Tips for driving in wintry weather

With a wintry mix actively falling through West Tennessee, we have some tips to keep you safe on the road.

TDOT and AAA have driving tips for you to take with you the next time you’re faced with driving on ice.

While driving on icy roadways, it’s much more difficult to command your vehicle no matter whether it’s a car, truck, van, or S.U.V.

“Bridges and your overpasses are the first surfaces that will freeze, so that is the concentration that we’re trying to make sure that we do a good pretreatment,” said Nichole Lawerence, TDOT spokesperson.

The first tip on triple AAA’s list is to stay home. Even if you are experienced driving on icy roads, that doesn’t mean everyone around you will be experienced.

Drive slowly, and gently accelerate and decelerate. This is the easiest way to keep some traction on icy spots.

This one may sound counter-intuitive, but try to avoid stopping. It is much harder to get a fully stopped vehicle moving on ice.

If you’re approaching a traffic light, try to maintain a very slow roll to retain some traction. Don’t step on the gas on uphill slopes. Spinning the wheels will cause your vehicle to slide back down the hill. Instead, gain some speed on the approach to the hill and let that carry your vehicle up the hill.

Once you crest the hill, reduce your speed and descend carefully. The last tip also involves hilly roadways. Do not stop on a hill.

This will cause you to slide backwards and make it very difficult to get going again without causing a significant delay.

“Be careful, plan ahead, if you can leave a little earlier or a little later, make those arrangements with your destination whether it’s a place of work, school, appointments and just give yourself plenty of time,” said Lawerence.

You can also get roadway information from TDOT Smartway by calling 5-1-1.

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