Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where the tires
meet the road probably have good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between the
tires and the road, you can have a very slippery
situation. You will have a lot less traction, or
grip, and will need to be very careful.
What is 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 is about freezing, 32°F (0°C), and
freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid driving
on wet ice until salt and sand crews can get there.
Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed,
blowing, or loose snow — drive with caution.
If you have the Traction Control System (TCS),
it will improve your ability to accelerate when driving
on a slippery road. Even if your vehicle has TCS
you will want to slow down and adjust your driving
to the road conditions. Under certain conditions,
you may want to turn the TCS off, such as when
driving through deep snow and loose gravel,
to help maintain vehicle motion at lower speeds.
See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 285.
If you do not have TCS, accelerate gently.
Try not to break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin
and polish the surface under the tires even more.
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