Winter Driving

Driving in the winter, especially in snow and ice, can be very challenging. There is no scarier moment in driving than when you turn the steering wheel to one direction but your car heads the other way, or when you hit the brakes but you continue to skid forward, or worse you start to spin. (I have experienced all of the above.)

We had snowstorm again yesterday and today, and the roads were dangerously slippery. There were few minor accidents in the road, that it took me more than an hour to drive to my work both days, a distance that I usually cover in 20 minutes. (I should not complain too much, for in Manila it takes an hour drive, a distance you can walk in 10 minutes.)

In one particular icy stretch of the highway today, I saw several vehicles that have fallen into the ditch. I have noticed that most of the vehicles in the ditch are either pick-up truck or SUV, which is counter intuitive. You would think that these type of vehicles will have an advantage in the snow. I guess the drivers of these vehicles had false sense of security and invulnerability and were driving at speed limit of normal road condition.

In my opinion, in winter driving, more important than the high ground clearance (like in truck and SUV), or the 4 x 4 or all-wheel drive, or by being equipped with winter tires — is using some common sense and a bit of caution.