| Updated: 12/27/2007 9:40 am |
Published: 12/26/2007 4:19 pm |
With the winter weather here, it's time to brush up on your winter driving skills. Even if you think you're the best on the road, you could be dealing with other drivers, breaking all of the slick road rules.
With icy roads expected in Little Rock Wednesday night, we went to the experts at the Sears Auto Center to find out what you need to check on your car to make sure it's safe to drive on the slick roads. As the rain changes to snow, John Garrett and his crew experience a rush of customers wanting their cars winterized, but he says there are things you can do yourself without bringing your car in.
"Look at your tires, make sure that you have good tread. It would be a good idea to have your antifreeze checked in it, you know, that way the car won't freeze up. And it would be a good idea maybe to have a blanket or something in the car just in case,” says Garrett.
AAA offers these winter driving tips: accelerate and decelerate slowly because it takes longer to slow down on slick roads, since it takes longer for your car to react on wet pavement, drive slowly, know your breaks and don't stop if you can avoid it. AAA suggests that you keep rolling if you can instead of coming to a complete stop so you can get going again.
Garrett can't stress enough how important it is to take it slow. "People go too fast, follow too close, then they go across a bridge or something the first thing they'll do is hit the breaks and that's a big no, no," adds Garrett.
Really a lot of these tips are just common sense. Another one from AAA, if you don't have to go out stay home and enjoy the snow from inside.
Allen Patterson drove trucks for 25 years. Now he's driving across Arkansas in his RV. "Slick, okay? It's about the best word I can use. Pretty slick," says Patterson about the roads.
Patterson says drivers do things on the slick roads that really annoy him. "You know, people who just seem to like to pull out in front of you, you know, if you go by a ramp, you know, they'll go slow and they'll be parallel with that, you know, instead of speeding up and getting out of your way, sometimes you can't move over, especially with something this size," explains Patterson.
But before you even make it out of the driveway, there are some things you should check out on your car. One really easy thing you can do to check your tires is stick a penny in the tread. If it covers up part of Lincoln's head, you know you're over 1/16th of an inch which means you're okay to drive.
"It came in for a flat repair, but both of the rear tires are bald," says Garrett as he checks out a car in his shop.
Garrett says that means they need to be replaced and probably should have been a while ago. Worn out tires have competition though when it comes to winterizing your car.
"Antifreeze, you know, eight below what it should be and scared the car will freeze up," says Garrett.
If your winter driving skills are a bit rusty, Patterson has this advice if you're sharing the road with him Wednesday night: "Watch what you're doing. Keep your mind on your driving. Get the telephone out your ear, set it down. Look where you're going, watch where you're going. Time your ons, time your offs."
