When it is snowing, more care than usual is required to avoid having an accident. Driving in winter should be avoided when the weather conditions are bad. However, if there is something that cannot be postponed and you have to make the trip, you should be prepared for what might confront you on the road.
You should take all the preliminary steps and make your car fit for the winter. You should not get on the road until the snow ploughs have had a chance to clear the snow from the road. When you do get out, you should have the necessary tools like scraper, shovel, flashlight, rope, etc with you so that you can deal with any emergency situations if they arise.Be sure to use fog lights or headlights while driving so that your own visibility can improve a little, and the other drivers are able to see you. Both the brakes and the accelerator should be pressed gently. The distance of your car from that ahead of you should be considerable and almost double than what it should be in normal conditions.When you're driving and you are not able to see the edge of the road or the snow pole, then you should preferably stop because this indicates that the visibility is not favourable enough for you to be driving.
It is not wise to overtake vehicles while it is snowing. It should not be done especially when you are on a hill or at an intersection. In poor snow conditions, you should use snow chains in order to improve the grip of the tyres on the road. This would increase your control over the car. It is always good to practice how to fix the chains yourself. This can help you a lot as you can fix the chains when needed and don't have to wait for someone to arrive and do it for you. It is always wise to carry the snow chains with you in the winter season. You can either hire snow chains or buy your own, but you should make sure that the chains are in accordance to the diameter of the tyres. You should put on the chains when you feel it is really important. However, they should be removed as soon as the conditions improve and you can drive without them.
While parking the car, the handbrake should not be applied; instead the wheels should be chocked. In addition, you should not use rocks when you park the car as this may damage the snow clearing machines. If you feel that the snow is getting worse and you are losing focus on the road, you should give yourself a break and pull the car over and wait for the weather conditions to get a little better. When you are calm again you can get back on the road.
If you get into some kind of trouble and are not capable of resolving it on your own, then you should call for help and stay where you are until help arrives.
