How a Super-Safe Driver Makes it Super-Safely Through Very, Very Bad Winter Weather

Special from Bottom Line/Personal

Winter rain, snow and ice can cause even good drivers to make dumb mistakes. Even the most cautious drivers panic when their vehicles slide out of control.

I've taught hundreds of good drivers how to be great drivers in the worst road and weather conditions. Best self-defense techniques...

BETTER BRAKING

Use heel-to-toe pivot. It's the most efficient way to move your foot between the brake and gas.

How it works: Keep your right heel on the floor... swivel it as you switch the top half of your foot between pedals. You can move your foot twice as fast this way as you can by lifting your leg and foot each time you change pedals.

If you wear boots while driving in the winter, be sure the heel is no higher than on regular shoes. Or remove boots in the car, and slip on flat shoes or sneakers.

Learn your car's brake threshold. This is the point at which you can apply brakes hardest before they lock up. When brakes lock up, wheels lose traction and the car skids.

If you don't have antilock brakes: Drive to an empty parking lot. Accelerate to 40 miles per hour. Engage the brakes with varying pressure to see how well you can control the car. Repeat at different speeds and on different surfaces.

Avoid jamming down the brake and releasing it completely when you feel the wheels lock up -- commonly known as pump braking. You'll only be using half of your car's braking potential. Pump braking pulls the car's weight away from front tires -- causing loss of traction for steering.

Better: Apply more constant pressure to the brakes. Press the brakes until the car starts to skid. Then ease up slightly. This will keep the front tires in contact with the road.

If you have antilock brakes: Push the pedal down firmly with your foot until it stops, and hold it there. The antilock mechanism applies constant pressure-and-release automatically and in a fast, efficient way.

Antilock brakes need a longer braking distance to stop. They are designed to keep the front wheels rolling so that you can continue to steer.

CAREFUL CORNERING

Decelerate and brake before a turn. Braking hard while your wheels are on a curve greatly increases your chance of a spinout. Let the momentum of the car carry you through the turn. Lightly squeeze the brake pedal. Take the widest possible turn in the road if there aren't any other cars next to you.

Example: On a bend that hooks to the right, enter the turn on the far left of your lane. Then move across the middle to the far right of your lane as the curve straightens out. This angle will reduce the weight shift of the vehicle.

Don't accelerate until the car's front tires are pointed straight again in the direction you want to go.

"Shuffle" your hands along the steering wheel as you turn -- rather than using the hand-over-hand method. Taking your hands off the wheel crosses up your arms and makes it easier to lose your grip. Shuffle steering is performed with both hands on the wheel. Your physical size will determine your hand placement at positions of 10:00 and 2:00... 9:00 and 3:00... or 6:00 and 4:00.

These hand positions on the wheel also are safer should your airbag go off. Your hands are less likely to be thrown directly into your face.

Inflate tires four pounds above your carmaker's recommended level. Your car manufacturer's recommended tire pressure will give you a smooth, comfortable ride -- but slightly overinflated tires in winter will stiffen up the sidewalls, maximizing the amount of tread on the road and providing much better control in turns.

Your vehicle's tire pressure information is in your owner's manual... on the sticker inside the glove-compartment door... or on the portion of the chassis that holds the driver's side door.

Look beyond the car in front of you. When driving, it's natural to focus on the rear bumper of the car ahead of you. But if there's a problem on the road ahead of that driver, you won't react until the driver in front of you does.

By training yourself to constantly scan as far ahead as possible, you can anticipate obstacles and other drivers' reactions.

USING YOUR EYES

Position the rearview mirror so it reflects the entire rear window. Now turn your head and look at the left sideview mirror. Maneuver it until you can no longer see the side of your car. Repeat for the right sideview mirror.

This shrinks the blind spot so you should only have to turn your head as far as your shoulders to see a car passing on either side.

Swing your gaze left and right to find safer options if you are skidding toward an object. Many people get into accidents because their natural reaction is to look at the object they are about to hit.

To avoid or get out of a skid: Lift off the brake slightly to allow the front wheels to roll, which will enable you to steer the vehicle where you are looking.

BAD-WEATHER MOVES

If you hit an area of the road that has collected water and ice and you feel your car's wheels losing contact with the road, remove your foot from the gas to slow down the car. Keep the wheels pointed straight, and resist the urge to brake hard. If you turn your wheels, you risk losing even more traction.

At lights, stop while you can still see the rear tire of the car in front of you. Most people stop when the car's bumper in front of them disappears from view. But if you're hit from behind on a wet or icy surface, you could hit the car in front of you.