Winter Driving
Winter driving is challenging - buckle up, phone down, slow down! Find more winter driving tips below.1
Check your vehicle
- Get a winter maintenance check-up: battery, belts, hoses, radiator, oil, lights, brakes, exhaust, heater, wipers, ignition.
- Use 4 matching winter tires for traction.
- Keep an ice scraper in your vehicle.
- Keep washer fluid effective to -40˚C in your vehicle. Keep extra washer fluid in your trunk.
- Keep your fuel tank at least half full.
- Clean all the snow off your vehicle before you drive.
Plan ahead
- Keep an emergency car kit in your vehicle.
- Have emergency supplies with you (charged cell phone, non-perishable food, water, flashlight, blanket, warm clothes, jumper cables, shovel and traction mats or sand, candles, lighter/matches).
- Practice winter driving skills before you need them.
Buckle Up, Phone Down, Slow Down
- Fasten your seatbelt.
- Turn off your phone, focus on the road ahead.
- Drive according to weather conditions.
- Steer gently on curves and in slippery conditions. Hard braking, quick acceleration and abrupt gear changes can the car to skid.
- Avoid cruse control on wet, snow or icy pavement.
Share the Road
- Keep extra space between vehicles.
- Yield to pedestrians and cyclists.
- Give snow plows space – never pass a plow.
Obey Road Closures
Winter Tires
- Winter tires improve traction and control in frost, snow and icy conditions.
- All-season tires begin to lose their grip below +7°C and are not as effective in heavy snow and on ice.
Videos
Test Your Knowledge
Take the Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) winter driving and winter tire quizzes below.
Copyright
Information adapted from: Winter Driving - Be Prepared, Be Safe! Retrieved from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. ©Queens Printer for Ontario, 2018.
Date of creation: January 31, 2013
Last modified on: January 10, 2019
