While driving on the roads in Ohio during the winter months, you could encounter situations that you don’t experience in the summer. These situations include black ice, snow, and earlier nightfall. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can decrease your risk of an accident.
Wheels
One way to decrease motor vehicle accidents is to check your tires to make sure they are properly inflated and to ensure that they have enough tread on them. This can aid in maintaining traction on slippery roadways. Look for any snow in the wheel wells so that there’s enough clearance for the tires to turn properly.
Speed
Adjust your speed in the winter as it tends to get dark earlier than it does in the summer months. If you’re driving in hazardous conditions, try to increase your following distance between other vehicles without speeding so that you can maintain as much control as possible. You can let others on the road know that you’re driving slowly by turning on your flashers. Avoid sudden braking if at all possible as well as quickly accelerating as this could result in spinning on a slick road, leading to an accident and possible injuries.
Maintenance
While maintaining your vehicle can be good to do throughout the entire year, it’s important during the winter months as the weather conditions can drastically change and become very dangerous. Make sure your windshield wipers are working correctly as well as your defrost so that ice and snow don’t build on your windshield while driving. You can also check your battery and other electrical components to ensure that you’re not stranded on the road, which could increase your risk of being in an accident if someone doesn’t see you.
When you’re driving in the winter, there are several things that you can do so that you’re as safe as possible on the roads.