Winter Driving Tips Redux
December 06, 2012
Photo: iStockphoto
It's beginning to look a lot like…winter driving tip season!
Before starting my post on winter driving tips, I thought I should take a quick trip down snowy memory lane here on PumpTalk and share a few of our greatest winter driving hits with you.
Winter tires. If you live in a place where the temperature is consistently below 7 Celsius for much of the season, it's time for the winter tires. This post gives more specifics about why you should switch to winter tires and offers some expert winter tire advice from tire expert John Mahler.
Seven is the lucky number for winter tires. When the average temperature is 7 Celsius for the day, winter tires have the same traction as summer tires. As the temperature continues to drop, winter tires begin to increase in traction versus summer tires. Read more>>
WinterGas - How Petro-Canada Prepares for Winter
Some wait for the Bensons next door to put their giant inflatable Santa on the lawn to get into the holiday spirit. But for me, I know the holiday countdown has begun when Petro-Canada starts offering WinterGas! This post offers a little bit more info on why we offer WinterGas and how it can benefit your vehicle in cold weather.
WinterGas is specially designed specifically for the Canadian winter months and is available in all grades of gasoline in the winter months. It has three main differences versus the fuel we use during the spring, summer and fall months. Read more>>
Getting Out of the Groove: Winter Driving Tips
Sliding into the ditch on an icy road is never fun. This post contains our top tips for getting your vehicle safely back on the road, starting with:
Prepare ahead of time. Make sure that your emergency car supplies include a bag of sand or cat litter (very helpful for traction) and a collapsible shovel. Read more>>
How Modern Car Technology Makes These Old School Driving Tips Obsolete
Growing up in Alberta, I was no stranger to cold weather driving. But after doing some research into the latest car technology, I found that most of my old school winter car care techniques were no longer de rigueur. This post outlines some outdated cold weather driving techniques, including:
The car doesn't take 15 minutes to "warm up". I remember back in the day when all the neighborhood dads would go start their cars and then go back in the house for breakfast. It was a real smog fest out there. These days, engines are designed to heat up far more quickly - and letting them idle for too long can actually damage the engine. Letting the car run for up to a minute is generally sufficient - maybe up to 4 or 5 minutes in extreme temperatures (which will give you just enough time to clear any snow or ice off your vehicle). Read more>>
Staying safe on the road is a priority no matter the season - but winter conditions do add an extra element of danger to your daily commute. Get those winter tires on and be careful out there!
- Rose R.
Winter Driving ~ Common Sense ~ Plain and Simple.
Whether it be winter, summer, spring or fall ~ driving conditions in our province can change in a split second. I've seen more hail on the highways in July than snow in December/January.
Be smart ~ drive safe ~ whatever the conditions.
Posted by: Cathy Vitale | December 06, 2012 at 04:30 PM