{"id":413,"date":"2022-12-15T10:42:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T11:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/?p=413"},"modified":"2023-10-12T09:14:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T09:14:19","slug":"driving-in-the-snow-safety-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/driving-in-the-snow-safety-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving in the Snow: Safety Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cold weather in the UK can occasionally make the roads impassable. This is a lot worse than in Scandinavia, or, say Egypt, where snow is either a fact of life or an impossibility. Intermittent extremes of cold weather mean that few of us are really prepared when the worst of it does strike \u2013 and, too often, we\u2019re caught off-guard.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at a few worthwhile safety tips that will help you to drive through the snow, many of which are taken from the Highway Code<\/a>. With the right preparation and the right frame of mind, the cold is a great deal easier to cope with.<\/p>\n

Top up the anti-freeze<\/h2>\n

Your engine\u2019s anti-freeze is there to regulate the temperature during extremes of cold or warm weather. As the name might imply, it\u2019s unlike water in that it won\u2019t freeze when the temperature drops below zero. Ideally, you\u2019ll want to shop for an anti-freeze that\u2019s friendly to animals. Certain kinds pose a lethal threat when they leak onto the road surface.<\/p>\n

Swap to winter tyres<\/h2>\n

Winter tyres are made from a special kind of rubber<\/a> which remains nice and pliant, even when the temperature is extremely low. What\u2019s more, the tread will be a little bit deeper, which will make it easier to get through deep puddles and snowdrifts. If you\u2019re anticipating deep snow, then you might even invest in snow chains.<\/p>\n

Check the battery<\/h2>\n

Batteries are prone to failure during cold weather. Check the health of yours, and if necessary fit a new one. The average car battery will tend to last for seven years, but there\u2019s considerable variation. There are steps you can take to prolong the life of your battery<\/a>, before it even starts to snow.<\/p>\n

Slow down<\/h2>\n

If it\u2019s really snowing, then driving quickly might be impossible. But it\u2019s in those marginal cases that we often get caught out. Tend on the side of caution \u2013 it\u2019s better to be late than to be involved in a collision.<\/p>\n

Plan your journey<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re going to be driving in the snow, then it pays to know exactly where you\u2019re going. Open-ended expeditions tend to invite trouble. Make sure that you leave plenty of time, and that you\u2019re up to date with local weather and flooding information.<\/p>\n

Check the wipers<\/h2>\n

Obviously, your windscreen wipers matter a great deal during winter. Make sure that they\u2019re in good working order, and shop for replacements sooner rather than later. Visibility matters when you\u2019re driving in winter.<\/p>\n

Keep an emergency kit<\/h2>\n

Despite all of the measures you\u2019ve taken, you might find that you end up stranded beside the road. This is a situation in which you\u2019ll appreciate having a small emergency kit. This should include blankets, a first-aid kit, and some energy-dense, non-perishable food. Keep it under your seat, and hope you never have to fish it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cold weather in the UK can occasionally make the roads impassable. This is a lot worse than in Scandinavia, or, say Egypt, where snow is either a fact of life or an impossibility. Intermittent extremes of cold weather mean that few of us are really prepared when the worst of it does strike \u2013 and, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":414,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions\/414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vitalitywellness.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}