Freezing conditions are among the most dangerous to drive in. The easiest way to avoid an accident in bad weather is simply not to drive in it. Telecommute. Get your groceries delivered. Move somewhere warmer. Of course, these are feasible options for only a small proportion of the population, so knowing how to drive in the snow is important for everyone else. To avoid endangering yourself and others as much as possible, it is essential to know a few simple rules, which boil down to this: respect the snow.

The primary keys to driving safely in the snow and ice are distance and speed. The more distance you keep between your car and others, the less likely you are to hit them and the greater the margin of error you have if you do lose control. That applies to moving and stationary vehicles, both in front and to the side of you.

As for speed, you should do everything more slowly than you would under good driving conditions - except think. You should drive more conservatively, accelerate more slowly, brake and turn more carefully and smoothly. Give yourself more time to get across the intersection. Look well ahead and try to anticipate anything that might become a problem.

Keeping your car in winter shape is helpful to - consider investing in snow tyres, or at the very least make sure your normal tyres are inflated to the correct pressure.

It's also advisable to know how to handle your car in case you do skid. The generally accepted course of action is to steer into the skid in an effort to regain some grip and possibly even accelerate. Better still is to drive so carefully that you never skid in the first place.

Learn more about this author, Colin Beveridge.
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