Driving Safely on Snow and Icy Roads

With snow and icy roads in the Upstate of South Carolina today, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety offers these driving safety tips. Slow down for wet, snowy, or icy conditions as you will be more likely to maintain control of your vehicle at lower speeds. Leave plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. Avoid excessive actions while steering, braking or accelerating to lessen the chances of losing control of the vehicle. Keep your lights and windshield clean and turn on your lights to make you visible to other motorists. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roadways, which tend to freeze first. Avoid using cruise control in winter driving conditions. Winter conditions call for a different kind of driving than normal weather: slower speed, slower acceleration, slower steering, and slower braking. If your vehicle starts to skid, then take your foot off the accelerator, counter steer or if the rear of your vehicle is sliding left, steer left into the skid, if it’s sliding right, steer right and steer in the direction you want the front of the vehicle to go.