At Palmen Motors, we take safety very seriously. While we pride ourselves on selling vehicles with great capability and safety ratings in the event of an accident, we know that the best thing for everyone is not to have an accident in the first place. As winter solidifies its icy grip on our driving lives this season, we need to be more vigilant than ever in preventing accidents. Here are some of our top tips for staying safe this winter.
1. Maintain your tires and tire pressure. If you’ve been putting off getting your tires replaced because you don’t want to pay for them, you’ve already waited too long and are putting yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road in danger by not taking care of this necessary and serious maintenance issue. Winter accidents happen when people lose control of their vehicles, and one of the largest factors in your ability to stay in control is the quality of your tires. It’s worth the money, and we can help you find good, affordable tires here.
Tire pressure is also a serious issue in winter. During times of extreme cold, your tire pressure can drop by over a pound an hour that your car isn’t garaged. The recommendation is that you add air once a week to prevent dangerous flats and blow-outs.
2. Slow down and keep a safe following distance. This one is for everyone, no matter what you drive. Even if you’ve got the most capable, hearty, all-terrain, off-road wonder of a vehicle and would feel totally comfortable cruising along at summertime highway speeds, think about it. Are you the only person on the road? Do you think the roadway is more or less safe when you drive aggressively amongst drivers of all vehicle abilities and experience levels in dangerous conditions? Please err on the side of safety for everyone. We’re all out there doing our best.
3. Never use cruise control in winter. Just pretend you don’t have it. Seriously. It’s a great feature for normal, safe driving conditions, but it’s not appropriate on a snowy, icy winter highway.
4. Lights on at all times. It’s shocking how many vehicles out on the road today don’t follow this simple prevention measure. The use of your lights during the day will significantly improve other drivers’ ability to see where you are and gauge their distance from you, and it’ll also improve your own ability to see. Turn ‘em on.
5. Spend time teaching younger drivers how to drive in winter. This may not be directly related to your own driving, but it’s definitely connected to all of our safety. Some of the most dangerous drivers on the road today are young people without enough experience to know how to handle the difficult conditions. Please spend some quality time with the ones in your life making sure they are informed and confident on how to drive safely. We’ll all be better for it.
