'Learn to drive': We read your comments and got winter driving tips
Waterloo Region residents faced a tough commute Friday morning, after the winter season's first significant snowfall caused accidents, traffic jams and slowed vehicles to a crawl.
At one point, the westbound 401 lanes at Homer Watson Blvd. were blocked, the Highway 7/8 westbound off-ramp to Trussler Rd. was blocked by a tractor trailer and five dump trucks, and the Waterloo Regional Police OPP had to respond to scores of accidents.
The sheer number of collisions prompted many people to comment on social media and on our story. The most common complaint we heard was along the lines of "other people need to learn how to drive in the snow."
That inspired us to share some of those comments and to seek winter driving advice from Musien Musa Mohammad, a driving instructor at Dominion Driving Schools in Kitchener.
On mobile? Watch the complaint here
When should I put on snow tires?
Mohammad: At the beginning of the winter, [or] sometime in October, bring your car to a mechanic and they’ll check about 150 points of the vehicle to be ready for the winter driving. That includes the tire pressure, oil, reserve water, the cooling system of the vehicle, wipers, headlights, brake lights, brakes themselves. It is highly recommended to have snow and ice tires on the car. It decreases the chance of a skid.
On mobile? Watch the complaint here
What should I do if my car skids?
Mohammad: "First thing is, you have to be calm and easy. Driving is a mental and physical activity. Secondly, select the gear in neutral, while you’re in [a] skid. All you have to do is slap the gear from drive to neutral. Now you have the chance to steer, so while you’re steering, you find an empty space to put the car in and you should avoid slamming on the brake, especially with the anti-lock brake system."
"Avoid gassing suddenly because the car is going to be spinning on the same spot. [Instead] gradually brake, what we call 'Press, Hold, Brake,' [which means] before the brake locks you release it and slowly brake again until it stops. If you don’t have a space, then you’re going to hit something. There won’t be any magic taking you out. The regular day we are driving in towns, cities, villages and built-up areas…we need to have three car lengths [between cars]. But in a winter day…we need to have at least four to five car spaces."
On mobile? Watch the complaint here
How do I drive when there's low visibility?
Mohammad: "First of all, you have to drive with your low beams on. And, pull off the road if you can’t see totally, not on the road itself, but go and find a gas station. Park your car. That’s the best advice I can give. When you’re changing lanes in real life, we have to have at least two car spaces between us and the car in the back. In winter we have to have at least four or five car spaces before we change lanes. So by changing lines we have to do MSB: Mirror, Signal, Blindspots."
On mobile? Watch the complaint here
How much slower should I drive in bad weather?
Mohammad: Speed is very important and so is stopping distance. Usually people drive a bit too fast. Walk around the vehicle before the start of driving and test to see and understand how slippery it is. In normal weather, towns, cities, villages are good for 50 km/h. But if you have cars around you and icy roads, you should slow down. There’s no definite speed for that, but it should be slower than the speed allowed.