**Winter Driving Tips: Essential Knowledge for Staying Safe**

As the winter months approach, many drivers feel unprepared to tackle the icy roads and slippery tracks that come with them. However, by understanding the importance of proper driving techniques and following some simple tips, you can significantly reduce your risk of getting involved in an accident.

**The Importance of a Good Driving Position**

To start with, it's essential to get into a laid-back driving position, which is conducive to steering quickly. This means adjusting the seat so that you're not slouching or leaning forward, as this will impede your ability to steer efficiently. As you can see from our demonstration today, having a good driving position allows for smoother and more accurate steering.

**Braking Techniques: Looking Ahead and Planning**

One of the most critical aspects of winter driving is braking techniques. To start with, always keep your eyes on the horizon and plan your braking well in advance. It's essential to look where you want to go, not where the car is taking you, as this will help you steer more accurately and avoid any unexpected turns. Additionally, make sure to brake smoothly and gradually, rather than slamming on the brakes.

**Following Distances: A Crucial Factor in Winter Driving**

In winter driving, it's essential to maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you. This is because stopping distances are significantly longer when driving on icy roads, and underestimating this can have serious consequences. As a general rule, it's recommended to double your usual following distance in wet or snowy conditions. For example, if you normally follow a car by 2 seconds, you should increase this to 4 seconds or more.

**The Importance of Smooth Throttle Control**

Another crucial aspect of winter driving is smooth throttle control. When driving on icy roads, it's essential to avoid overwhelming the front tires with too much power. Instead, use gentle and smooth acceleration, allowing the car to gain momentum gradually. This will help you maintain traction and avoid losing control.

**The Art of Steer-Brake-Throttle Balance**

Maintaining a perfect balance between steering inputs, braking influence, and throttle is critical in winter driving. When driving on icy roads, it's essential to recognize when your tires are starting to lose traction and adjust your inputs accordingly. If you feel the car start to slide, don't panic – instead, take your foot off the gas, turn into the slide, and let the car recover on its own.

**Practicing Winter Driving in a Safe Environment**

Finally, it's essential to practice winter driving in a safe environment before hitting the roads. This could be as simple as practicing steering inputs, braking techniques, and throttle control in an empty parking lot or a designated winter driving course. By getting comfortable with these skills, you'll be better equipped to handle any situation that arises on the road.

**Tips for Drivers Who Get Stuck**

If you do find yourself stuck in snow or ice, there are a few general tips that can help. First and foremost, stay calm – panicking will only increase your risk of accident. Next, try to get as much traction as possible by gently rocking the car back and forth. If you're unable to move, consider turning on your hazard lights and waiting for assistance. And finally, never attempt to drive out of a snowbank or ice-covered area if you're not confident in your abilities.

**Conclusion**

Winter driving requires a unique set of skills and techniques that can be learned with practice and patience. By following these tips and practicing winter driving in a safe environment, you'll be better equipped to handle the challenges of icy roads and stay safe on the road. Remember to always look where you want to go, brake smoothly and gradually, and maintain a safe following distance from other vehicles. With time and practice, you'll become a confident and skilled winter driver.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys Christian here for Digital Trends and we're up here and very cold and snowy Lakeville Connecticut right up here at the very famous Lime Rock Raceway Park and we're here with Chevrolet testing the all-new 2018 Equinox diesel and we're not exactly here however just to find out how the equinox easel is but we're also up here to get a nice little crash course not literally on how to drive in the winter chances are at this time of year and if you're on the road you've experienced this kind of icy snowy not so great driving conditions and we're gonna agree with pretty much you viewers out there that it is not very easy to drive in these kind of conditions so chevrolet invited us all the way out here just so we could give you viewers a few good tips on how to drive safely in a winter this year so let's go check it out so John what can you tell me as we're going around this pretty slippery track here as I'm trying to keep it alive some really important tips that drivers should know when tackling winter driving well let's start with a driving position to start with the laid-back driving position is not conducive to steering quickly so let's go ahead get the seat adjusted up we're not cruising for chicks right now or driving at perform a situation here as you can tell you're breakings lessons certainly when you're turning so you try to do most of your braking while you're in a straight line before you have to have the car slowed down then as you add steering we're releasing some brake pressure we always want to keep our eyes ahead where we want to go not where the car is taking us that's gonna make your hands much more accurate because as soon as you look off the road where the car is taking it we end up having our hands take us in that direction so we always want to look where we want to go and plan your braking well in advance and of course you know given that we are on a closed course right now a lot of what we're doing you know can and also cannot apply to the road like for instance you wouldn't want to see our traffic distances for the people we're just in this region here but normally you'd want to keep your following distances from the car in front of you but no more than three I would say double what you're used to in the dry because you'd be surprised if you have to stop quickly how much distance gets taken up surprisingly fast so I've doubled the following business at least so it seems like also to an important tip when winter driving is to be very very clear weary excuse me of your basically all of your influences your steering inputs your braking influence and your throttle but it's like for instance as we're viewers can see right now but the person in front of us is applying though this seems like too much brake at the wrong time yep they didn't do it enough braking while going straight and then release the brake while turning and I think I think that's also something that a lot of you know normal drivers don't understand is that you know they think that you're just breaking in a turn and that's not really the way you're supposed to do things you always want to brake it really well miss a tire you take something if you use some braking while you're turning you're taking away the tires ability to turn and you're also asking the tires to do more than that same thing applies the throttle if you've got a bunch of steering in and you kick the throttle in you're gonna overwhelm the front tire in this case could be all for a minute Carl start to slide off until you hear the stability control kick on and it cuts power ya the biggest one to remember is braking braking distances brake earlier than you think you need to and don't jam on any of the inputs don't jam on the brakes on Jam the steering cranking a bunch of steering don't jam on the throttle everything's smooth with the one exception of if the car does start to slide you may have to move the steering wheel quickly in the right direction can't be super slow with the steering sometimes because you can't catch the slide would you recommend viewers as a good way to practice getting more comfortable with an automobile you know for winter driving of course you know yeah is there's the option of professional courses and training which would be the best scenario obviously something like this is great the first time you get into a skid should not be on a public road having just read how to get out of it in a book the driver's ed course or something like that you should definitely get some practical experience trying and getting a feel for it in your own vehicle your own vehicle just to get a better idea of what it's like as any other very important tips you have for drivers just say on the road for how to handle you know winter driving sages they get stuck in it and you know someone but I'm really travel and going winter plan say thank you do get stuck in it wants them just good general advice tips would you sit I think we've covered the most important ones which is your following distances looking where you want to go and braking earlier than necessary gently and then keeping a little momentum in certain areas where you need to get through deeper snow or a hill or something like that just hearing a little momentum up that and then just get some practice in it like I said some good good safe environments to go get a little practice in it and get a feel for already drove well I really appreciate you taking the several minutes to give us get me and our viewers a good idea of what in the winter and hopefully this video provided some good ideas and some good tips as to how to keep yourself safe on the road during the inclement open to weather so since I dumped in Johnny job thank youwhat's up guys Christian here for Digital Trends and we're up here and very cold and snowy Lakeville Connecticut right up here at the very famous Lime Rock Raceway Park and we're here with Chevrolet testing the all-new 2018 Equinox diesel and we're not exactly here however just to find out how the equinox easel is but we're also up here to get a nice little crash course not literally on how to drive in the winter chances are at this time of year and if you're on the road you've experienced this kind of icy snowy not so great driving conditions and we're gonna agree with pretty much you viewers out there that it is not very easy to drive in these kind of conditions so chevrolet invited us all the way out here just so we could give you viewers a few good tips on how to drive safely in a winter this year so let's go check it out so John what can you tell me as we're going around this pretty slippery track here as I'm trying to keep it alive some really important tips that drivers should know when tackling winter driving well let's start with a driving position to start with the laid-back driving position is not conducive to steering quickly so let's go ahead get the seat adjusted up we're not cruising for chicks right now or driving at perform a situation here as you can tell you're breakings lessons certainly when you're turning so you try to do most of your braking while you're in a straight line before you have to have the car slowed down then as you add steering we're releasing some brake pressure we always want to keep our eyes ahead where we want to go not where the car is taking us that's gonna make your hands much more accurate because as soon as you look off the road where the car is taking it we end up having our hands take us in that direction so we always want to look where we want to go and plan your braking well in advance and of course you know given that we are on a closed course right now a lot of what we're doing you know can and also cannot apply to the road like for instance you wouldn't want to see our traffic distances for the people we're just in this region here but normally you'd want to keep your following distances from the car in front of you but no more than three I would say double what you're used to in the dry because you'd be surprised if you have to stop quickly how much distance gets taken up surprisingly fast so I've doubled the following business at least so it seems like also to an important tip when winter driving is to be very very clear weary excuse me of your basically all of your influences your steering inputs your braking influence and your throttle but it's like for instance as we're viewers can see right now but the person in front of us is applying though this seems like too much brake at the wrong time yep they didn't do it enough braking while going straight and then release the brake while turning and I think I think that's also something that a lot of you know normal drivers don't understand is that you know they think that you're just breaking in a turn and that's not really the way you're supposed to do things you always want to brake it really well miss a tire you take something if you use some braking while you're turning you're taking away the tires ability to turn and you're also asking the tires to do more than that same thing applies the throttle if you've got a bunch of steering in and you kick the throttle in you're gonna overwhelm the front tire in this case could be all for a minute Carl start to slide off until you hear the stability control kick on and it cuts power ya the biggest one to remember is braking braking distances brake earlier than you think you need to and don't jam on any of the inputs don't jam on the brakes on Jam the steering cranking a bunch of steering don't jam on the throttle everything's smooth with the one exception of if the car does start to slide you may have to move the steering wheel quickly in the right direction can't be super slow with the steering sometimes because you can't catch the slide would you recommend viewers as a good way to practice getting more comfortable with an automobile you know for winter driving of course you know yeah is there's the option of professional courses and training which would be the best scenario obviously something like this is great the first time you get into a skid should not be on a public road having just read how to get out of it in a book the driver's ed course or something like that you should definitely get some practical experience trying and getting a feel for it in your own vehicle your own vehicle just to get a better idea of what it's like as any other very important tips you have for drivers just say on the road for how to handle you know winter driving sages they get stuck in it and you know someone but I'm really travel and going winter plan say thank you do get stuck in it wants them just good general advice tips would you sit I think we've covered the most important ones which is your following distances looking where you want to go and braking earlier than necessary gently and then keeping a little momentum in certain areas where you need to get through deeper snow or a hill or something like that just hearing a little momentum up that and then just get some practice in it like I said some good good safe environments to go get a little practice in it and get a feel for already drove well I really appreciate you taking the several minutes to give us get me and our viewers a good idea of what in the winter and hopefully this video provided some good ideas and some good tips as to how to keep yourself safe on the road during the inclement open to weather so since I dumped in Johnny job thank you\n"