Driving in the Snow and Staying Safe
Kashmir is already into the season of snow; something that makes us imagine ourselves sitting with a hot plate of harissa inside the warmth of our comfy firewood-lit homes and watching the beautiful white flakes silently falling from infinity burying everything underneath. But for one reason or the other, life does force us to come out of our comfort zones, willingly or unwillingly, and take to the snowy-roads in the harshest of times. In such a tough scenario, reaching one’s destination safely depends upon his know-how of the situation and its application. Thus, it becomes imperative to brace ourselves beforehand for the challenges these conditions throw at us.
Understand the environment:
Driving on snow or similar conditions is very tricky, hazardous and poses a myriad of challenges to the driver. It is good to know a bit of “how-things-work” before taking to the wheel. The most important thing responsible for the “control” on your car is friction. Friction is the “grip” which prevents slippage between two surfaces and varies according to the types of surfaces in contact. For a normal driving scenario, let us assume the friction between the rubber tyres and the road to be 100%. In case of snow, this “grip” is reduced to 30% and on ice, it further reduces to just 15%. This means that if your car normally stops in 10 meters under regular driving conditions, it would take 33 meters to stop on snow and 67 meters on ice! A similar reduction in the “grip” occurs during acceleration and steering right or left. This severe reduction leading to erratic vehicular behaviour has to be primarily taken into account by the driver.
Understand your vehicle:
Understanding the machine you are looking forward to control will help you to predict its behaviour and get out of a dingy situation. I was amazed at knowledge deficit of many drivers the last year when I saw vehicles using snow chains on the wrong tyres altogether! Unless the vehicle is 4x4/4WD or AWD (All-wheel drive), it puts down power to the ground through two wheels only, either the front two (FWD) or the rear two (RWD). Precisely knowing the powering wheels lets you decide where to work for increasing the friction. Besides the powertrain, one should have a slight idea that the brake distribution, generally, is biased towards the front. Only a small portion of the brake force goes to the rear wheels. In addition, one should know whether the car comes with electronic facilities like ABS, Electronic Brake Distribution, Traction Control, etc. as they play a pivotal role in the car’s behaviour on different surfaces.
With that being said, here’re a few points to make your snowy-drive easy, effective and safe:
1. The start and the warm up during chilling days
The first step is to switch off all the accessories (radio, heater, lights, etc.) to let off the load on the battery. Switch the key to “Accessory” or “On” position and give some time (a few seconds) to the fuel pump to send the fuel to the engine. You may hear a slight humming sound during this operation. Once that is done, start the car and let it idle for approximately five minutes to warm up the engine. It is very unwise to floor the gas pedal during this time. Idling is important during the cold start to ensure uniform and gradual heat distribution throughout the components to prevent thermal shock. Meanwhile, take this time to check the functioning of important accessories. Ensure the windows and mirrors are clear of snow or frost to avoid visibility issues and the steering mechanism is not frozen by making slow left and right turns. Once the car has warmed up, the defroster (heater directed to the front and the rear glass) can be used to clear the front glass of any frost. Only then, you are good to go!
2. How to get going?
Friction is a resistive force which builds up opposite to the direction of the applied force. It increases proportionately as you increase the force on a resting body and, then, reduces when the body starts to slide from rest. This is why the force required to push a sofa from rest is more than the force required to keep it moving. In a similar fashion, sending abrupt power to the wheels causes the wheels to skid, thus, reducing the frictional force. The key is to be as gradual as possible to utilize as much as friction available. Slot the car in the second (or, if you can avoid stalling, third gear) and release the clutch very gradually. Once the car gets moving, it is all about using momentum to keep it in motion. If the car is unable to move due to excessive slip, snow recovery tracks or jute rags may be used under the powering wheels to increase friction.
3. First things first on the road
Just like you are struggling to maintain control of your vehicle, so are the others. Keep a lot of room for error. Maintain thrice the normal distance with everything on the road; be it other cars, pedestrians or the footpath. In case it is not possible, reduce the speed to the minimum. Blinkers should be used during low visibility to alert others. The main focus should be kept on keeping everything gradual; acceleration, deceleration or making turns. Any abrupt change of momentum will induce instantaneous loss of control.
4. Airing down
Deflating the tyres considerably on snow increases the contact area and, thus, the traction. Deflate until the tyre surface starts spreading on the ground. However, one should re-inflate once the car is back on the normal surface to avoid any damage or tyre explosion. How low you can deflate safely depends on the type of tyres and the rims.
5. Understand the differential action
A differential located on the axle splits the power coming from the engine to the two wheels. A very peculiar thing about differential is that it sends power to the wheel having the lowest traction. This means that if the car is parked with the left tyre on frictionless surface and the right on tarmac, the differential will send all the power to the left wheel resulting in the car being stuck. This may seem contrary to the common notion but this is a hard fact known to a few. Now it can be understood why it is important to chain both the powering wheels and not only one!
6. Inclines and declines
Most of the trouble happens while going up a slippery incline. The best solution is to keep distance, ensure the incline is free of obstructions, select a suitable gear, build some speed from the start and maintain that throughout the incline without stopping or changing the gear. Coming down a decline poses another danger altogether. It will not get you stuck but struck. So, ensue that you keep sufficient distance from the car in front. Slot in the lowest gear and use engine braking to let the car come down by itself at snail’s pace. In case of a sudden obstruction ahead, it is better to work the steering than to apply the brakes hard.
7. ABS (Anti-lock braking system): Boon or bane
Most modern cars come equipped with a safety feature called ABS which prevents the wheels from skidding while braking, thus, letting the driver steer the car to safety. However, things do take a U-turn when it comes to slippery surfaces. Contrary to the common belief, ABS “increases” the stopping distance on snow or ice when compared to a non-ABS setup. Plainly speaking, driving a car with ABS on snow is next to driving a car without brakes. ABS does come to rescue in one aspect only: It lets you steer the vehicle safely even when you have hard-pressed the brakes without locking the wheels.
8. Towing or rescuing
It is a good habit to keep recovery items like towing rope, snow tracks, chains, etc. in the vehicle. Generally, a proper 4x4 should be used for recovery due to its mechanism and the component strength. However, recovery is possible using a normal 2WD vehicle as well if certain things are taken care of. Never attempt recovery from the spot where you yourself may get stuck. Always use company designed tow points (at the front and back) for towing. Never tow a vehicle heavier than yours. It may lead to excessive stress on your components and, even, failure. Never engage the clutch partially, else you may end up burning it in minutes. Never stand in line of the towing cable (especially steel) when in tension. If it snaps, it has the potential to cut the vehicle in half, leave apart a human. It is advisable to hang car mats or a blanket on it while towing.
Ideally, it is better to stay off the road in such weather conditions. But the twists of life may come with a surprise. Since we live in a place with such severe conditions lasting for months, it is always better to be equipped as much as we can. Who knows, ignorance might cost a life!
Published by: Rising Kashmir
Date: 18th December 2021