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In winter, the weather conditions are rarely favourable and the roads are slippery and icy and in these circumstances, it is important that you keep your car well checked and have the emergency equipment to help you stay out of trouble. The snow on the road makes you lose traction, and so does increased speed. Therefore, you should be careful not to further reduce the already lost traction by increasing the speed. When there is ice, don’t rush yourself. If there is somewhere you need to be on time, you should leave early to leave enough margin for the delay caused due to the ice on the road.

The accelerator should be pressed only lightly and you should drive the car at a smooth and steady speed. You should avoid using any kind of jerky motions during driving. Don’t turn the steering wheel with a jerky movement and if you want to take a turn, do it smoothly and slowly. Bring the car almost to a stop when taking a turn that is a right angle as it is while taking this kind of turn that the car is most likely to skid.

You should try to avoid going on roads that are not used frequently. This is because the conditions on these roads are more dangerous. Other than that, you should also be extra careful when passing bridges, overpasses and shadowy areas. You should scrape ice from your windshield to make sure that your visibility is not affected. You should keep yourself on the lookout for black frost, which can suddenly catch you off guard. Bridges and intersections are places that are the most treacherous of all, in terms of icy conditions. Be careful of spots where the water runs across the road as these spots are likely to have black frost. The black frost is transparent and invisible and can mislead you.

Be sure to keep the headlights and taillights of the car free of any ice or dirt so that the other motorists can easily see you when you when the lights are turned on. Scrape the ice from the windshield, but never use hot water to remove the ice as this can cause the windshield to crack.

No matter what type your car is, it is important to keep the car in complete control and handle it as required by the road conditions. This is because it is the skill and practice of the driver that counts more.

The important thing is not to let your attention on the road get diverted, as this can cause accidents. If there is a slide, you should not overreact and should ease on the accelerator and let the car come out of the slide naturally. Turning the steering wheel unnecessarily will only make the slide worse, and the car will take much longer to get to its normal condition. If you feel your nervousness is increasing, you should pull the car over to a side and should proceed when you feel calmer.