Media post: Visiting Philadelphia? Follow These Safe Winter Driving Tips

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Winter is a great time to be with your family and friends. Everything from the holidays to the snow brings people together. As such, it is natural that you may want to hit the road to have some fun. Unfortunately, winter weather can be pretty treacherous.

Icy roads, snow drifts, and poor visibility all gang up to make driving challenging. It is especially the case in Philadelphia, a city with four of the ten deadliest roads in Pennsylvania. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of winter driving tips for you. 

Following these tips can minimize the risk of being involved in an accident and make your winter travels a lot more enjoyable.

1. Get Your Car Checked Before Winter

This is one of the essential winter driving tips. You want to ensure your car is in good condition before winter weather. This means getting a tune-up, checking your tires, and ensuring all your fluid levels are topped off.

A winter car checklist will cover all the specific things you need to do to prepare your car for winter. You can minimize the risk of breakdowns and accidents by ensuring that your car is in good condition.

2. Get Sufficient Insurance Coverage

Every car owner should have insurance, which is especially important in winter. This is because the risk of accidents goes up significantly in winter weather. As such, you want to make sure that you have enough coverage to protect yourself in case of an accident.

At a minimum, you should have liability insurance. It will cover the costs of any damage or injuries you cause to another person in an accident. However, you may also want to consider getting collision and comprehensive insurance. 

If you happen to get into a car accident, the Wieand Law Firm, LLC can deal with the insurance company on your behalf and help you get the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies are notoriously difficult to deal with, but having a car accident attorney by your side will level the playing field.

3. Slow Down and Leave More Space Between Cars

Icy roads are one of the most treacherous things about winter driving. Even if the roads look clear, there could be a layer of ice that you can’t see. This ice can cause your car to slide and make it difficult to control.

As such, you want to ensure you slow down when driving in winter weather. You should also leave more space between you and the car in front of you. It allows you more time to react if the car in front of you slides or stops suddenly.

4. Don’t Use Cruise Control

Adaptive cruise control is one of the best safety features in modern cars. However, you should avoid using it in winter weather. Cruise control takes over the accelerator, which can be dangerous on icy roads.

If you use cruise control and your car starts to slip, it will continue accelerating. It can cause you to lose control of your car and slide off the road. For this reason, it is best to avoid using cruise control in winter weather.

5. Don’t Stop When Going Uphill

If you have to stop while going uphill, it can be challenging to get your car moving again. Your tires will have less traction on the icy road. As such, you want to ensure you don’t stop when going uphill.

If you have to stop, make sure you leave plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. This will give you more room to get your car moving again.

In summary, these are some of the winter driving tips that you should follow. Taking these precautions can minimize the risk of being involved in an accident. So, keep these tips in mind the next time you hit the road in winter weather. If you, unfortunately, do get into an accident, contact a car accident lawyer to help you with the next steps.