Last time I gave you tips on how to drive in the snow but did you know that there are some very common mistakes people make when driving in the snow! Here are the top 5!

5) Do you think your 4 Wheel Drive Makes You Invincible
While vehicles with four-wheel drive typically do perform better in snowy and icy driving conditions, the technology can backfire by giving drivers a false sense of safety.
Four-wheel drive is used to send the specific amount of needed torque to each of your car’s four tires to give it added traction to move forward through snowy roads. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can race down the road at top speed in the snow and bring yourself to a quick stop. Four-wheel or all-wheel drive isn’t going to give you the traction you need to brake. It can help you get through some difficult conditions, but it doesn’t make you Super SUV.

4) Are You Prepared?
Most drivers are caught off guard when the first snow of the season hits. The most dangerous day to be on the roads is the day after the first snow. Most drivers haven’t winterized their cars yet. You should have a winter kit in your car with a small shovel, kitty litter (not clumping)/sand, an ice scraper, flashlight and flares. To get your car ready winter, check that each of your tires has at least a 6/32-inch (4.8-millimeter) deep tread. All-weather tires can handle most driving conditions, but if you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you should consider purchasing snow tires. Check your antifreeze levels and battery power and make sure that your defroster and rear window defogger work.

3) Tailgating!
Many people inexperienced with driving in the snow make a bad habit out of tailing the vehicle in front of them too closely. Like driving too fast, this lessens your reaction time if there’s a problem with the vehicle ahead of you and you need to slow down suddenly.

It’s recommended that you double (or if you want to be really cautious — triple) your normal distance between cars, giving yourself a minimum braking distance of six seconds. Put another way, for every 10 mph (16 kph) you’re traveling, you should give yourself four car lengths of space. So if you’re traveling at 30 mph (48 kph), you should have 12 car lengths between you and the vehicle ahead of you.

You should also be looking ahead for stoplights, stop signs and curves in the road so you can give yourself adequate time to brake or steer around them.

2) Slamming On The Brakes!
When you feel your tires start to slip, it’s easy to panic and slam on the brakes. Don’t do it — this removes traction from your tires, taking away your ability to control your vehicle.

Once you’ve lost traction and your wheels are locked up, slamming your brakes won’t change the situation. What you should do when you feel yourself begin to skid is ease off the accelerator and let the car slow down on its own. A moving tire means that there is still some traction, which is what you need to steer yourself out of a collision.

If braking is required and your vehicle comes with an ABS, brake with steady, even pressure. If your car doesn’t have ABS, then you should pump the brakes by quickly braking again and again.

1) Speeding!
I mean do I even really need to go into detail on why this isn’t a good idea….

Well there you have it friends don’t do these 5 things and you are ahead of the game. Until next time, DRIVE SAFE!!!