Winter Road Trips: What to expect, what to prepare for, and how to avoid the problems many drivers have.

Kristoffer Martin

Undergraduate/English

Oh the dreaded four letter word is almost upon us again, you know it, I know it, we all know it; snow! Ok, ok, so we Wisconsinites know snow, but that very assumption can make driving a hazard. There are hundreds of car accidents each year across the Midwest, be it a few blocks from home, or on the long road trip back home for Thanksgiving. So with that said I thought I’d give my top 10 suggestions for drivers during this winter, and that means you students out there. (Did you know one in four winter accidents are actually a college age student? National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Survey of Accidents 2004 showed that one in four accidents were with college age drivers or younger. That was out of 248 accidents from November 2004-February 2005, some 75 accidents were of college student drivers.) 

Here are my top ten tips (and then some) of what you need to do to be a safe and prepared driver during the winter, either for the long road trip or bustling about town.

10: What might seem to be the most obvious thing to do before any trip, and is often the most overlooked, is checking your car. Make sure the breaks are good, that your tires are snow rated, that you have enough coolant. Check your oil, your lights, and always try to keep at least a quarter tank of gas in the car in case of an emergency. Just treat that quarter line as the E and you’ll be good. You never know when you might have to pull over and wait on a car accident, or you yourself might get into an accident, get stuck in a ditch and so on. That extra gas can make sure you and your family stays warm while you wait for help. Also check any and all services with your car, if you have Onstar, or AARP’s Road Side assistance. Make sure they have people available for the trip in the area you plan to drive in, and of course that you’re fully up and paid for. 

9: Always keep a thermal blanket, emergency foods that do not need to be cooked (granola bars for example) and an emergency kit (first aid, flashlight, screwdriver, car jack, cat liter, tire iron, a spare tire, fold up shovel, flashers, cones, flares, a can of Fix a Flat, rope 25 feet to 50 feet, a roll of duct tape, and a gas can) in the trunk of the car. Again if you get stuck in an accident, or need to stop somewhere because of unforeseen road conditions you want to have these things available.

8: Of course the easiest thing to do is to try to prevent such an emergency, so number eight is plan around weather. Driving in clear weather, where plowing has already occurred is the safest way to ensure a clear and clean drive. Try to avoid storms at all costs and if you must drive in a storm be aware of the type or precipitation it will drop and drive accordingly to the weather. 

7: Choosing the right route: There are two sides to every choice and in the case of winter driving you have one of two choices; a main highway or freeway, or you take a back route. There are some pros and cons to each of these. With a main highway or freeway often these are already plowed and are the first to be plowed during a storm. They are faster and more direct. The downside of course is that during the winter, because of the above, they are more congested, usually skip rural towns and urban centers, and are more apt to higher speed accidents. 

Back route highways on the other hand, though they may not be the first plowed, often run through many urban centers which are rarely more than a few miles apart, have slower speeds and are not as congested. So depending on the conditions in which you must drive and how well you know the area, this can make this decision a lot easier. 

6: This brings me to understanding what route you are taking. In winter conditions knowing the route you plan to take ahead of time and having it mapped out is a very good idea. Even if you have GPS having a physical map that shows you information that the GPS doesn’t have is also a good idea. Be it if there is storm interference with the GPS or if you get into an accident and have to walk to the nearest town. This also allows you to prepare for any known detours or other problems you may encounter as online mapping services tend to keep up to date with such issues. 

5: A note about GPS: if you plan to use GPS make sure you key in the entire route and alternate routes just in case there is storm interference. Make sure to mark all of the intersections and off ramps you may encounter and make a note of where they go in case you can’t use the route you planned to use and need to take a detour (one of your own or of other origins). 

4: Set up a departure and arrival time if someone is planning to meet you, or if someone is staying home so they can call you to find out if you need help if said times are passed. 
Also, though we all carry cell phones now, and if you don’t it is a very good idea to get one, even if it’s a prepaid card cell for emergencies; one of the things no one ever considers is to keep a spare fully charged battery for their phone in the glove compartment. This is in case your phone dies, you forgot to pack your car charger, or if it’s so cold your car won’t start and your car battery is too low or run down. 

3: In the case that you are in an accident make sure your insurance is up to date.

2: Again an obvious one; drive safely, I know I’ve already said drive to the conditions, but it is still important enough for me to reiterate that there are dozens of dangers from winter road conditions that are stacked on top of the already existing hazards of driving. This means take breaks, don’t drive when you’re drowsy, try not to drive at night when visibility is low, be aware of black ice and areas it is reported in and if you don’t know how, learn how to stop and control a vehicle that is in a skid or slide. Follow the speed limit and if the conditions warrant slow down. Wear your safety belt, and avoid distractions while driving. If not wearing your seat belt and being distracted (talking on the cell, texting, etc) is dangerous in normal or even prime driving conditions, they are down right reckless in winter driving conditions. 

1: Finally my number one top tip, is don’t do long extended road trips where you are driving for hours on end. If you can avoid long trips all together, the easiest way to stay alive and avoid an accident is to not put yourself in a position where it can and will happen. But if you must or really want to, follow these tips and you will be a safe winter road tripper. 

(9 Continued: Emergency items and their uses)

I mentioned that you should have several things including flares, flashers, and emergency cones in your emergency kit, some of these things may seem awkward, like cat litter. However, these things can make your life a lot safer and help you out of a jam in a heartbeat. Cat litter, for example, can be used to give your car grip on icy and slick surfaces. If you skid out or get stuck in a ditch this can help you get your car out. A fold up shovel can be used to dig your vehicle out if you need to, and flares, flashers (bright flashing lights usually sold as a bundle or with a radio attached), and cones can make you more visible in case you need help, or if you have to change a tire. Placing the cones as far back as 30 feet behind you and encircling your vehicle with at least five feet of space on the driver side, and by placing flares on top of these cones you can make a visible and safe place to change a tire. Many of the things listed above will fit in a small box or bag that doesn’t take up much space in the trunk.