Controls

Your Driving and the Road
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your
tires meet the road probably have good
traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between
your tires and the road, you can have a
very slippery situation. You’ll have a lot
less traction or “grip” and will need to be
very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.”
Very cold snow or ice can be slick and
hard to drive on. But wet ice can be even
more trouble because it may offer the
least traction of all. You can get “wet ice”
when it’s about freezing (32°F; OOC) and
freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid
lriving on wet ice until salt and sand
:rews can get there.
Nhatever the condition -- smooth ice,
lacked, blowing or loose snow -- drive
vith caution.
f you have the traction control system,
Leep the system on. It will improve your
tbility to accelerate when driving on a
ilippery road. Even though your vehicle
las a traction control system, you’ll want
o slow down and adjust your driving to
.he road conditions. See “Traction Control
system” in the Index.
[f you don’t have the traction control
Gystem, accelerate gently. Try not to break
:he fragile traction. If you accelerate too
Fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish
:he surface under the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your
2bility to make a hard stop on a slippery
road. Even though you have an anti-lock
braking system, you’ll want to begin
stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti-Lock” in the Index.
Allow greater following distance on
any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road
might be fine until you hit a spot that’s
covered with ice. On an otherwise
clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t
reach: around clumps of trees, behind
buildings, or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear. If you see
a patch of ice ahead of you, brake
before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
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