It’s that time of year. Leaves are shrivelling, animals are going into hibernation but people carry on regardless of the conditions.  The low temperatures affect everything about your daily commute, the roads are more icy, dangerous and possibly more life threatening. No matter how safely you drive, you are always at risk. I will be showing about how the weather, affects you and the precautions you can take to keep safe this winter.  

The facts.

The icy conditions that have been experienced recently are extremely dangerous for the rural areas around London. Icy roads are proven to be more dangerous than wet or even snowy roads. The average braking distance of a car is over twice as long on icy roads than on snowy roads at 30mph, and the braking distance for 50mph is nearly eight times as much on ice than on normal roads. The accident rate increases by 30% on icy roads compared to dry or wet roads.

The main reason for the major increase in accident rate is because of the way the ice blends into the roads of the UK. The roads may seem perfectly normal, dry almost. However, the ice is lurking over the tarmac like a sheet of oil. Black ice is a type of ice that is extremely slippery and as described, it is black, which perfectly blends in with the roads. Making it extremely hard to judge the conditions until you either brake or steer, at which point you will go ploughing onwards into a hedge, lamppost or car in front.

How to protect yourselves from the hidden dangers.

Even though there’s no way to make your car grip on icy roads like dry roads. There are ways to protect yourself and be the safest possible this winter. Advances in Technology and research in recent years have made driving in winter conditions much more effective than in previous years.

Install winter tires: winter tires are a type of tire with a softer rubber and deeper grooves than all weather tires, the softer rubber allows the car to grip the road better and allows the car to stop more efficiently.

Reduce your speed: reducing your speed will protect you in a dangerous situation, your vehicle will stop in a 50% shorter distance, which is possibly a life saver.

Check the temperature: if the outside temperature is less than 0 degrees and if it has Recently rained. It is highly likely that there’s black ice on the roads. So be careful!

Keep all of the cars safety systems on: newer cars have many systems to keep you safe in dangerous conditions e.g. Traction control, ABS and ESP. Make sure that all the safety systems are  switched on. These are lifesaving safety systems designed to keep you safe in the winter months.

Winter is a dangerous season for motorists. However, using the methods above will help you stay as safe as possible in the icy conditions. Remember, the best way of keeping safe on the roads, is to drive slowly and carefully, scanning the road further ahead to see if you can plan a controlled stop before disaster occurs.