to go.

In icy conditions only brake on a straight piece of road, never on a bend.

Ice brings its own problems. You can have the most adhesive of tyres, but when the road has no purchase, technique and anticipation are even more crucial. Brakes don’t work on ice and even if your vehicle has ABS, it will not give you the same control; so don’t rely on it “You have to expect ice. The road temperature is often two to three degrees colder than the air temperature. And even if the roads look fine, they might not be. The thing is, salt needs traffic movement to make it effective and at -15 it doesn’t work anyway. On minor roads, look ahead for shaded areas where the sun won’t have had an effect and late at night you really have to concentrate – and slow down. It might take 15 minutes longer to get home, but at least you’ll get there.”

Other advice is to double or even triple your normal stopping distance from the vehicle in front and use your engine, not brakes, to slow down and stop. On downhill slopes get your speed low before you start the descent, and don’t let it build up – it’s much easier than trying to slow down once things get slippery.

But driving at 20mph on a straight road is a different matter. It leads to impatience from drivers stuck behind.

“The police say driving too slowly causes accidents because people behind get fed up of waiting and then try to make one of the most dangerous manoeuvres in driving and that’s overtaking. So they move out into the centre, where the grit hasn’t worked, and as soon as the car hits that icy patch, the driver loses traction and loses control.

“The trouble is, most people don’t realise a car is like a loaded gun; it can be a lethal weapon. People feel safe in their little bubble, but especially in wintry weather, they have to think about what they are doing and the consequences their actions are going to create.

Because accidents involve other people as well and regret must be an awful thing to live with.”

• You can watch video footage of Continental’s braking test on Edwards’s website: jemdrivertraining.co.uk

Being ready for a white-out Christmas

• Make sure your windscreen wipers are in good condition and you regularly clean the inside of the windscreen.

• Top up your windscreen washer fluid with suitable anti-freeze screen wash at the right concentration to prevent it freezing.

• Ensure wipers are switched off when you start the ignition. If they freeze in the on position you risk blowing the fuse.

• Check your tyres thoroughly. The legal minimum for tyre tread in the UK is 1.6mm, but, for optimum safety, change them if the depth is less than 3mm. And having your tyres inflated to the correct pressure is critical. For every 5°C the temperature falls, a tyre will lose about 1 psi of air pressure.

• In winter, car batteries run down more quickly than in warmer weather. Make sure you do a regular long journey to top it up, otherwise trickle-charge the battery.

• Keep your fuel tank topped up. If you are caught out, you’ll have enough fuel to make it home or run the engine to keep warm.

• Check all lights.

• Pack an emergency kit in the boot. The Institute of Advanced Motorists recommends a warm coat and a high visibility jacket, some food and water, a good pair of boots, de-icer and scraper, a torch, a spade and a mobile phone with a well-charged battery. It’s also a good idea to programme your breakdown provider’s emergency number, and your own customer reference number into your phone.

• Make sure you keep enough of your regular, essential medications in the car should you get delayed.

• If you get stuck, stay inside or close to your car. In heavy snow it is easy to become disorientated and separated from your vehicle. Hang a piece of brightly coloured cloth on your car to let others know you are there.

• Finally, keep cat litter in your boot. It will give your tyres something to grip as you pull away on icy roads.