Driving Lessons - Driving in Snowy Conditions

There are many different and challenging weather conditions you will find yourself having to negotiate on our roads. These could be fog, heavy rain, high winds, bright sunlight, ice and of course snow.

It seems like an apt time to think about driving in snow considering the current conditions and the weather forecast for the next week. If you are learning at the moment, rather than an annoyance it should be seen as an opportunity to practice whilst you have your instructor next to you explaining what you need to do.

The best thing to do of course when theres snow is to leave your car behind until the conditions improve, but this can be easier said than done. One would like to be able to rely on public transport at these times but as we all know they are incredibly expensive and far more unreliable than you would hope.

Before setting out your first task is to make sure your car is clear of snow. Many people will leave their homes with cars still almost completely covered with the exception of the windscreen. This is okay when you just have frost on your car but remember snow can move! Once the snow starts to melt on your car, when you brake for any reason at all, all the snow from the roof of your car will come sliding forwards to cover your windscreen which is obviously very dangerous! You would have to stop completely – even if you were only initially needing to slow down a little – as you wouldnt be able to see ahead. Remember the vehicle behind will be on ice or snow too, they could be driving too close as most people unfortunately do, and they would not be expecting you to stop so could end up hitting you up the back. All this because you didnt take a few minutes to clear your car properly.

So once your car is clear of snow you are ready to go. You must move off slowly, even using 2nd gear initially to ensure your wheels dont spin. Have you ever heard of the 2 Second Gap you need to give when driving behind vehicles on the road in normal conditions? Well in the snow this needs to be more like 10 Seconds or indeed more. This is because when braking your car will take much much longer to stop, so you need to give yourself plenty of time to react to situations.

You also need to go much slower when cornering as the grip on the road will be far reduced and you can easily find yourself careering towards other road users or lampposts etc – embarrassing if nothing else!

Generally you have to just go very slow and never try and push the boundaries. Better to get somewhere late than not at all of course… And if there is any doubt in your mind at all that you will even be able to make it, then dont even try.